The US’ new defense strategy focused on the Asia-Pacific region is directed at containing China’s rise, the People’s Liberation Army’s newspaper said yesterday in Beijing’s strongest warning yet against the new Pentagon stance.
However, the commentary in the Liberation Army Daily also said China’s sensible response to the US military’s refocus on Asia should be “vigilance” and smart diplomacy, not panic.
The US is “laying out forces across the Asia-Pacific region in advance to contain the rise of China,” the paper’s commentary by Major General Luo Yuan (羅援) said.
Washington’s assertions that the military refocus announced last week is not directed at China are “simply making their real intent all the more obvious.”
“Casting our eyes around we can see that the United States has been bolstering its five major military alliances in the Asia-Pacific region and is adjusting the positioning of its five major military base clusters, while also seeking more entry rights for military bases around China,” Luo wrote. “Who can believe that you are not directing this at China? Isn’t this the return of a Cold War mentality?”
Luo is well-known for his hawkish views and often published in popular Chinese newspapers and online. However, the appearance of his commentary in the Liberation Army Daily, which is heavily vetted as the chief paper of the military, suggests that his latest comments enjoy some level of official endorsement.
On Monday, the Chinese Ministry of Defense told the US to be “careful in its words and actions” after last week announcing the defense rethink that stresses responding to China’s rise by shoring up US alliances and bases across Asia.
The new US strategy promises to boost strength in Asia in an attempt to counter China’s growing ability to check US power in the region, even as US forces draw back elsewhere across the globe.
Under the new strategy, the US would maintain large bases in Japan and South Korea, as well as deploy US Marines, US Navy ships and aircraft to Australia’s Northern Territory.
The strategy also calls for countering potential attempts by China and Iran to block US capabilities in areas such as the South China Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.
China has sought to balance voicing its wariness about the US moves with its desire for steady relations with Washington, especially as both sides grapple with domestic politics this year, when US President Barack Obama faces a re-election fight and the Chinese Communist Party undergoes a leadership handover.
Luo warned against panic.
Instead, Beijing must do a better job at courting friends in the region, charming countries away from the US’ orbit, he wrote.
“In the face of this adjustment in the US strategic focus, we must possess a sense of peril and maintain a high degree of vigilance, but there is no need to be alarmed about the expected,” Luo wrote.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS