US and China Disagreements Prompt Calls for Global Unity

Washington wants stronger ties with India and supported its controversial move a year ago to split its only Muslim-majority state, restive Jammu and Kashmir, into two federally controlled territories.

This month, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said the United States would stand up to China on the Indian border dispute.

“For India it is opportune that the US is applying more pressure on China, and if it can get it to behave, that would be welcomed by the entire neighborhood,” said Jayadev Ranade, President of the Center for China Analysis think tank in New Delhi.

Africa

China-US tensions are taking a toll: The African Development Bank said last year trade disruption due to the tariff war could lead to a 2.5 percent drop in economic output for some African countries.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said political disputes should be set aside to better fight the coronavirus.

“Let’s not be sucked back into isolationism or unilateralism. We need each other today more than ever,” Uhuru Kenyatta said an Atlantic Council event last month.

“We’re not going to fight coronavirus if one country fails and another succeeds,” said Uhuru.

Southeast Asia

The 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations has avoided taking steps that would alienate Washington or Beijing, both important trading partners.

“The great powers, as they escalate their rivalry, will woo us into their side,” said Harry Roque, a spokesman for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. “We will advance our national interest.”

The region’s most sensitive conflict — over control of the South China Sea — escalated when the Trump administration publicly rejected most of Beijing’s claims to one of the world’s busiest waterways.

“We are making clear: Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a July 13 statement.

The Philippines and Vietnam, among the most vocal critics of Chinese assertiveness, could benefit from that stance but will move cautiously, said Greg Poling of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

“They aren’t going to stick their necks in a noose until they see real follow-through from Washington,” Poling said.

(Writer: Joe McDonald) 

Source: https://apnews.com/189d230c0bbc768eb8663feb4c90a2fc