by Herman Tiu Laurel – Asian Century Journal – June 4, 2022

For weeks the Western media trumpets blared across the world that the Emperor Joe Biden is touring his realm in the East and call his vassals to genuflect before him. So, arrive in Asia US President Joe Biden did, on May 20 visiting the new, belligerent South Korean President Yoon “0.74%” (his winning margin) Yoon Suk-yeol offering parking space for U.S. tactical nukes.

 After South Korea Emperor Biden flies to his next vassal, the Imperial state of Japan with its latest figurehead of the dictatorship of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Prime Minister Fumio Kishida opening and closing its mouth, lifting its shoulders and knees in to every finger-move of the puppeteers behind the screen and kowtows to Emperor Biden.

 Flying in to genuflect before the US Emperor is the new Kangaroo King from Down Under fresh from an electoral victory against the unlamented ex-PM Scott Morrison who literally went down-under like a battered boxer after his dismal anti-China baiting campaign. The new Aussie PM Anthony Albanese’s minority government will need better China relations for his minority government back home to survive.

 The only Asian giant to arrive for Biden’s QUAD meet is Asian giant India whose slippery behavior in the four-way alliance has never been comforting the world hegemon, Biden tried but failed to “nudge” (see CBS report 5-24-22) Indian PM Modi to condemn Russia’s Special Military Operation (SMO) in Ukraine but failed, and India buys more and more Russian oil.

 After the Biden QUAD summit only one event stole the show for the Western world’s media, Biden bragging to the world through what was likely a planted question in the media: Reporter – “Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?”; Biden – “Yes,…That’s the commitment we made,…”

 Biden needs to look tough these days with US stagflation and recession looming on the horizon while it ships in tons and tons of infant milk formula from all over the world to fill shortage due to its supply chain crisis, while US proxy Ukraine’s troops are surrendering by the thousands to Russia’s forces. Biden is all hot air on Taiwan and China.

 The US and Biden keeps Taiwan as a “patsy state” as a bottomless pit for US arms and weapons sales, even as every serious America analyst knows that the US will never actually fight with or for Taiwan just as the US never intended to fight with or for Ukraine except to pour arms, ammo and more weapons into its “lend-lease” supplies for poor Ukraine.

  China will never need to invade Taiwan as it is China’s province separated only by the control of a corrupt Taiwanese political faction the US is sustaining with the false assurance of “protection” and arms sales. Taiwan is, for all intents and purposes, already integrated with China given that 44% of its exports goes to China (HK included).

 All that China is avoiding with patience and understanding is the corrupt Taiwanese faction going for broke and making a declaration of independence. That would compel China to forcefully abort. Therein lies the danger of the constant fire torch juggling of the American politicians with the Taiwan independence issue.

As Chinese Ambassador to the US, H.E. Qin Gang said, “If the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely (will) involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in a military conflict,” There no doubt some desperate Taiwanese separatist politicians are toying with this idea.

Most Taiwanese people themselves know the real game being played by the US and the Taiwanese “independence politicians” – to continue to milk the tension for arms profits and sleaze. But a vast majority of Taiwanese, especially after witnessing the US abandonment of Ukraine, don’t believe the US will aid Taiwan in when the crunch comes.

The more daring Taiwanese willing to express themselves in a poll show this report from Nikkei Asia: “Poll results published Tuesday (April 26, 2022) by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation show that 53.8% of respondents somewhat or completely disbelieve that Washington would come directly to Taiwan’s defense, up from 28.5% last October.”

Biden’s braggadocio is clearly just for the occasion of his Asia visit and QUAD meet, its impact won’t last one week beyond the media reports beyond the week’s end. After this the US will be back to dribbling the ball on the Taiwan issue while Taiwanese themselves tire slowly and surely of the incessant badgering to buy more and more US arms.

The ennui with which Taiwanese look at the constant US pushing of arms on it has given rise to disputes between Taiwanese policymakers and the US. Taiwan has rejected US anti-sub helicopters as “too expensive” as well as US push for “weapons more suited to win against China” such as “missiles and smaller arms for asymmetric warfare” the US can’t sell anywhere.

Taiwanese hedging is such now that the U.S. is mulling financing Taiwan to buy its arms, as the report from Nikkei Asia of May 19, 2022 “U.S. Congress weighs plan to finance Taiwan weapon purchases”; just like the $ 40-billion lend-lease for Ukraine, or the lend-lease to Britain and Russia in World War II that was just paid off in 2006 – 61 years after WWII.

After the Biden Asia tour he’ll be going back to the reality of the crumbling US: the Texas Elementary School shooting, headlines like “US growth worries mount as housing transactions collapse”, “War-Hit Ukraine Says Key Eastern City Surrounded By Russian Troops”. Then, nineteen American school children are killed in of of 222 mass shooting in 2022.  Biden really has nothing to brag about while his country is collapsing right in front of the World’s eyes.