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US aircraft carrier in association with South Korean ships in the Pacific (archive image)
Photo: HANDOUT / REUTERS
Just yesterday, the US sent an economic signal to the other side of the Pacific with a billion dollar package for the technology sector.
Now comes the military directive.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has officially ordered his agency to focus more on China.
Austin said on Wednesday (local time) that his initiative is part of the US government's larger approach to China.
Washington has ranked the People's Republic as its greatest strategic rival.
The details of the internal order to the Department of Defense remained secret.
Austin said the policy will "revitalize our network of allies and partners, strengthen deterrence and accelerate the development of new operational concepts, new capabilities, future armed forces and a modernized civil and military workforce."
The initiative followed an evaluation by an expert commission set up under the new US President Joe Biden in February to investigate the Pentagon's strategy towards China.
A senior Defense Department official said the experts had identified a "gap" between stated priorities and what was actually happening.
The Pentagon had already identified the People's Republic as an important strategic competitor in its 2018 national defense strategy.
The experts found, however, that not much has been done since then to address the problems emanating from Beijing.
Trade agreement with Taiwan as a signal to China
The US Department of Defense had focused significantly on the fight against jihadist forces in the Middle East over the past two decades.
Dealing with China's state-of-the-art armed forces poses an entirely different challenge.
The US military is currently keen to expand its presence in the Pacific.
China is also becoming increasingly aggressive in the region, including against Taiwan, which Beijing sees as a breakaway province.
As a signal, the US announced this week that it was seeking a trade deal with Taiwan.
Negotiations on a framework agreement would begin soon, said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday (local time) at a hearing in Congress in Washington.
China responded with sharp protest at the US plans for a trade deal.
Washington also supports the country with arms exports.
Taiwan must be able to defend itself, Blinken emphasized.
It was only in March that a top US military warned against a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
The first meeting turned into a diplomatic disaster
The relationship between the US and China is not only tense when it comes to dealing with Taiwan.
Under Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, it cooled to its worst level since diplomatic relations began in 1979.
And the first big meeting under the new leadership in Washington went anything but smooth.
At the meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries in Alaska, there was an open dispute in front of the cameras.
In addition to the military side, Washington is also trying to take economic action against Chinese supremacy.
Just yesterday, the US Senate passed a bill that provides around 244 billion US dollars for investments in research and technology.
New sanctions could also become possible when the paper comes into force.
In an initial reaction, China was outraged.
jok / AFP