America: Concentrate on Fighting Terrorism, Okay? Stop Meddling in the South China Sea

The U.S. should stop its provocation of the situation in the South China Sea, and instead should concentrate its efforts on fighting terrorism.

Turkey has shot down a Russian bomber and provoked a conflict with Russia; the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, the capital of Mali, suffered a terrorist attack on Nov. 20 in which 170 people were taken hostage and three Chinese citizens were killed. The terrorist attacks on Paris have shattered the soul of the city and the souls of hundreds of people; the haze of fear has still not lifted over Paris.

Terrorists are attacking all four corners of the world. There is an atmosphere of fear enveloping the entire world from Paris to the rest of Europe, and once over in Africa as well. A friendly football match between Germany and Holland which was to take place in Hanover, Germany, was cancelled 90 minutes prior to kick off because of a bomb threat. On the same day, two Air France planes had to make emergency landings while flying from the U.S. to Paris because of bomb threats received mid-flight.

The atmosphere of terror enveloping the entire world has apparently not stopped the U.S.’s meddling and unyielding attitude in the South China Sea.

On Nov. 19, the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting opened in the Philippine capital of Manila. Originally, the meeting was not going to cover the issue of the South China Sea, but the U.S. drew the Philippines and Japan, etc., into continuing the escalation of repeated concerns about the issues in the South China Sea. The U.S. declared unyieldingly that it will continue to perform joint military exercises with the Philippines in the South China Sea and reiterated that China must stop its creation of islands as part of its land reclamation efforts. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks with U.S. President Barack Obama in Manila on Nov. 19, during which Abe he stated that he would closely monitor the situation in the South China Sea with regard to its continuing effect on Japan’s security, and he also mentioned exercises related to self-defense in the South China Sea.

The world is facing a terrible threat of continuing and frequently bloody attacks, but these haven’t been able to fully draw the U.S. away from its interest in rebalancing the Asia-Pacific. In reality, the ultimate target for terrorism is the U.S.; the U.S. alone is the number one target for terrorism. After the terrorist attack on Paris, the Islamic State threatened New York City with suicide bomb attacks and then immediately afterward issued a written statement threatening war against the leaders of the U.S. and France, threatening to launch Paris-style terrorist attacks on the White House, and threatening to kill President Obama and French President Francois Hollande.

Confronted with such a challenge, the U.S. should work with the whole world to concentrate efforts fighting terrorism – and not shortsightedly pursue the rebalancing of the Asia-Pacific, continuing to use the issue of the South China Sea to constrain China in spite of the personal safety of its own citizens.

Terrorist attacks are already entirely pervasive. Terrorists are spread all over the world and have become the No. 1 enemy of humanity. Terrorism is the greatest enemy of world peace, and those countries and powers that are the targets of terrorism will not be able to escape such attacks. If the U.S. continues to distribute its energy between fighting terrorist groups, splitting up alliances, and breaking up power, well, the as-yet still weak worldwide anti-terrorism alliances could very well collapse and fall apart, worldwide deployments fighting terrorism will be disrupted, and terrorist groups will take advantage of these opportunities. It is already a proven fact that once the U.S. was seen as the primary nation leading the alliance fighting against terrorism, international cooperation seemed to take a much more active approach, e.g., France looked for cooperation with Russia to carry out military attacks against the terrorist Islamic State group.

But the U.S., while facing a terrible enemy, still wants friendly countries to be submissive toward it, and this type of behavior will ultimately lead it to it losing the support of its allies. Regardless of whether it is strategic or tactical, whether it is of vital importance or not, improving multi-way communication among all parties in all directions is the only way forward. Fighting terrorism is an arduous task; unity and sincere cooperation are of vital importance. Above all, it is the U.S. that wants to gain the respect of the rest of the world in the fight against terror, but first it must give up its strategy of making things difficult for China. The U.S. has not completely recovered its strength after the financial crisis and is even more anxious to pass the economic crisis on elsewhere. If the methods and ways of transferring such things are met with global disgust and disdain, it will only have itself to blame. Some people have said that the U.S. has taken on three giant challenges (the Middle East, Russia and China) without sufficient resources to successfully meet all three, but nevertheless, its current position is still good. A rational country would not renounce its allies at such a vitally important moment.

The U.S. is both the No. 1 target for a terrorist attack, and assumes responsibility for the largest proportion of troops fighting the terrorists; the global fight against terrorism is inextricable from the United States. But it is the fight against terrorists toward which the U.S. should direct its energy. It should not be focused on cracking down on China.