The United States is no longer the “undisputed hegemon“ in the Asia-Pacific region, writes Bloomberg.
The media notes that the Navy of the People's Liberation Army of China has surpassed the US Navy in numbers. China is rapidly introducing new models of aircraft, missiles and other military equipment, and Beijing's military power was demonstrated to the world on September 3 during a large-scale military parade, the agency recalls.
Bloomberg adds that US allies in the region have ceased to see Washington as a reliable partner. The policy of the United States under President Donald Trump has brought Australia and Japan closer together, who now prefer to strengthen bilateral economic and defense cooperation, the agency notes.
American and Taiwanese defense officials held talks in Alaska last week, a US official said yesterday, quoted by Reuters.
The agency notes that this is likely to anger China. The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.
China, which has never shied away from using force to bring the island under its control, regularly identifies Taiwan as the most important and sensitive issue in its relations with Washington.
The talks included Jed Royal, the top U.S. Defense Department official for the Indo-Pacific region, who held talks with a senior Taiwanese national security official in Anchorage, Alaska, the U.S. official said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that the world faced a choice between peace and war during a grand parade in Beijing on Wednesday, standing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in an unprecedented show of military might, Reuters noted.
South Korea, Japan and the United States will hold annual defense drills aimed at improving their air, sea and cyber operational capabilities against the nuclear and missile threat from North Korea, the South Korean military said in a statement this morning, quoted by Reuters.
The joint maneuvers will begin on September 15, the statement said.