US President Joe Biden, in his agenda-setting foreign policy speech, made China the principal competitor of the United States but didn’t make any considerable mention of the Indo-Pacific region.
The strong language used by Biden was a contrast to his globalist past as a Senator and Vice-President and his campaign statements like, ‘They’re not competition for us’ and ‘China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man.’
Though he did not give out a concrete plan in his speech regarding dealing with the China challenge, he spoke in generalities. But, unlike his predecessor Donald Trump, Biden did not mention the Indo-Pacific or, while speaking of allies, the Quad or India. However, he mentioned his conversations with Japan, South Korea, and Australia, and he is yet to speak to Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi.
Biden listed climate change and Russia and his other global adversaries. He talked about reducing carbon emissions regarding the climatic change, and about dealing with Russia’s determination to damage and disrupt their democracy.
