A nightmare scenario for Tokyo appears to be unfolding. Last week, a series of bilateral and multilateral diplomatic events took place in the Indo-Pacific region. Yet, Western media, mostly indifferent, continues to focus on the capricious intentions of Vladimir Putin and his military buildup along the Ukraine border.
Developments in the Indo-Pacific were hardly unimportant. The U.S. finally announced its long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy on Feb. 11. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between the foreign ministers of Japan, Australia, India and the U.S. was held in Melbourne on the same day. And a Japan-U.S.-South Korea foreign ministers' meeting was held in Hawaii on Feb. 12.
Of course, most of the decisions made were aimed at deterring China. Some in Tokyo even wonder whether the crisis in Ukraine would eventually encourage Beijing to take similar action against Taiwan someday. In this regard, it was good that the Biden administration re-demonstrated the significance and importance of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.