Washington grants training to strengthen alliances before Beijing

Washington [US], March 14: The US has been making a series of moves to strengthen and strengthen military cooperation with allies to deal with China in the Indo-Pacific.
Yesterday (March 13), British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrived in San Diego (California, USA) to have a meeting with President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese . This is Sunak's first visit to the US as British Prime Minister.
America strengthens ties with allies
According to British media, the outcome of the meeting is expected to announce the supply of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia under the agreement of the AUKUS group (including the US, UK, and Australia) since its formation in 2021. Earlier, Reuters quoted a number of sources close to the news that Canberra planned to buy up to five Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from Washington and the delivery would take place in the 2030s. In the near future, the US plans to plans to deploy nuclear submarines to Australia from 2027. These cooperation programs of AUKUS are intended to respond to Chinese activities in the Indo-Pacific region.
Recently and in the future, the US has been stepping up to strengthen cooperation with allies in the Indo-Pacific. On March 10, the high-level delegations of the US and Canada had the first dialogue on the Indo-Pacific. The move comes after Canada announced its Indo-Pacific strategy late last year.
It is expected that in April, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will pay an official visit to the US and have a summit with President Joe Biden. Last week, Yonhap news agency quoted a senior South Korean official as saying that the country plans to "actively accelerate" its participation in the "Quad" task groups (including the US, Japan, Australia and the US). India). Many information indicate that Seoul may be the next member of this group.
On the same day, March 13, the South China Morning Post quoted a statement from the Chinese Embassy in Manila on March 12, giving strong warnings to the government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr about increasing military cooperation with the US. . Recently, Washington and Manila agreed to allow US troops access to four more bases in the Philippines. Not only that, the two sides are also considering deploying coast guard forces for joint patrol in the East Sea. The US, along with the Philippines and Japan, and Australia also plan to conduct joint naval patrols in the South China Sea.
Therefore, observers say that Washington is increasing cooperation with allies and partners to counter Beijing's actions in the Indo-Pacific.
Strengthen cooperation, close the gap
Answering ThanhNien on March 13, Associate Professor Kei Koga (Program on Global Affairs and Public Policy - School of Social Sciences - Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) commented: "US allies are looking to strengthen Strategic relationship with Washington President Yoon's administration also expressed a desire to assert a strategic role in the Indo-Pacific.Canada has also developed an Indo-Pacific strategy since November 2022. Countries want to coordinate to maintain However, if AUKUS focuses on military capabilities, Canada and South Korea tend to coordinate on common policy with like-minded countries. are more closely linked together through active diplomacy."
Also responding to ThanhNien, Prof.Yoichiro Sato (Expert in international relations, Ritsumeikan Asia-Pacific University, Japan; Senior scholar of the YusofIshak Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore) pointed out: "In the context that the US considers the growing threats from North Korea, China and Russia, for the US, it is urgent to strengthen the counterbalance force. Because its influence is being reduced on a large scale. Globally, Washington wants its allies to play a larger role in deterring threats.
"However, America's partnerships and allies are not immune to differences and competition. Typically, Japan, along with Britain and Italy, cooperates to develop new fighter jets without the participation of the United States. As for South Korea, even though it is a participant in the F-35 fighter program, it is still limited to fully own the technology of this fighter, and then the "semiconductor chip alliance" led by Washington It has also influenced South Korean memory chip manufacturers to cut investment in China and shift production to the US," said Professor Sato.
An upcoming US-Korea summit will try to narrow differences between the two sides and "reheat" efforts towards closer trilateral cooperation, including Japan. South Korea under President Yoon Suk-yeol has had a change in foreign policy towards being tougher with North Korea but more open to Japan in order to enlist Washington to strengthen its commitment to Seoul. In this effort, Seoul has rescinded its decision to suspend the intelligence-sharing agreement with Tokyo."
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper