The US Keeps Up the Tough Talk, but It’s Hard To Hide that Its Strategy Is Sagging

On April 6, when U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel visited China, Hagel spoke on the Diaoyu Islands issue and made it clear that, under Article Five of the Japan-U.S. Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, the U.S. was contractually obliged to defend Japan should any foreign power attempt to attack the Diaoyu Islands. On April 11, the day after Hagel left Beijing, America’s Lt. Gen. John Wissler, the supreme commander of the U.S. in Okinawa, also announced that should China invade the Diaoyu Islands, U.S. Marines will not only occupy the islands, but they will also move to reclaim them. It seems that these two individuals are singing two different tunes — one is coming from a point of military strategy, the other is talking about making war. Hagel’s words are the usual verbiage we often hear, whereas Wissler’s are first and foremost concerned with the direct actions the U.S. military intends to take. These words call for a strong sense of alarm.

The Diaoyu dispute is a seemingly unresolvable issue that spans across U.S., Japan and China relations. If we say that this is a problem affecting stability in the East Asia region, then the U.S. has not only joined in with trying to create the problem, but this year they are also escalating it relentlessly on all fronts. In recent times, the U.S. military has been conducting joint exercises with Japan’s self-defense forces on a yearly basis. The exercises are aimed at reclaiming the Diaoyu Islands, and they are very active in nature. On the surface, Hagel is speaking in accordance with the wishes of the Washington; that is, insofar as ownership of the Diaoyu [Islands] is concerned, the U.S. adopts no concrete stance. However, in reality, the U.S. has not only indicated that it considers the Diaoyu Islands part of the region covered by its security treaty with Japan, but it has also stepped up the strength of its military exercises in the region. The U.S. says one thing to China’s face, but then does another behind China’s back. In response to these acts, the Chinese people are displeased. These acts make ever clearer America’s superficiality.

In recent years, along with decline in the United States’ power, its Asian allies have criticized it strongly regarding the United States’ capability and willingness to act as the policeman for the Asia-Pacific region. To appease its allies the U.S. is not only pushing its Asia-Pacific “rebalancing” strategy, but it is also placing the core of its strategy in strengthening the connections of its allied network. Right now, the U.S. is in the process of removing operating prohibitions on Japan’s self-defense forces. As for Japan amending its peaceful constitution, the U.S. is turning a blind eye and instead applauding Japan’s “increasing display of usefulness in maintaining security within the region.” The U.S. is even brazenly aiding Japan’s military in the Diaoyu theater, and allowing its little brothers to act as the brave mounted vanguard for the Asia-Pacific.

At the same time, America knows full well that any attempt to directly tackle an economically thriving China would be a flawed strategy. Therefore, time and time again, the U.S. insists that its United States’ Asia-Pacific “rebalancing” strategy is not about containing China, while at the same time it says it will respond to China’s proposal to establish new political and military relations with the U.S. and other new major powers. In truth, what the U.S. is playing at is a dangerous game of “offshore checks and balances.” One the one hand, they are using the Diaoyu Islands issue to stir the pot between Japan and China and spark long-term confrontations between these two nations. On the other hand, they are using every means possible to put pressure on China; they spread fear over the Diaoyu issue getting out of control, which in turn causes the U.S. to go back on earlier promises to its allies to not get involved in military issues — military issues that are advance attempts to face the embarrassing situation of an increasingly powerful China. In short, the U.S. is playing with fire, but it has forgotten the venerable adage that “those that play with fire get burned.”

When we see through to the crux of the matter, behind all the rhetoric the U.S. spouts lies the unceasing dwindling of faith it has in its strategy. Recently, a high-ranking official in the U.S. has been continuously drawing strong, blanket comparisons between China’s defense of its east and south territorial waters and Russia’s involvement in Ukraine. Those who know nothing of these situations listen with bafflement, and in truth they reflect the United States’ impatience and anxiety. This “Big Brother” is acting as though he were resentful over some wrongdoing. He’s afraid that his little brothers in the Asia-Pacific aren’t playing ball here, so he has to go ahead and stick a needle into China. This makes them look rather small in the eyes of the world.

But the U.S. ought not to forget that China isn’t a pushover. China is walking the road to peace, and it hopes that the U.S. doesn’t stir things up or stand in its way. Moreover, don’t count on us trading away our core interests. Don’t count on us swallowing the bitter fruit of a country whose national sovereignty has been violated. If the U.S. truly does seek to cooperate with China on a win-win basis, it has to first learn to respect China’s core interests. Don’t go flagrantly shooting off cannons over the issue of China’s territorial rights. All that will do is erode trust and damage mutual plans, and increase the strength of the Japanese right wing. In the end, you will shoot yourself in the foot.

The author is a researcher for the military science department at the China-U.S. Defense Relations Research Center.