Who Indo-Pacific Economic Architecture: U.S.-Japan Security Compromise

TAIPEI- U. S. Commerce Secretary Raymond said on November 18 that the U. S. plans to promote a new Indo-Pacific economic structure that will invite different countries to join, and the process is expected to start early next year. Experts believe that Japan will cooperate with the new regional economic cooperation framework of the United States, but they have different views on the direction of Japan-China economic and trade dependence. The United States and Japan are fully advancing in security. S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo visited Japan, Singapore and Malaysia on her first official trip to Asia since taking office. She said on November 18 that President Biden announced at the end of October that the United States intends to work with partners to develop an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework), covering areas such as supply chain resilience, semiconductors, infrastructure, and cybersecurity. Start the program in early 2022. She said that the structure will also be inclusive and flexible, so that more different countries can join, so this trip to Asia gives her the opportunity to discuss with partner countries and listen to their opinions. Chen Xenia, a professor of Japanese studies degree program at National Chengchi University, said that this new structure introduces the economic security elements that the Biden regime lacks in the Indo-Pacific regional strategy, which means that the United States is preparing a comprehensive Indo-Pacific strategy that combines traditional regional security and economic security. Structure to fully confront the Chinese threat. Japan's Rashida Cabinet also announced in mid-October that it will introduce a bill on the promotion of economic security to Congress in January 2022, which is obviously Japan's desire to further consolidate the foundation of the US-Japan alliance in all aspects. Chen Xenia told VOA: "The content and timing of the two are so strikingly similar, which shows that the United States and Japan want to consolidate the concept of economic security to implement the toughening of the supply chain, and it also means that the new Rashida regime will take a firmer US-Japan policy. Alliance line. Japan will revise three documents, the national security strategy, the outline of the defense plan and the midterm defense force improvement plan, which are long-term indicators of foreign policy and security policy in terms of diplomatic and security work; In this way, we will continue to cooperate with the United States in both diplomatic and economic security, and use 'alliance, economic, military' and other means to contain and contain China. "Heigo Sato, a professor at the Department of International Studies at University in Japan, agrees with this view. In an interview with VOA, he said: "The economic security policy proposed by the Rashida Cabinet is in line with the new Indo-Pacific economic framework introduced by the United States, and will be included in the relevant conditions of economic cooperation conditions. I hope to develop with safe economic partners. Relationship, not just increasing mutual benefit through economic cooperation. While the US and China compete, on climate change, US-China cooperation seems to be confirmed in the US-China summit video summit and the Glasgow Joint Declaration of the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, but These measures have not improved the overall relationship between the US and China. In the future, the competition between the two countries in terms of strategic materials and technical support will continue. Of course, Japan will continue to cooperate with the US in both aspects and jointly curb the threat of China. "Economic and trade dependence with China may change. S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai mentioned two new concepts of "re-pegging" and "lasting coexistence" in a speech on China's trade policy on October 4. On the same day, Audio Rashida established his first cabinet, declaring that China is Japan's largest trading partner, which is very important to Japan and that the government must continue to dialogue with Beijing. Analysts pointed out that both the United States and Japan have launched economic security policies or structures aimed at China, which may have a negative impact on the economic dialogue between Japan, the United States and China. NATO Ohio, a professor at the Department of International Studies at University in Japan, said that Japan's newly proposed economic security policy has complex but clear goals, such as the regulation of direct investment by foreign companies in Japan, the security of supply chains such as semiconductors, and the review of coursework for university students. , all projects are to protect Japan from foreign interference, not against China. He said: "The purpose of economic security is to protect economic resources related to Japan's security, not to use it as a means of punishment against China or any specific country. While protecting Japan's economic resources, expand economic exchanges with China. And cooperative action is also an important political goal of Japan, and I don't think the two are contradictory. However, economic exchanges are competitive, and maintaining and ensuring the flexibility of economic activity related to Japan's security is also an significant policy. And this is also what the United States is doing in Route, the economic and trade between Japan, the United States and China must continue to cooperate and exchange in competition and self-protection, so Japan's economic dependence on China will not change greatly in the short term. "Chen Xenia, a professor of Japanese studies degree program at Chengchi University, takes a different view. He believes that Japan has been striving to maintain a balance between the United States and China for a long time, and adopts the strategic line of "maintaining the alliance between the United States and Japan, and not making bad relations with China", with a view to "relying on the United States for security" and "relying on China for economy and trade". But with China's hegemony threatening Japan's national security and interests, and China's rapidly deteriorating political and economic external environment, the situation has now changed. He said: "The United States is developing towards a regional security and economic structure, and Japan is of course willing to cooperate closely, and it must be within the existing US-Japan security alliance and Japan's leadership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Operational power. On the basis of close cooperation with the United States, once the United States and Japan build a comprehensive diplomatic and economic security alliance, Japan's original "trade and trade depends on China" will also change its course to "trade and trade also depend on the United States", and even affect the change of ASEAN and other India. The Pacific countries' policy of 'economic and trade relying on China' will make the United States' Indo-Pacific strategy more consolidated in the future, and its combat power will be more comprehensive and powerful. "Regarding the possible reaction from China, Chen Xenia believes that China has no substantial resistance to the new economic structure and bills introduced by the United States and Japan. He said: "The United States now controls the global political and economic situation by means of 'alliance, economy, and military', and the overall regional security and economic structure being constructed by the US-Japan alliance is bound to seriously impact China's strategic layout of the Belt and Road in the Indo-Pacific region. And political and economic influence. I think that China is unable to intervene or countermeasure in the face of the strong containment of the US-Japan alliance, and can only reluctantly repeat some diplomatic rhetoric, such as: 'Don't look at the current international situation with the eyes of the Cold War','All the reasons for targeting China are nonsense and weak responses such as ''China has no intention of seeking hegemony in the world'. "Supply chain resilience : Taiwan is indispensable. S. Commerce Secretary Raymond pointed out on November 18 that the new U. S. Indo-Pacific economic architecture is different from traditional free trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The areas the US wants to cover include supply chain resilience, semiconductors, infrastructure, cybersecurity, privacy and technology standards. Chen Xenia, a professor of Japanese studies degree at Cheng University, pointed out that in terms of the market share of global semiconductor suppliers in 2020, the United States ranks first with 42.9%, and Taiwan ranks second with 19.7%. The market share of wafer foundry and semiconductor packaging and testing in Taiwan's semiconductor industry has exceeded 70% and more than 50%, respectively, and indeed plays a pivotal role in the global semiconductor supply chain. He said: symbol: ‘"’ seems to be missing The United States has mastered the key technology patents and capital of semiconductors, Japan has mastered the key materials, and Taiwan is of course an indispensable part of the regional economic structure and 'supply chain resilience'. Therefore, Taiwan must play an important role. Its three major values ​​of technology, geography, and democracy in the US-Japan Indo-Pacific strategy, as well as its advantages enough to exert significant political and economic influence on China, have formed a close link with the United States and Japan, and then negotiated the signing of Taiwan-US FIFA and Taiwan-Japan FTA, and then enlist the support of the United States to join the Indo-Pacific economic structure and CPTPP. ” Sato Binge, a professor at the Department of International Studies at University in Japan, also agrees that Taiwan's TSMC and other information and communication industries are the foundation of today's international social political and economic activities and have extremely high strategic significance. He said: "From the perspective of economic security, Taiwan's participation in the CPTPP is absolutely in Japan's interests. The trouble is that China is also applying for membership at the same time. In fact, China is very good at using this method in diplomacy. I think China's own conditions are fundamental If Taiwan does not meet the conditions for joining the CPTPP, but only deliberately applies for joining, it will cause great political nature, and it will be very difficult for Taiwan to join. However, if Taiwan can strive to join the Indo-Pacific economic structure launched by the United States, and at the same time continue to work hard to join the CPTPP, it will be very important for Japan and the United States. Taiwan's three-way economic strategy is absolutely the best, and Japan will definitely support Taiwan in both economic frameworks. "Best Benefit of the Day : Multi-track ParallelismSato Binge pointed out that in the Indo-Pacific region, in addition to the CPTPP, there are many bilateral trade agreements such as RCEP and the Japan-US trade agreement. In fact, a multi-level economic framework already exists, and it has a political nature in itself. He said: The economic framework of the region has been pointed out from the establishment of the CPTPP to be of strategic significance. The Economic Partnership Agreement and the Free Trade Agreement are inherently deeply political economic cooperation frameworks, so after the United States announced that it will not return to the CPTPP, it still needs to develop and exclude China. The new economic structure will be launched only after the Indo-Pacific economic cooperation framework is established. For Japan’s interests, it should have a multi-track parallel and strengthen its own economic security system in order to gain the greatest advantages of the country and the region. ” Regarding the projects that Japan needs to strengthen economic security, Sato Binge believes that the information protection system is the top priority. He said: The Indo-Pacific economic structure proposed by the Biden administration and the economic security policy proposed by the Rashida cabinet have established that the Japan-US alliance will take the lead in dealing with economic and technological competition between the United States and China, so strengthening the information protection system is the most important thing in Japan. An issue. In recent years, the formulation of the information protection and sharing system related bills has been actively discussed in the Japanese policy circle. Only in this way can Japan join the Five Eyes alliance and the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership AUKS. Coupled with the Quartet Security Dialogue Mechanism, QUAD, actively participate in the multilateral security cooperation framework led by the United States, and cooperate with the United States to better balance China