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What Biden’s presidency means for Asia

Updated: 18 Nov, 2020
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[1]

Opinion | Japan hedging bets despite welcoming change of US leadership

Former prime minister Shinzo Abe’s close ties with Donald Trump failed to get results as the president ran roughshod over Japan and the notion of multilateralism, the core of its diplomacy. Tokyo will welcome renewed US engagement in Asia but is still hedging its bets, amid lingering questions about waning US influence.

18 Nov, 2020
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with then Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe during their meeting in the White House in Washington in February 2017. Abe’s close personal relationship with Trump failed to temper the president’s actions on matters of importance. Photo: Reuters
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[3]

Opinion | For China, offering Biden a plastic olive branch worse than doing nothing

While Beijing choosing to test an incoming Biden administration would be bad, a superficial peace offering would be almost as harmful. Patience on China’s part will let Biden focus on handling the pandemic and restarting the US economy.

16 Nov, 2020
Illustration: Craig Stephens
[4]

Asian Angle | Biden’s America needs to learn from the world, not vice versa

Chinese competition has exploded the ‘End of History’ myth, while Asia’s handling of Covid-19 shows ‘good government’ is not an oxymoron, writes Kishore Mahbubani.

14 Nov, 2020
Is US president-elect Joe Biden willing and able to make fundamental U-turns? Photo: Reuters
[5]

Opinion | Why Biden needs to pursue ‘strategic empathy’ with the Philippines

As part of a multilateral approach to constrain rivals such as China, Russia and Iran, Biden will solicit support from its treaty allies. While the Philippines has been a pivotal part of US projection of power in the Indo-Pacific, the future of the alliance is in doubt.

13 Nov, 2020
Protesters rally against US-Philippines anti-terrorism military exercises in Manila in 2018. In February this year, Philippe President Rodrigo Duterte announced an end to the Visiting Forces Agreement, which has facilitated the entry and exit of tens of thousands of American troops. He has since suspended the move, at least temporarily. Photo:
[6]

Opinion | Biden will look to reset US-China relations, but he won’t back off

While US policy towards China will be less confrontational and the trade war may be dialled down, Biden will keep up the pressure on scrutiny of Chinese investments in the US, market access for American firms in China, human rights and Hong Kong.

12 Nov, 2020
Illustration: Craig Stephens
[7]

Opinion | What the Biden-Harris victory means for India and Hindu nationalism

If Indians believed US-India relations were on solid ground because of the bond between Trump and Modi, what does a Biden-Harris government portend? For Modi, it seems it’s bad news and a political investment gone awry.

12 Nov, 2020
Women gather to celebrate the victory of US vice-president-elect Kamala Harris, in Painganadu, near the village of Thulasendrapuram in the state of Tamil Nadu, where Harris’ maternal grandfather was born. Photo: Reuters
[8]

Opinion | After four years of ‘America first’, Biden must pivot back to Asia

As Asia continues its upwards trajectory to surpass Europe economically and strategically, a key challenge for Joe Biden will be to recover lost ground with the continent and re-establish the US’ leadership role in the region.

11 Nov, 2020
Illustration: Craig Stephens
[9]

Opinion | Biden’s China policy will be tough, not reckless

US-China relations will remain difficult given widespread US antagonism towards China. But the relationship will be better managed – Biden will be less inclined to use America’s China policy as a prop to further a domestic agenda.

10 Nov, 2020
Illustration: Craig Stephens
[10]

Opinion | Unlike China, Russia shouldn’t expect any improvements under Biden

China-US relations under Biden are likely to become less confrontational and more predictable, but they will remain challenging. Meanwhile, Russia can expect more of the same, including the continuation of sanctions.

10 Nov, 2020
Joe Biden, then US vice-president, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on December 4, 2013. Photo: Getty Images/TNS