Alliance strength according to Blinken

From NATO headquarters, Blaken describes the value of alliances and looks directly at China, a dimension that Washington’s relations with the United States between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans should consider.

With China, the United States will not force our allies to choose us or choose them. “There is no doubt that Beijing’s coercive behavior threatens our collective security and prosperity, and that it is actively working to undermine the rules of the international order and the values ​​that we and our allies share,” the foreign minister said. Anthony BlinkThis was during a speech he delivered at NATO headquarters in Brussels at the end of the meeting with the foreign ministers of NATO member states.

“But this does not mean that countries cannot work with China wherever possible, for example in challenges such as climate change and health security,” the head of US diplomacy said in a speech that focused on allies and relations with those countries. As a partner in defense of democracy (a word that is repeated many times in Speech). On the other hand, the NATO meeting with the transatlantic allies came exactly the week following another series of appointments with those in the Pacific.

To symbolize the role that Joe Biden He wants to give multi-lateral relationships (in an apparent break with his predecessors). “We know that our allies – as Blinken said – have complex relationships with China that will not always fit perfectly with ours. But we must face these challenges together.” The goal of alliances, such as NATO, is to contain a model that Washington and the West regard as a competitor: “That means working with our allies to bridge gaps in areas like technology and infrastructure, where Beijing benefits to exert pressure,” Blinken added.

“When one of us is forced, we must respond as allies and work together to reduce our vulnerability by ensuring the complementarity of our economies with each other,” said the senior US diplomat, who also condemned China’s militarization of the South China Sea. , The use of the unfair economy, theft of intellectual property and violations of human rights.

In recent days, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have accused China of using repressive methods (over the past five years) against Uighurs and other members of ethnic minorities in the region, including mass detentions and surveillance. “The targets of this monitoring are often detained, and they are said to be subjected to various methods of torture and” political re-education, “the Treasury Department wrote in a statement accompanying the EU-UK joint sanctions.

Blinken’s comments came on the heels of a controversial meeting between the National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, And the top Chinese diplomat, Yang JiechiAnd a member of the State Council, Wang Yi, In Alaska. Blinken said at a press conference when he said, “China is using coercion and aggression to systematically undermine self-rule in Hong Kong, undermine democracy in Taiwan, violate human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet, and assert maritime claims in the South China Sea that violate international law” were in Japan. Words and concepts are the same as those used in NATO.

Blinken, the first Biden ministerial official to visit NATO and Europe, reiterated the US commitment to preserving the world’s most powerful alliance, which in addition to representing the military sphere extends to include economic and cultural alliances. “We need to be able to have these difficult conversations and even disagree while treating each other with respect. Often times in recent years, in the United States we seem to have forgotten who our friends are.” Blinken said, without mentioning the policy but criticizing it. America first With support from the Trump administration.