Is Taiwan Next?

US President Joe Biden said during his recent visit to Asia that America will defend Taiwan militarily in the event of a Chinese invasion. Although White House officials were quick to state that US policy toward the island had not changed, some think that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s increasing regional assertiveness necessitate a tougher approach. Project-Syndicate.org

China slams Japan for close-range tracking of aircraft carrier

China on Thursday slammed Japan for making dangerous close-range tracking and disruptions to an aircraft carrier of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy during the latter’s recent, legitimate drills in the West Pacific, with analysts saying that the Japanese move reflected the country’s ulterior motive of offensive military expansion under the excuse of the “China threat” theory. GlobalTimes

Transcript: U.S. Approach to the People’s Republic of China

Except from Secretary Blinken’s speech

We are not looking for conflict or a new Cold War.  To the contrary, we’re determined to avoid both.

We don’t seek to block China from its role as a major power, nor to stop China – or any other country, for that matter – from growing their economy or advancing the interests of their people.

But we will defend and strengthen the international law, agreements, principles, and institutions that maintain peace and security, protect the rights of individuals and sovereign nations, and make it possible for all countries – including the United States and China – to coexist and cooperate.

Now, the China of today is very different from the China of 50 years ago, when President Nixon broke decades of strained relations to become the first U.S. president to visit the country.

Full Transcripts

Democracy Is Dying: ‘You Don’t Have the Time’

President Joe Biden revealed that after being elected to the White House, Chinese President Xi Jinping cautioned him that democracies are on the decline and that one day “autocracies will run the world.”

“We’re living through a global struggle between autocracies and democracies,” Biden said during his commencement address to the U.S. Naval Academy’s graduating class. Newsweek