VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Two of the world's great powers have shown  their might  in the South China Sea. That expression can be used in connection with the increase in the number of  US and Chinese fleets in the South China Sea. As reported by the international mass media, over the weekend, the military activities carried out by China and the United States in the South China Sea increased.

Beijing last weekend sent the aircraft carrier Liaoning to the waters of the South China Sea. Meanwhile, the United States and the Philippines have prepared joint military exercises in the disputed sea area. At the same time, Washington and Manila also discussed the possibility of increasing defense cooperation between the two countries.

The military movement and the diplomatic discourse that were brought up showed the intention, both by the United States and China, to fight for influence in the Indo Pacific Region. The escalation of the military movements of the two countries was shown not only in the South China Sea region, but also in the East China Sea. The issue of Taiwan is a reason for the two countries to mutually deploy troops at sea. The United States has deployed the USS Theodore Rooseevelt and Nimits aircraft carriers in the East China Sea, while China is also offsetting military training activities in the Taiwan Strait. It can be said that the relationship between the United States and China after Donald Trump's administration has not shown any significant changes. In this situation, the foreign policy of the United States during the Biden-Harris era also attracted attention.

According to Biden's vision, Washington's Foreign Policy is to turn the United States back into a global leader, both geo-politically and geo-economically, with one of the focuses being the Indo Pacific. This course of Biden-Harris foreign policy is certainly of concern to Beijing. Naturally, China must make an effort to keep up with the United States' movement in realizing its foreign policy vision.

Indeed, there are hints that these two great countries will relax the trade war that culminated in the final years of Donald Trump's administration. However, the relationship between the two at the beginning of the Biden administration was certainly not completely harmonious.

It is in this perspective that the occurrence of military movements in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea can be understood.