The US system went into damage control mode the day after US President Joe Biden postponed his trip to Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG). Biden spoke to PNG’s prime minister and national security adviser (NSA) Jake Sullivan and reiterated that the rescheduled trip should not be interpreted as a weakening of the US commitment to the Indo-Pacific. Sullivan added that the G7 summit, which will be held in Hiroshima, Japan, from May 19 to 21, will focus heavily on addressing Chinese economic coercion.
According to a White House statement, Biden personally informed PNG’s Prime Minister James Marape that he would be unable to travel to meet with Pacific Island Forum leaders due to the need to return to Washington DC to meet with Congressional leadership on the debt ceiling crisis.
The statement read: “The President conveyed that he would be represented by Secretary Blinken at the US-Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Port Moresby and emphasized the United States’ continued commitment to the Pacific Islands renewed partnership. It continued by stating that Biden had extended an invitation to all Pacific Island leaders to attend a second summit in Washington (he had previously hosted them last year).
Separately, NSA Sullivan noted that the context of Biden’s visit to Japan is “one of the most effective and impactful strings of American diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific in an incredibly long time.” He cited a number of events to support his assertion, including the US hosting the Prime Minister of Japan in January and assisting Tokyo with its plans for defence modernization; the beginning of an initiative with India on critical and emerging technologies; the announcement of an enhanced defence cooperation agreement with the Philippines; advancement on the AUKUS (the nuclear submarine deal between Australia, the US, and the United Kingdom) in March; and the visit of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to Washington, DC, in April.
When Biden’s decision to postpone his visit was contrasted with where the US was in terms of alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, Sullivan said, “This notion that somehow the PRC is sitting there happy and comfortable about the situation is a convenient media narrative going into this trip, but it does not reflect reality in any way.”
He went on to say that Biden felt he needed to attend the G7 because the format was key to achieving alignment and convergence with key countries — “including, by the way, the countries in the Quad, because both Australia and India will be in Hiroshima, and he will have the opportunity to engage with them there.”
When asked if the postponement reflected the US “not showing up,” which the administration admitted was necessary to counter China, Sullivan said, “There is a kind of remarkable extrapolation from not going to two countries on a specific date to “the United States is not showing up in the region.” And I believe it is completely belied by the actual delivery, both during presidential visits and in hosting major leaders in Washington.”
According to Sullivan, the G7 summit will also include a discussion about “common concerns and issues associated with China’s policies and practices.” “I believe this summit will result in alignment and convergence around the fundamental principles of our approach to the People’s Republic of China.”
