The U.S. Uses TPP to Balance Out China

After battling an “asymmetrical war” for 10 years, Americans have noticed that they were wrong. After the fall of the asymmetrical war opponents — Saddam Hussein, the Taliban and bin Laden — the true opponent has revealed itself by stepping out from behind Japan. You guessed it: It’s China.

This is a huge, complex “opponent” that Americans, at this moment, do not know how they ought to go about dealing with. China is the world’s second largest economic entity, whose aircraft carriers and stealth fighters have already been through their test trials. However, the U.S.’ biggest headache is that China has already entered the world’s economy. Tough measures cannot be used against China; the U.S. even has to ask Beijing to help solve the economic problem.

However, two recent news reports show that the U.S. clearly has found a strategy to deal with China and has begun to implement it. An article from America’s military website, insidedefense.com, reports that on November 14, the Pentagon announced the establishment of an “AirSea Battle” office. This “AirSea Battle” is an operational concept “combining Air Force and Navy assets to overwhelm attempts to limit the U.S. military’s global reach.”

The other article, from last week’s APEC meeting, discusses the TPP [Trans-Pacific Partnership]. Many people believe that the U.S.’ interest in the TPP is solely to balance out China. According to U.S. Secretary of State Clinton’s analogy, the TPP will be the Asia-Pacific equivalent of the established strategic system that Europe and the U.S. have in the West, which spans across the Atlantic. However, the TPP has a subtle hint of the U.S. returning to the Asia-Pacific. The TPP is similar to the “AirSea Battle” strategy; its multi-channel, multi-field and fast-suppression approach will force China’s closest economic partners to, at any time, tango with the U.S., with China having to give in.

The TPP needs to succeed; success without China is unthinkable. The U.S.’ goal is to increase the cost of China joining the TPP. Thus, being confronted with this, Beijing might as well counter by developing a strategy plan for free trade that is an effective response to the TPP’s strategy game.