Unlike horses and carriages, security cooperation and trade ties don’t always go together
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AT THE risk of being accused of “whataboutism”, let us first celebrate the recent American diplomatic success: last week’s trilateral summit with the leaders of South Korea and Japan. Yes! It’s great that President Joe Biden was able to persuade these two North-eastern Asian nations to overcome their historical enmities and join the US in reinforcing their deterrence capabilities vis-a-vis Pyongyang and Beijing.
But then let us also ask: What about the Biden administration’s economic policies, which have ignited tensions with Seoul and Tokyo? If cooperating in the military sphere with these two countries makes a lot of sense, what about the bonds that commercial ties create?
To put it differently, when it comes to US policy towards China, Washington has made it clear that it’s impossible to focus on the military tensions between these two powers without discussing their trade relationship, and vice versa.
