FILE PHOTO: Chinese and U.S. flags flutter near The Bund, before U.S. trade delegation meet their Chinese counterparts for talks in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song
Lyu Jinghua, Defense One: US, China Should Pursue Peace, Not Military Brinkmanship
Neither side wants to appear weak, but recent actions and rhetoric by both sides has put all of us in greater danger of U.S.-China military tensions sliding into armed conflict.
The coronavirus pandemic is reshaping the U.S.-China relationship — but in the opposite of the way that many expected. While the world hoped this pandemic might lead to more cooperation between these two great powers, American and Chinese leaders instead fell into a blame game and allowed their increasing suspicions, or even enmity, to guide their decision-making. And while hostile leaders finger-point at each other, a less-noticed series of military and policy actions by both sides has put all of us in greater danger of U.S.-China military tensions sliding into armed conflict. Tensions are increasing over intensified military activities taken by both sides, how the virus is impacting each side’s readiness to use military force, and the rising mistrust among both peoples. But there is a peaceful way out of this spiral.
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WNU Editor: To me the above article/commentary is a textbook example on how commentators/analysts/and pundits are in denial on what has happened since the beginning of the year. They are still clinging to the idea that the old diplomatic understandings and remedies can still be used to defuse the tensions of today. Nothing can be further from the truth. We now know that China was aware of the seriousness of this outbreak at the beginning of January (if not earlier), and used this period of time to grab the world's supply of PPE while advising the World Health Organization that there was no human-to-human transmission and the disease was under control. When the World Health Organization finally acknowledged that this was a serious outbreak, China closed the center of the outbreak in Hubei province, but permitted international travel to continue thereby infecting the rest of the world. Those actions have been devastating. And one has to wonder that once the outbreak was out of control in China, was a decision was made to infect the rest of the world? Their actions certainly indicate that. The consequences of those actions have been devastating. In the case of the U.S. it has resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Americans, and the destruction of the U.S. economy. To make matters worse, China is blaming the U.S. for this global pandemic, even while this continues to devastate the U.S.. The U.S. is not the only country in China's cross-hairs. The rhetoric from China is now outright hostility coupled with extreme Chinese nationalism backed-up by military activities against all those that are disputing China's territorial claims. In this environment, coupled with China's unconditional territorial demands, I do not see how any pursue of peace is even remotely possible.
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