The new US military strategy underscores the challenge of a rising China. But there’s more to the plans than just more hardware spending.
According to the recently released US National Military Strategy (NMS), the international order has reached ‘a strategic inflection point.’ The US Department of Defence still has to win the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but other regions are in increasing need of attention—particularly Asia.
That the NMS suggests Asia is the region of fastest rising global importance isn’t surprising—Pentagon leaders and other senior Obama administration officials note that Asia contains two rising powers (China, India), several particularly dangerous states (North Korea and Iran), numerous diplomatically important countries and the world’s most vibrant economic region (growing wealth allows regional armies to better bolster their capabilities).
Unsurprisingly, China looms large in the minds of US defence strategists. Managing China’s rising economic and military strength has for some time been a clear preoccupation of Pentagon planners, and some of the text in this latest report is explicit about the unease China’s rise is generating in Washington. The NMS declares, for instance, that the United States will closely follow how the modernization of the People's Liberation Army could adversely affect the military balance across the Taiwan Strait; the US Defence Department also states that it is ‘concerned about the extent and strategic intent of China's military modernization, and its assertiveness in space, cyberspace, in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea.’
Still, although there are some overt signs of US worries, most of the text’s concerns over China are implicit. For example, when the NMS expresses alarm about expanding ‘anti-access and area-denial capabilities and strategies to constrain US and international freedom of action,’ the allusion is clearly to China’s development of the Dong Feng 21D anti-ship ballistic missile, anti-satellite weapons, cyber strike capabilities, emerging long-range precision strike systems and other military-related technologies. ‘To safeguard US and partner nation interests,’ the NMS section on China affirms that the Pentagon ‘will be prepared to demonstrate the will and commit the resources needed to oppose any nation’s actions that jeopardize access to and use of the global commons and cyberspace, or that threaten the security of our allies.’
But despite the concern over China’s military build-up, the NMS supports the administration’s broader ‘shaping and hedging’ strategy of transforming China into a responsible global stakeholder. It states, for example, that the United States will pursue a ‘positive, cooperative, and comprehensive relationship’ with Beijing that ‘welcomes’ a ‘responsible leadership role’ for China. At the regional level, meanwhile, the NMS especially cites the potential value of working with Beijing to counter WMD proliferation, maritime piracy and instability in the Korean peninsula.’
The US side has made it clear in recent months that it hopes Sino-US defence diplomacy will be able to improve the often tense relationship between the PLA and the Pentagon—or at the very least avert unsought confrontations. With this in mind, it suggests that the United States ‘seeks a deeper military-to-military relationship with China to expand areas of mutual interest and benefit, improve understanding, reduce misperception, and prevent miscalculation.’
Photo Credit: US Navy
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hughes
“Latest repoprt is explicit about the unease China’s rise is generating in Washington”. We have a debt/deficit crisis that is so profound, and we are talking about spending more untold sums in order to contain China. China has so many social problems that I can’t picture them going into war with another nation. I say this with great faith, because regardless of what I or you think about the nature of its government, it is a government run by the smartest people in the world. There is no other country that even comes a close second or even third for that matter. But I can say with great confidence that China will go to war under only one assumption. This follows that we elect another messianic village idiot who believes that it is God’s will that we invade and liberate Tibet from China.
Johnny
“I say this with great faith, because regardless of what I or you think about the nature of its government, it is a government run by the smartest people in the world. There is no other country that even comes a close second or even third for that matter.”
LOL, Please for god’s sake stop posting imposter comments. We all know who and where from you really are.
Michael
The imperialistic aggressiveness of the West is truly beyond belief! With their economy in shamble, ceiling high debt, 2 ongoing wars and yet they still have time to export war and revolutions with an unlimited budget for violence!
“the West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do.”
–Samuel P. Huntington
John Chan
USA and its Asian lackeys become hysteria; their current behaviour is nearly identical to the situation in India before 1962 war, endless hostile rhetoric, war charm and anti-China slogans. China should keep calm, control the pace of arm race, clean up the corruption and improve R&D. Make sure to scare the US into spending 10 times or more on defense for every dollar China spend on defense. Meanwhile China should continue to encourage US consumption by providing cheap loan, as well as to entice US industry moving to China.
Obama is a complete disappointment; Obama seems to be a willing hawks rather than a hostage of Republican neo-cons war merchants.
Grant
Is there any evidence that Voice of America’s Chinese programs have any actual impact on the Chinese people?
Bill
Any little piece of propaganda helps whatever how small the impact!