Where former President Donald Trump deserves credit for strengthening the U.S. military's capabilities, President Joe Biden deserves credit for his Indo-Pacific diplomacy.
Biden's trip to Vietnam offers a case in point. That short visit was important in both symbolic and functional terms. The newly reached strategic partnership underlines America's willingness to deal with autocratic regimes, even ones it not-too-long ago fought wars against, in order to counter a common, contemporary threat. In this case, China. Deeply popular in Vietnam, the U.S. is increasingly seen as a necessary partner that Hanoi must work with to defend its sovereignty.
This takes on particular importance as Beijing undermines Hanoi's sovereignty and economic independence. As with the other nations rimming the South China Sea, Beijing's patently imperialist territorial claims have sparked outrage and concern in Vietnam. Hanoi recognizes that it is only with the U.S. that those claims can be resisted. Vietnam also recognizes that the U.S. pursuit of investment alternatives to China offers vast prospective benefits. Hence why Biden brought American executives with him to Hanoi.
NEW AMMUNITION TO SINK THE LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP
True, Biden's diplomacy has benefited from new presidents such as South Korea's Yoon Suk Yeol and the Philippines's Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos. These leaders are far more cognizant of China's challenge than their predecessors were. Japan's Fumio Kishida has also helped Biden in this regard, building on the late Shinzo Abe's effort to bolster Japan's defensive posture against China. It's also true that Beijing's arrogant and often petulant diplomacy has provided an opening for the U.S. to bolster its own partnerships. China's utterly hypocritical attacks on Japan over its environmental policy and its harassment of Filipino vessels operating within the Philippines's exclusive economic zone offer two examples in this regard.
Still, Biden has shown necessary nuance as he attempts to bolster American influence in the Indo-Pacific.
At the just concluded G20 summit, for example, the U.S. recognized India's desperation to secure a communique that could be agreed upon by all sides. In turn, the Biden administration rightly did not demand a statement explicitly condemning Russia over the war in Ukraine. This nuance has surely earned Biden the appreciation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It consolidates Modi's incentive to continue his engagement with the U.S. to bolster technology and military cooperation. Indeed, Biden and Modi agreed new bilateral deals during this summit. Equally important, it shows Washington's genuine desire to establish long-term trust. Beijing will not give up its effort to dominate contested areas of the Indian-Chinese border, so U.S.-India cooperation is likely to only continue strengthening. India's rising economic prosperity and shared democratic values with the U.S. will also naturally facilitate this partnership.
In sum, the U.S. clearly has benefited from Biden's diplomacy. A few examples include:
The situation is not perfect, of course. Biden's military spending is inadequate to the multigenerational challenge China poses. Taiwan continues to allocate astonishingly inadequate sums to its own defense. U.S.-Indonesia relations remain challenging. And thanks to the choices of its political leaders, New Zealand remains a de facto fifth column within the U.S.-led Five Eyes intelligence alliance.
Still, the broad trajectory of American partnerships in the Indo-Pacific is manifestly positive. Biden deserves credit for it. If only the same could be said about U.S. policy in the Middle East.