Supporters of President Trump march down the streets of Tokyo

The Obama-Biden administration has a history of being weak on China. During the 2012 crisis over the Scarborough Shoal, the Obama-Biden administration threw the Philippines, a treaty ally, under the bus. Obama also slow-rolled Congressionally mandated transfers of defense articles to Taiwan. These actions have caused our Asian partners to question the U.S.'s willingness to challenge China. Duterte took power in the Philippines partly because of resentment towards the U.S. over the Scarborough Shoal. Trump reversed this trend, tightening relations between the U.S. and Taiwan and transferring more defense articles to Taiwan in one term than Obama did in two, but now Biden is back in power and Biden is on record saying China is not an adversary but a "competitor," portending a return to weakness on China. The Chinese yuan skyrocketed in value over the news of Biden's apparent electoral victory, and the Taiwanese people (who favored Trump to win the election according to polling data) are understandably distraught given their national security depends on U.S. support.

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