In Geopolitics Today - Monday, February 21st
In Geopolitics Today - Monday, February 21st
US Releases New Indo-Pacific Strategy, China Sanctions US Weapons Manufacturers Over Taiwan Arms Sales, Turkey Turns to Domestic Missile Production
US Releases New Indo-Pacific Strategy
The Biden administration has released a document detailing a dedicated Indo-Pacific strategy for the United States going forward. A large emphasis in this latest policy articulation lies on deepening ties with India, as Washington aims to build a “strong” India which acts as a “partner” in the same “regional vision” of the United States. The document sets forward ways in which US government agencies and their employees will work to strengthen a “bilateral alliance” in new domains, repeatedly stressing a need to deepen economic ties and increase technological transfers, particularly in the fields of health, space, and cyber space.
The ‘Indo-Pacific’ is a construct employed and perpetuated by US government agencies and policymakers. The term is used to broaden geographic interpretations in such a way that the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean are treated as a singular geographic space in all documentation and verbal statements. In employing the term across all levels of the command structure, US strategists are creating a single geopolitical theatre across two vast maritime spaces. The Indo-Pacific has appeared in policy documents released by US Presidents since President Obama’s Pivot to Asia and Trump’s Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific. Biden’s Indo-Pacific policy is a continuation of these previous policies, with the latest edition placing a greater emphasis on rapidly developing stronger ties with India to effectively balance against China in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
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China Sanctions US Weapons Manufacturers Over Taiwan Arms Sales
China has announced the country will impose a set of sanctions on major US weapons manufacturers. Beijing has placed Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Technologies Corp — two of the largest firms operating in the US defence sector — under sanctions over their involvement in recent US arms sales to Taiwan. The sanctions are also likely to be a response to a recent set of sanctions imposed by the US, which stipulatea key Chinese defence firms cannot participate in US financial markets.
The sanctions imposed by Beijing form a part of a series of countermeasures against the two companies over the sale of an estimated $100 million worth of missile defence systems to Taiwan concluded by the United States this month. Beijing says the arms sale undermined “China's security interests,” “China-US relations” and “peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.” The move by China is being carried out under a newly passed Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law that took effect in 2021, though no further details were given on the nature or scope of the sanctions imposed. Beijing has sanctioned both Lockheed Martin and Raytheon before, with previous sanctions against the US arms firms imposed in 2019 and 2020.
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Turkey Turns to Domestic Missile Production Turkey
This year Turkey is expected to achieve another milestone in its growing domestic defence industry as new systems are being handed over to the Turkish armed forces. One such milestone involves increasing the production of the domestically-produced Atmaca missiles, with Turkey expected to phase out the US-made Harpoon missiles in favour of the Atmaca as the main anti-ship missile in service with its armed forces going forward.
The decision to replace all Harpoon missiles is justified in part by the fact that a new Atmaca missile costs half as much as a new Harpoon missile. Moreover, Turkey has had issues acquiring the Harpoon in the past due to US-imposed export embargoes related to Ankara's choice to purchase Russian-made weapon systems, which the US claims is a violation of NATO rules. While the Atmaca is comparable to a modern version of the Harpoon missile, it promises the Turkish armed forces a far greater strike range to the older Harpoon missiles which are currently aboard Turkish warships. The move also marks another step in a broader shift toward supporting domestic arms production over imports, with Turkish-produced drones, smart bombs and laser-guided missiles being offered to other countries for export.
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