On 22/06/2015, United States Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work said before a group of experts of the military and civil airline industry that China is making rapid efforts to challenge the American military supremacy in the air and space which has motivated the US Dept of Defence to search for new techniques and systems so that it remains ahead of its developing competitors.
And he said, “China is quickly closing the technological gaps,” and is working to develop aircraft that evade radars and advanced spy planes, advanced missiles and the most modern technological war equipment.
He added that whilst the Pentagon is looking forward to a positive relationship with China “cannot overlook the competitive aspects of our relationship, especially in the realm of military capabilities, an area in which China continues to improve at a very impressive rate,”
Following that the new Chinese News Agency (Xinhua) reported that the deputy head of the National Central Military Committee said: “China must increase its innovativeness” and added: “The transformations of our equipment in the army is transforming from catch-up research to independent innovations”.
These statements of Robert Work the American Deputy of Defence in the opening of the conference initiative of the Chinese air and space industry came at the same time as hundreds of Chinese officials were visiting Washington to participate in the American-Chinese strategic and economic dialogue which lasted for three days to study the areas of mutual cooperation and to solve points of difference existing between them.
So Work pointed to this by saying: “Both the American and Chinese leaders see the bilateral relationship as a relationship that contains a certain amount of cooperation and a certain amount of competition. And that we are looking forward to the aspects of cooperation through the course of time to become dominant over the aspects of competition”.
From these statements it appears that America seriously feels that China is its competitor in the field of military industry in which it used to surpass the world in many times over. So China really has allocated in its defence budget this year around $145 billion representing a 10% increase from the previous year. It has taken the second position in the world behind America which announced that its defence budget will be $578 billion in 2015 in the case where it has reduced its budget which was in excess of $600 billion in previous years.
Despite this America fears that the figures disclosed by China are actually a lot less than the true reality and that the Chinese defence budget is much greater than that. This is in the case where China is developing submarines and stealth aircraft whilst it is building aircraft carriers. The Chinese spokeswoman for the National People Conference revealed this increase in the size of the budget on 04/03/15 when she said: “Our country will realise modernisation and the modernisation of the national defence is an important part of that”. And she said: “That her country has not forgotten the lessons of history and so the one who remains at the rear will find the one who will bully him”.
As such the Chinese comprehend the importance of military progression and its modernisation with the most modern technology. They realise that America does not spend these huge amounts of funds upon its defence budget except to impose its will upon them and the world and they also understand that America incites the states of the region against it and particularly those states that are situated in the East and South China seas. America provides them with military assistance and works to contain China with these states and to preoccupy it with them. It already incited North Korea last year in provocative manoeuvres which led to North Korea pointing its missiles towards Tokyo and the American Islands situated in the Pacific Ocean which in turn le to America setting up the missile defence shield in Japan and close to China.
For this reason China is focusing upon bringing about military supremacy to impose its dominance over its region in the East and South China seas. It has now begun expansion of the small reef islands scattered upon distances of thousands of kilometres in the South China Sea in order to establish landing strips for their aircraft and ports. That is an introduction to establishing military bases just as it is to enable it to conduct studies for the extraction of oil and gas from this region. All of that has agitated the irritation of America and led it to condemn what China is undertaking there. This led America to place down a new strategy in 2013 under the name of ‘The Asian – Pacific Ocean Strategy’ which relates to increasing its forces in this region to 60% until the year 2020 to confront the perils within it. This is directed towards China in the first degree and towards strengthening the American influence in the region and its dominance over the region’s states.
However China is focusing upon defending itself in the East and South China Seas and considers them to be its vital domain. This makes China’s view narrow and provides it with the trait of a major regional state. It does not rise and compete with America in every part of the world, upon all plains and in all fields. For this reason China has not become a major world state. The reason for this is the lack of the full political awareness in respect to the manner of the international movement in addition to not having enough confidence in itself in respect to being capable of competing with America. It fears that its losses would be greater than its gains if it was to challenge America because it realises that its development had been as a result of the favour of America which provided it with first class treatment in trade enabling it to realise great profits and gather together funds in excess of $5 trillion.
China has not had a historical experience as a major international state as they have never once been one. Similarly they do not carry a global message so as to bring about an influence internationally to draw peoples towards it or to gather states around her. It has given up the communist ideology in its foreign policy since a very long time and it only carried it for a short period. It did not succeed in it and so abandoned it and its policy became nationalistic and patriotic with a communist flavour. It has also abandoned it in respect to the economy as it follows the capitalist systems and applies them internally and externally. Therefore its ideology remains internally to preserve the rule, the interests of the Communist party and the cohesion of the land. If it is excessive in this area then it is because it fears that what happened in Russia will happen to it or even worse. For this reason they fight the callers to democracy and the thought of the general freedoms whilst repressing them without any lenience. It holds on to the reigns of internal security by iron and fire like any of the former communist states. It also fights against Islam and the Muslims with severity because it is fearful of Islam due to it being a great universal ideology which has an effect upon its followers just as it influences all whom its Da’wah reached in a sound manner. This is because it is an ideology that agrees with the Fitrah (innate nature) of the human being and convinces the mind so that man is then led by it voluntarily.
America has worked upon applying the policy of containment in respect to China and for that reason it has provided China with a first level treatment within trade. However this policy has arrived at its conclusion and run its course to the point of saturation whilst no longer holding it worth. In 2011 America announced a strategic partnership and economic partnership with China. This is in order to monitor its military and technological progress and advancement in order to contain it and in an attempt to put a limit to it or restrict it through cooperation with it within these two areas. This is so that if a military or economic advancement was made by China, America would be a partner in that. So it works from the inside so that China does not pose a danger to it and so that it remains within the sphere and monitoring whilst it examines ways to strike it if it poses a danger to it.
Therefore America wants the cooperation with China to continue and to partner it in every advance so that it can have influence over China and prevent China from posing a threat to it just as it entered Europe following the Second World War and entered into a partnership with it. This allowed it to have control over Europe and placed Europe under its monitoring and leadership which it has been unable to free itself from. Europe still suffers from this to this day and works to free itself from the remnants of this American influence after the passing of around seventy years since the Marshall Plan that was launched in 1946 to assist Europe whilst it was a means to impose American dominance over it.
America is therefore playing with China upon two ropes: From one direction it works to contain it, limit its expansion and keep it confined to the region of the East and South China seas whilst preoccupying them with them and inciting the states located in the region, arming and supporting them in confronting China. It also works to strengthen its influence in the region alongside China. From another aspect, it works upon its strategic and economic partnership with China to monitor it from the inside and so that its progress or advancement does not pose a danger to it and so that it can be a partner in this progress or work to control it and put a limit it utilising different ways and developing new styles to contain China. It already has experience with Russia when it partnered it in respect to (the field of) space until it obtained all of the information and then made it bring down its Mir space station programme in which it was running experiments.
Therefore, America views China as being a competitor to it however it works to make this competition transform into cooperation so that China does not exit from its domain or ambit and remains under the sphere of American monitoring. It is so that America is a partner in this domain and so that China does not become a weapon directed against it. If China does not pay attention to that and does not separate itself from America and pave an independent path for itself without America and if it does not engage in a struggle with America on all levels and in all areas in the world, it will remain a major regional state restricted and bound by the hidden ropes of America which are clear for all those of political vision to see.
As’ad Mansoor
* Written for Ar-Rayah Newspaper – Issue 35