American Military News by Philip J. Heijmans – Bloomberg News
As U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken takes part in Group of 20 meetings on his first visit to Asia in more than six months, his Chinese counterpart is halfway through a two-week diplomatic blitz across the key strategic battleground.
Since Sunday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has secured a fresh pledge from Thailand to complete a $5.2 billion rail link between the two countries and expressed a willingness to open a âgolden ageâ of ties with the Philippinesâ newly elected president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Wang also attended a regional summit in Myanmar, which the military regime hailed as a sign of growing recognition of its rule, more than a year after ousting the civilian government in a coup.
Wangâs 11-day trip was part of Chinaâs push to offer an alternative to the U.S.âs Indo-Pacific Strategy and assuage regional suspicions of its own intentions by emphasizing shared economic benefits. The urgency of that effort has been increased by Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine, which has fueled concern that China could take military action to resolve its own territorial disputes in places like Taiwan…
