On the afternoon of July 25, U.S. local time, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen held a briefing for foreign correspondents in Washington, focusing on the U.S. National Security Strategy. Mullen had just concluded his visit to China; since the briefing was his last meeting with foreign correspondents in Washington before his retirement, it drew lots of attention from the public.
In the prologue and Q&A session, a majority of the meeting was about China’s issues. From his speech, we can see both the expression of goodwill and the power mindset that’s difficult to conceal.
When answering questions about the latest situation in the South China Sea, Mullen said that America’s position on this issue was very clear: The problem should be solved peacefully. The U.S. doesn’t take either side on this issue. However, Mullen stated that the U.S. strongly supported freedom of the sea, freedom of navigation and the right to move barrier-freely on the high seas. He even said that when one country violated these guidelines, that country violated every country’s respect to the freedom of the sea.
On the issue of the South China Sea, China has long been committed to defending the freedom of navigation and security in the South China Sea; such freedom and security has never been threatened by China. Although America’s announcement of not taking any side seems to be fair, its fabricated critics are undeniably provocative and self-serving.
About the U.S. warship’s surveillance near China, Mullen said that that was international airspace, so the U.S. would not be forbidden to fly into international airspace. He even said that America wouldn’t concede the special attention paid to China and would maintain the “international standards” in a long time.
The so-called “international standards” by Mullen is the 12 nautical miles recognized by the U.S., not the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone standard. Such logic of power is not even respected by Americans with vision. Former U.S. Ambassador to China Joseph Prueher once asked that what Americans would think if China’s military airplanes scouted along the coast of California.
As for America’s arm sales to Taiwan, Mullen stated that the U.S. had a legal responsibility to support the Taiwan Relations Act. Even though the U.S. made a decision on arm sales to Taiwan before long, he still hoped that they could maintain the newly initiated U.S.-China military relations; otherwise, it would go against the local stability.
The Taiwan Relations Act, enacted unilaterally by the U.S., grossly interfered with China’s internal affairs by its nature, which is also one of America’s evildoings out of its power politics. The U.S. insisted on an inaccurate approach on the one hand and labeled China’s possible reaction as “going against the local stability” on the other; isn’t this very high-handed?
We should also see that after visiting China, Mullen had relatively objective knowledge about China, and he expressed good intentions regarding U.S.-China military relations. He said that recent interactions between the U.S. and Chinese militaries included a series of good, candid discussions, visits and exhibitions and reached some specific treaties on future joint military exercises and personnel exchanges. He expressed that at least they had a basis for dialogue, and he felt encouraged about it. He said that the two countries should cooperate with each other and combat pirates, terrorism and disasters together.
To maintain stable, consistent U.S.-China military development, the key is to thoroughly get rid of the power mentality. Based on respect, mutual trust, equity and reciprocal principles, the two countries should respect and take care of each other’s core interests and deal with conflicts and sensitive issues appropriately. By doing so, the two can breed and enhance each other’s strategic trust, strengthen and enlarge common interests of the U.S. and China.
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