Dealing With America’s Adversaries
Chinese political commentator Heng He pointed out on NTD’s Chinese-language program “Pinnacle View” that former President Donald Trump recently criticized the Biden administration’s foreign policies at a rally in Pennsylvania and reiterated his America First foreign policy.“I think Trump’s core policy points haven’t changed much,” he said. “His overall direction is still putting America first and intervening less in international affairs. [On Ukraine,] Trump believes that he could quickly resolve the conflict after taking office.”
Mr. Heng explained that in the past few decades, the United States has always been involved in wars, and the international environment improves and deteriorates depending on America’s actions.
He believes that the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which led to a subsequent Taliban takeover, made allies question America’s ability to handle international affairs since the Afghanistan withdrawal was almost as bad as Vietnam. Mr. Trump strongly criticized the Biden administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal.
Japan’s Role as a US Ally
Guo Jun, editor-in-chief of The Epoch Times’ Hong Kong edition, said on “Pinnacle View” that the confrontation between the U.S.-led Western allies and the new “Axis of Evil” has already begun. The Axis of Evil refers to the alliance between, China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
“Although Iran may not have a full-scale war with Israel, it is evident that the cold and hot conflicts between the two camps have started,” she said. “Moreover, this confrontation is not only military but also political, economic, technological, and even cultural. This is becoming increasingly clear.”
Ms. Guo said that Japan’s role is crucial. Cooperation between the United States and Japan is, for the CCP, the greatest geopolitical nightmare, yet this nightmare was brought about by the CCP itself.
She pointed out that Mr. Kishida’s visit to the United States received a high-level reception. During his address to Congress, he was applauded over 40 times.
His speech had three main points. First, he recognized that the current international order is primarily established by the United States. Ms. Guo said that Japan’s support for U.S. leadership despite being a defeated country in World War II demonstrates a victory for American values.
The third point is that Japan is committed to cooperating with the United States in continuing to maintain the current international order. This is the result of pressure from China, according to Ms. Guo.
Japan’s Influence
Ms. Guo said that U.S.-Japan cooperation has been going on for some time. For example, comprehensive cooperation in AI, space technology, and military technology are all in place. Among them, AI and space technology are the most crucial for the future. The combined high-tech and innovation capabilities of Japan and the United States are tremendously powerful. Japan has another strategic role in its cooperation with the United States, which is to exert Japan’s influence in Southeast Asia.“Many people think that Japan invaded Southeast Asia during World War II, so Southeast Asian countries must hold historic grudges against Japan. However, reality is quite the opposite. At that time, it was the European powers that did not like Japan, while many Southeast Asian countries welcomed and supported Japan. For example, most of the first leaders of Southeast Asian countries after WWII were educated in Japan during the war. Now if you go to Southeast Asian countries, you can feel that Japan is welcomed way more than China,” she said.
Japan has invested heavily in various Southeast Asian countries, including a lot of infrastructure projects and financial aid. Therefore, Japan has a huge influence in Southeast Asia, and this influence can play an important role for the United States in Southeast Asia at critical moments amid China’s increasingly aggressive gestures in the region.
