Japan and South Korea are feeling less secure. China feels emboldened.

Biden and Hagel appease China at allies' expense

by Michael Mazza

After its initial, surprisingly strong reaction to China’s declaration of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) last month, the Obama administration seems to have remembered that showing backbone isn’t really its style. Beijing’s announcement was quickly met with strongly worded statements from secretaries Kerry and Hagel and the dispatch of B-52 bombers into the new Chinese ADIZ.

But the President and his team so fear a downturn in relations with Beijing that they prefer to cede to China tactical victories rather than mount full-throated and robust defenses of U.S. interests.

The first crack in American resolve appeared two weeks ago, when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) instructed U.S. airlines to abide by China’s illegitimate rules, thus showing the first whisper of daylight between Washington and its Japanese and South Korean allies. This turned out to be but the first step in a rapid retreat from confrontation with Beijing.

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