'Ignorant' Romney Policies
Will Result in 'Direct Confrontation' (China Daily, People's Republic of China)
Is Republican
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney out of his depth when it comes to foreign
policy? According to this editorial from China's state-controlled China Daily, if Romney's China plans
were implemented, they would result in a mutually-destructive 'confrontations'
between the United States and the People's Republic of China.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice delivers the Romney-Ryan foreign policy critique of the Obama Administration, at the Republican National Convention, Aug. 29, 00:18:46.
By any standard, the China policy of U.S. Republican candidate
Mitt Romney, as outlined
on his official campaign website, is an outdated manifestation of Cold War thinking.
Romney endorses the "China threat" theory and
focuses on containing China's rise in the Asia-Pacific through bolstering America's
robust military presence in the region.
And by stating that the United States "should be
coordinating with Taiwan to determine its military needs and supplying them
with adequate aircraft and other military platforms," the Republican
challenger has gone so far as to provoke China in terms of its sovereignty over
the island.
Of course, politicians tend to go back on their word after
being elected, and playing the China card has become commonplace for U.S.
politicians during election years. But Romney's China stance is still worrying,
as it could poison the friendly development of Sino-U.S. relations.
Setting aside his remedies for U.S. problems domestically and
whether or not they would be effective, if his China policy were implemented, it
would cause a retrogression in relations and turn the region into a venue for
open China-U.S. confrontation.
Romney's recommendations are EVEN more pugnacious than Obama's
"strategic pivot." He insists that the U.S. and its allies "must
maintain appropriate military capabilities to discourage any aggressive or
coercive behavior by China against its neighbors."
The Republican should be reminded that his own country has
been backing some of China's neighbors, both covertly or overtly, in an attempt
to add fuel to the fire over disputes in the South China Sea. But any U.S.
attempt to more deeply involve itself in these disputes will result in a
head-on confrontation between the two countries. This would be in neither
party's interest.
Posted by Worldmeets.US
As China and the United States both have a stake in peace
and stability in the Asia-Pacific, any responsible politician would refrain
from making recommendations likely to turn the two countries into rivals rather
than partners.
As to Romney's suggestion that the U.S. step up its arms
sales to Taiwan, it exposes his ignorance about Sino-U.S. ties, as this has
always been the most sensitive issue between the two countries. American arms
sales to Taiwan have thrown bilateral ties off balance several times in the
past.
Making sensible policy recommendations about what are widely
recognized as the most important bilateral ties in the world demands political
vision as well as a profound knowledge of full width and breadth of Sino-U.S.
relations. Romney apparently lacks both.
