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<html><body><div>Rahm Emanuel is the U.S. ambassador to Japan.Arriving in Beijing right on the heels of U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan's visit to Tokyo, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will engage with Chinese leaders this weekend from a position of relative strength.The Chinese resent and simultaneously respect the momentum that is propelling U.S. leadership in the Indo-Pacific region. Through the methodical and steady work of diplomatic engagement, and in partnership with steadfast allies like Japan, we have aligned strategic interests in the region to our distinct advantage.The reason China's rhetoric about "containment" has reached such a hastened pitch in recent months is because America has repositioned the chessboard in favor of a like-minded vision of a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.How have the strategic plates seismically shifted in the Indo-Pacific to the advantage of our alliances?First, rapprochement between Japan and South Korea, our two strongest Indo-Pacific allies, has given an enormous lift to the entire network of U.S. alliances. Our alliances work best when our allies display determination and work together to strengthen deterrence, counter coercion and create economic opportunity.Thanks to the profiles of courageous leadership displayed by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Tokyo and Seoul have worked through their differences for a common appreciation, converging on a shared view of the region and responsibilities for maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific. They see and want to seize the opportunities of the 21st century and are forging a partnership with this endeavor top of mind.Second, after six years of Chinese attempts to woo the Philippines and displace the U.S. as Manila's top partner, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. realized the reality that partnership with China means Beijing saying one thing and doing the opposite.For example, a month after Marcos' visit to Beijing in January, a China Coast Guard ship directed a laser at a Philippine Coast Guard vessel. Actions like this led Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela to say at this month's Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, "While China is talking about dialogue, its actions show confrontation."Since taking office just over a year ago, Marcos has visited Tokyo and Washington in search of strategic clarity, declaring a desire for greater security, political stability, economic connectivity and people-to-people ties.The fact that the Philippines granted greater U.S. access to its military bases, expanded defense cooperation with Japan and just completed a <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/South-China-Sea/Japan-U.S.-Philippines-reinforce-collaboration-in-marine-security">trilateral coast guard exercise</a> speaks to where Manila sees its future stability and security. Diplomacy and deterrence working in unison make for a powerful combination. 
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 Rapprochement between the two strongest U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific, Japan and South Korea, has given an enormous lift to the entire network of American alliances.



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Third, at the Group of Seven leaders' summit last month in Hiroshima, Europe put its flag down dead center on a free and open Indo-Pacific as a strategic interest.<a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/G-7-in-Japan/G-7-communique-lays-out-common-de-risking-path-on-China">The G7 communique's language on economic resilience</a> and economic security went beyond words. G7 members have begun to develop the tools to deter and defend against China's economic coercion. The clear consensus was that trade and investment should be used as paths to economic prosperity, not political weapons.Over the past two years, Europeans have realized that their security and stability -- along with the values and principles that European Union member states stand for -- are increasingly and inextricably linked to what happens in the Indo-Pacific.The collective disregard for international law and norms displayed by Moscow and Beijing in their "friendship with no limits," their deepening partnership of disorder and adversarial acts of aggression and economic coercion have underscored to Europeans that Europe and Asia today share a singular strategic space.Fourth, the recent announcement on cooperation under AUKUS, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official state visit to the U.S. later this month and National Security Adviser Sullivan's meetings this week with Japan, South Korea and the Philippines are further examples that show American diplomacy is working.When we give allies and partners confidence and clarity about U.S. leadership, they reciprocate with the will to extend themselves further in support of our alliances. America's gravitational pull of unity undermines China's strategy of division.Make no mistake: No one wants a deteriorating U.S.-China relationship. Strategic steps should be taken to proactively prevent tensions from boiling over into conflict and crisis.However, we must always stand up for an international system that unites nations with the purpose of defending democratic principles, not defying them. Whether sailing through the Taiwan Strait, flying over the South China Sea or putting the rule of law and transparency front and center in international trade and investment, our allies will work in unison. Given its manifest internal challenges, China may one day realize that it is better served working collaboratively rather than by challenging every one of its neighbors.When Secretary Blinken goes to Beijing, he will do so with the confidence that the administration of President Joe Biden has re-energized America's alliances and rearranged the strategic regional landscape.More importantly, China knows and sees what America has accomplished in a short window. The secret behind America's success is active diplomacy, increasing economic development and strengthening deterrence. Our diplomacy treats allies as partners in common purpose, not as pawns to be coerced and punished into submission. Blinken will sit across from his Chinese counterparts with the political winds blowing our way.
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U.S. and its partners have strategic momentum in the Indo-Pacific

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