US to remind China of Pacific interests amid Ukraine tension
Associated PressWASHINGTON — The Biden administration is making a push to remind China that the U.S. remains involved and active in the Indo-Pacific despite Washington and the West’s current preoccupation with a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Melbourne on Friday, Blinken will attend a meeting of foreign ministers from the so-called “Quad” — Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. — a bloc of Indo-Pacific democracies created to counter China. If Russia invades Ukraine and “China looks the other way, it suggests that China is willing to tolerate or tacitly support Russia’s efforts to coerce Ukraine even when they embarrass Beijing, harm European security, and risk global peace and economic stability.” U.S. officials have noted that Russia has previously mounted military action against a former Soviet republic during a Beijing-hosted Olympics when it moved against Georgia during the 2008 Summer Games. U.S. officials say they expect Blinken and the others at the Quad meeting in Melbourne to reiterate their concerns about China’s actions, especially recent show-of-force demonstrations directed at Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province. “Countering the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs remains a top priority for the United States and I am confident the same can be said for our Japanese and South Korean partners,” Kritenbrink said of the talks planned for Honolulu.