Should China Follow America’s Example?
Published in Huanqiu
(China) on 7 May 2010
by Guangming Wang (link to original)
(China) on 7 May 2010
by Guangming Wang (link to original)
Translated from
by Meghan McGrath.
Edited by Amy Wong.
On May 3, the Obama administration made an announcement stating that up until September of last year, the United States possessed 5,113 nuclear warheads. Compared to the Cold War’s intense 31,255 nuclear warheads, this is an 84 percent drop. According to a news analysis, America’s actions also have another meaning, namely calling for information on China’s armament. On that same day, the Department of Defense made America’s secret public in order to lead the way for other countries. In particular, the U.S. is hoping for China to increase its transparency concerning weaponry.
This is just wishful thinking by the United States. Increased transparency is without a doubt an important measure to ensure world peace. But, with the United States announcing their nuclear warheads, is it necessary for China to do the same? Not necessarily!
First, is America’s announcement about their nuclear warheads true or not? Military stresses falsehoods, and martial arts stress that the East beat the West. Both sides resort to lies to deceive the other side.
Second, to say the least, even if the number of U.S. nuclear warheads is made public, it does not necessarily mean China will go public because the conditions are not the same. The United States has announced 5,113 nuclear warheads, but that is not to say that the United States is powerful enough on its own. So, who can contradict that? Perhaps America’s reason for being so public is because it believes that it has no credible threat or enemy. So, do other countries have such a situation as the United States? They’ve asked other countries to increase weaponry transparency, especially China. But is there enough safety in China? Actually, elsewhere in the world, there is a good-sized portion of countries under the threat of nuclear violence.
Moreover, is there a need for more public information? For example, where are these 5,113 nuclear warheads located? Who is in control of them? Who is safeguarding them? Who is responsible for them? Is this all public? Considering the relationship between military equipment and national security, does going public with this knowledge guarantee safety?
The United States simply does not need so many nuclear warheads. There is no need for so many, but America has chosen to have so many! Then, facing pressure from the United States, what is China to do? The author believes that calm observation and composure is the only way to deal with this situation.
First, calm observation, and pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses. China indeed has advanced weapons apart from what the world knows about, and advanced countries like the United States still have a long way to go before achieving such technology. Therefore, China does not need to go public with this information. China needs to wait, but not too late, until the time that the U.S. is strong enough to go public.
Secondly, composure is needed to deal with this situation. It is not necessary to go behind America’s back. While the U.S. is certainly the world’s hegemon, if all countries follow America’s example, this will only inflate the United States’ ambitions for world domination. In actuality, the question of whether to go public is China’s own business. China publicizes what should be publicized, while the U.S. conceals, and what should not be publicized, the U.S. freely reveals and China smartly holds back.
This is just wishful thinking by the United States. Increased transparency is without a doubt an important measure to ensure world peace. But, with the United States announcing their nuclear warheads, is it necessary for China to do the same? Not necessarily!
First, is America’s announcement about their nuclear warheads true or not? Military stresses falsehoods, and martial arts stress that the East beat the West. Both sides resort to lies to deceive the other side.
Second, to say the least, even if the number of U.S. nuclear warheads is made public, it does not necessarily mean China will go public because the conditions are not the same. The United States has announced 5,113 nuclear warheads, but that is not to say that the United States is powerful enough on its own. So, who can contradict that? Perhaps America’s reason for being so public is because it believes that it has no credible threat or enemy. So, do other countries have such a situation as the United States? They’ve asked other countries to increase weaponry transparency, especially China. But is there enough safety in China? Actually, elsewhere in the world, there is a good-sized portion of countries under the threat of nuclear violence.
Moreover, is there a need for more public information? For example, where are these 5,113 nuclear warheads located? Who is in control of them? Who is safeguarding them? Who is responsible for them? Is this all public? Considering the relationship between military equipment and national security, does going public with this knowledge guarantee safety?
The United States simply does not need so many nuclear warheads. There is no need for so many, but America has chosen to have so many! Then, facing pressure from the United States, what is China to do? The author believes that calm observation and composure is the only way to deal with this situation.
First, calm observation, and pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses. China indeed has advanced weapons apart from what the world knows about, and advanced countries like the United States still have a long way to go before achieving such technology. Therefore, China does not need to go public with this information. China needs to wait, but not too late, until the time that the U.S. is strong enough to go public.
Secondly, composure is needed to deal with this situation. It is not necessary to go behind America’s back. While the U.S. is certainly the world’s hegemon, if all countries follow America’s example, this will only inflate the United States’ ambitions for world domination. In actuality, the question of whether to go public is China’s own business. China publicizes what should be publicized, while the U.S. conceals, and what should not be publicized, the U.S. freely reveals and China smartly holds back.
I can tell you where most of the nukes in the U.S. arsenal are…aboard nuclear submarines, which can be lying at the bottom of the ocean, anywhere in the world, at any time…entirely undetectable.
As for your statement,
“China indeed has advanced weapons apart from what the world knows about, and advanced countries like the United States still have a long way to go before achieving such technology.”
Clearly you don’t know about the military bases on the dark side of the moon, or the Union Aerospace research facility on Mars!