US War with China by Summer?
The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise leads the ships of the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group. [flickr/usnavy]
With
Congress out of session until next week, and while Americans take time
out to commemorate those who died in military service in past wars, some
leading American and leading Chinese officials alike fear that war
between the two nations is likely by Summer. The more astute know that
if this is allowed to happen, it will quickly become a broader,
multilateral nuclear exchange which will be, as a LaRouchePAC video put it, "Unsurvivable."
The most recent big step towards war was computer-nerd Defense Secretary Ashton Carter's long, highly-provocative May 27 commencement address to the U.S. Naval Academy.
He told the cadets that he was going to focus his remarks on the
Asia-Pacific, because it would define many of their future careers. He
singled out the destroyer USS Lassen, which deliberately intruded in
Chinese territorial waters last October, and promised that we will
"continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows."
He accused China of
expansive and unprecedented actions in the
South China Sea, pressing excessive maritime claims contrary to
international law.... What's new and unique to this region is the
assertion of claims, dredging, land reclamation, and militarization of
features by several claimants but overwhelmingly by China.... China's
cyber-actors have violated the spirit of the Internet—not to mention the
law—to perpetrate large-scale intellectual property theft from American
companies.
Instead of working toward what [they call] `win-win cooperation' that
Beijing publicly says it wants, China sometimes plays by its own rules,
undercutting those principles. A model like that is out of step with
where the region wants to go, and it's counterproductive—it's far from a
`win-win.' The result is that China's actions could erect a Great Wall
of self-isolation, as countries across the region—allies, partners and
the unaligned—are voicing concerns publicly and privately, at the
highest levels, in regional meetings, and global fora.
Carter went on to threaten China with superior US weapons systems:
the F-35 (which doesn't work), the P-8, "cutting-edge stealth
destroyers," and numerous others.
The DoD maintains world-leading capabilities
because we have made incomparable investments over decades,... It will
take decades more for anyone to build the kind of military capability
the United States possesses today. This strength is not simply about
dollar figures—it's also about harnessing those dollars to a tremendous
innovative and technological culture that only the United States has,
and doing so to develop revolutionary technologies.
A Hitler-style threatening rant, threatening war, and with about the truth-content of one of Hitler's tirades.
The Chinese have responded. Global Times, a newspaper owned by the Communist Party of China's People's Daily, published an unsigned editorial today which said,
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter Friday
issued another sharp rebuke of China's actions in the South China Sea by
warning Beijing that it is on a path to build a `great wall of
self-isolation.' He said the Pentagon's best weapons, including stealthy
F-35 fighters, P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and the newest
surface warfare ships, will be deployed to the Pacific theater...
"The nature of Sino-US relations will to a large extent determine the
state of international relations in the 21st century. By pointing the
finger at China with a bluffing posture, senior US officials are eroding
the foundation of peace in the Asia-Pacific. On the contrary, China has
been stressing resolving disputes peacefully. Maintaining peace in the
South China Sea is the common wish of all regional stakeholders...
Carter's words have been the most threatening China has heard
since the end of the Cold War. They confirm some Chinese people's
worries about the worst-case scenario in the Sino-US relationship, in
which Washington may translate its intention to counter China into real
actions.
The Pentagon may be willing to see confrontation between
China and the US. But the US cannot overawe China by wielding a military
stick. The People's Liberation Army can offset the US advantage of
equipment in the South China Sea with its size and proximity, and we are
confident about countering the threat from the US.
Although a military
contention will be harmful to China, we cannot retreat in the face of US
coercion. China must accelerate its pace to build modern defense
capabilities. It should let the US know that if it launches military
attacks targeting China in the South China Sea, the US will suffer
unbearable consequences. China must enhance its ability to deter the US
and increase the US' strategic risks of military threat against China.
[emphasis added]
Now you too have joined the number of those who know this, and you
have taken on, willy-nilly, the inescapable responsibility which
accompanies that knowledge. Get it out everywhere for a start—but that's
only the beginning. Ask yourself what Lyndon LaRouche would do.
