【巴基斯坦黎明报0109】奥巴马的对华政策

lilyma06

Obama’s China strategy http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/09/obamas-china-strategy.html
(9 hours ago) Today


BARACK Obama made a special trip to the Pentagon last week to unveil America’s post-Iraq, post-Afghanistan defence strategy. But amid all the president’s talk, one particular word was nowhere to be heard: China.
The omission is understandable, but misleading. Obama has no wish to conjure the spectre of a new Cold War with the only serious challenger to America as number one global superpower.
But as his recent Asian tour made clear, Obama is determined to beat back any Chinese bid for hegemony in Asia-Pacific. As chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Martin Dempsey likewise has no interest in starting a fight with Beijing. But Dempsey knows China’s defence spending is growing each year and sees how China’s submarines and missile platforms are projecting naval power into regions where the US has dominated since 1945.
In short, he can read the writing on the Chinese wall and understands that one day, the US military may be obliged to overtly confront China just as it faced down the old Soviet Union.
The parameters are already fairly clear. They include obvious potential flashpoints such as Taiwan which Beijing regards as a ‘renegade province’.
China still menaces Taipei with hundreds of land-based missiles. As de facto guarantor of Taiwan’s security and chief arms supplier, the US is caught in a conflict that could catch fire at any time. China’s pursuit of territorial and resource claims in disputed archipelagos provide other flashpoints, not just with the US but with neighbours such as Vietnam, which have been tightening security ties with Washington.
Fears about the implications of China’s rise are producing a similar circling of the wagons in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia, notwithstanding their close trading relationships with Beijing.
During his Asian tour, Obama signalled the opening of a military base in Darwin, Australia, and possibly one in the Philippines.
The US took on China at its own game in Myanmar, expanding diplomatic relations with an unpleasant regime to counter Beijing’s position as a key ally.
On a bigger scale again, a battle for raw materials, economic resources, political influence and military footholds is under way in sub-Saharan Africa, where China has placed commercial advantage ahead of governance and human rights concerns. US behaviour is not exemplary, either. It talks a lot about democracy but its chief concern is security and terrorism.
China also presents a growing diplomatic and political challenge, whether it be through its protection of North Korea or its reluctance to support action against Syria, Iran and, arguably, Sudan.
— The Guardian, London



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