Washington needs to abandon browbeating

The vice to dominate is something oppressors cannot easily forget. The United States is choosing to compete against China and Russia, using its economic ties in the Group of Seven and alliance with NATO to solidify its hold on the Western bloc and to apply the old strategy of browbeating its less-willing allies to give in to its demands.

Days after the G7 summit in the United Kingdom, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken shuttled among European nations coaching others in moves to counter China and Russia.

It seems there is in the club a contradiction among themselves that is exacerbated by the US, which cannot give a definitive assessment of Russia as a threat to European security.

Some believe the US is getting indigestion due to overwhelming problems confronting it both domestically and abroad. The G7 members are at a loss because, among themselves, they find it hard to tackle not only their own problems based on their strategic interests, but also common global challenges.

During the G7 meetings, US President Joe Biden reportedly urged UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ensure that peace in Northern Ireland is protected amid the UK's row with Brussels over post-Brexit trading arrangements. This touched a nerve with Johnson, who insisted that Northern Ireland will remain part of the United Kingdom. For Johnson to accede could lead to the downfall of the Tory government, exposing the artificial solidarity of the G7 and, invariably, of the EU.

For years, the US has projected itself as superior, and its ideology about "democracy and freedom "sacrosanct compared with any other political beliefs.

The decision by Japan to join China's expanded economic projects may come as a shocker to the US. Japan's ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement was one of calculated assessment of what would serve Japan in the years to come. This was followed by South Korea, which set aside its differences with Japan in favor of what will be good for the country.

What US policymakers should do is learn their lessons and respect the economic interests of others and meet promises with deeds.

In a narrower perspective, the US is confronted with a similar contradiction on whether to give priority to rehabilitating its aging infrastructure just to compete with China with its grandiose Build Back Better World plan. The US appears to be embracing an obsession to outdo what China is doing.

As China has said, gone are the days when a small group of leaders decide the fate of the people on the planet. China has a population of 1.4 billion, while India has 1.333 billion, Indonesia 270.6 million, Brazil 211 million, and Russia 144.4 million. Altogether, they account for nearly 50 percent of the world's population and, unrepresented in the G7, should carry corresponding weight.

One promising result of the G7 is its intention to donate 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

However, the US impresses the world not only for its failure to subdue the pandemic, but also for being accused of politicizing the vaccine. And this time, the G7 promise has to be kept, precisely because its members have not been able to match what China and Russia have done to donate millions of vaccine doses.

The confusion that now binds the US is its ulterior, unrealistic motive to pinpoint and encircle "enemy countries" of today to maintain its hegemonic predominance forever. The US should learn to adapt.

The author is a Manila-based political analyst and columnist with the Manila Standard.