President Obama and Japan's
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: Did their public
statements confirm or
refute the idea that they want to 'contain' China?
Obama's 'Un-Neighborly' Asia Tour (China Daily, China)
During his Asian tour, has President Obama undermined U.S.
claims about not wanting to contain China? This editorial from state-run China Daily doesn't believe a word of
it, and castigates Obama and his Asian hosts, specifically Japan's Shinzo Abe, for mischaracterizing China as a threat, and
undermining the very prosperity they claim to promote.
As
many have observed, U.S. President Barack Obama's Asia visit is essentially
about the discomfort felt by the U.S. and its allies over a rising China.
From
Tokyo to Manila, Obama tried to choose his words so as not to antagonize
Beijing. But from the U.S.-Japan joint statement to the new U.S.-Philippines
defense agreement, it has become increasingly obvious that Washington takes
Beijing as an opponent. With Obama reassuring American allies about protection
in any conflict with China, it's clear that Washington is no longer bothering to
conceal its attempt to contain China's influence. Saying America's pivot to the
Asia-Pacific is not targeted at China is even more unconvincing than it was.
Obama's
rhetoric about peace and international law rings hollow, because it contradicts
what he and Washington have been doing. For instance, the U.S.-Japan statement
provides dangerous license to an increasingly right-wing prime minister, Shinzo Abe, to provoke even more trouble. Abe's disregard of
history, and Obama's endorsement of his rightist inclinations will only cause greater
instability.
For
a considerably long time, Chinese have cherished the naive notion that when unruly
allies go too far, Washington will rein them in. Obama's current trip should be
a wake-up call that this idea was just wishful thinking. His sweet promises of
a new kind of major power relationship shouldn't blind us to the grim
geopolitical reality: by ganging up with its troublemaking allies, the United
States is presenting itself as a security threat to China.
The
foremost threats are not disputes that estrange China from its neighbors Japan
and the Philippines. Rather, it is the threatening image of China being
projected and marketed by those malicious neighbors and their backstage
supporter.
Washington's
biased portrayal of China and its legitimate territorial claims is conducive to
its Asia pivot and stronger ties to its allies. But if the United States wants
to benefit from a thriving Asia-Pacific, it should promote good-neighborliness
instead.
Further
prosperity in the region requires for closer intra-regional connectivity, to
which the current tensions are a threat. Washington should try to ease those
tensions, not fan them.
Posted By
Worldmeets.US
Most
important of all, Washington must come to terms with the reality that China
will continue to grow, and it will not follow the hegemonic path of the United
States.
Before
it is too late, Washington's best bet lies in collaborating with, not standing
against, Beijing.
