In their new annual report on China, the Pentagon has revealed that they are afraid that the Chinese military is “steadily closing the technological gap with modern armed forces” and that if they catch up it would be “destabilizing” to the region.
The report likewise warns that the Chinese government is aiming to improve its economy as well as its military with a goal of becoming “a world-class economic and military power by 2050.”
One would assume that China, simultaneously the second biggest economy on the planet and spending the second most of its military annually, is already a “world-class” power in both of those senses, but the report will likely fuel further hand-wringing in the US Congress about the “threat” posed by a major trading partner and America’s leading creditor.
Rep, Buck McKeon (R – CA) the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, was already on the subject, warning of Beijing’s “increasing assertiveness” and terming the nation a “growing concern not only to the United States but to China’s neighbors.”
The US is presenting China with a fate they cannot accept. Unless China becomes richer, it cannot lift all it's people out of near poverty. Given the size of the population, that means China will become the biggest economy in the world. With economic power comes potential military power. The US policy is to forbid China to advance to this level which China cannot accept. China cannot accept that its people will not have the same standard of living as that of developed nations.
So the US has a choice – create a structure of peace as China is calling for along with a defensive military posture, also China's policy. Or set the stage for conflict in order to "contain" China, i.e., stop its development and / or break it up. The US has already chosen the latter which means a horrible conflict, possibly a high tech world war in which the very existence of the species could be called into question.
Let us hope that we in the US can stop this.
P.s. This is probably the most important reason for supporting AW.C.
My fear is that arrogant US policy makers don't appreciate that China is not Serbia or Iraq. It can fight back.
So what are the Chinese supposed to do to keep America happy? Remain backward?
Good point. What was America supposed to do to keep Britain happy? Remain a colony?
What THEY REALLY MEAN is destabilizing to the American empire in Asia and the Pacific and to American geo-political hegemony in areas of the world where America has no business being in the first place.
The Problem is again launch on Warning, the Pentagon are in fact the destabalising influence in the world, paranoia is a very dangerous thing!
It never ends: the USA is always finding new enemies to fight. But you have lost already: China has defeated you at your own game. Which country has the financial crisis? Which country continues to grow? Which country has enormous debts: which none? China holds $trillions. All she needs do is to dump them on the market. What effects would ensue? Total financial disaster for the USA: a worthless dollar. Why fight an armed war when a financial collapse is a faster, cleaner, more complete means to defeat an aggressor? Sure, China would suffer, but not collapse.