Don’t be fooled by US claims of Chinese military superiority
- In a repeat of Cold War-style propaganda, Washington and some of its allies are working to create an impression that China could prevail in a war with America in the Asia-Pacific, thereby creating an excuse for a greater US-led military build-up
When the United States starts warning how militarily strong an adversary is, it means it is gearing up for war. Usually, it means a hot war, such as what happened in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Cuba, the war on terror, the war on drugs ... So, a threat, whether real or imagined, has to be exaggerated out of all proportion to justify the use of overwhelming force, which if committed by any other country, would amount to serious war crimes.
However, it can also be a cold war, if the adversary proves too big to be easily toppled. Such was the Soviet Union, whose military capabilities were deliberately exaggerated with overestimates. That was the so-called missile gap of the 1950s and early 1960s, in which Washington falsely claimed Moscow had more nuclear warheads. The purpose, of course, was to enable the US military to gear up and the military-industrial complex to cash in, courtesy of US taxpayers.
Talk about socialism for state-sponsored corporations! The US, not China, invented them.
Now of course, the adversary is China, against which, however, there is still no consensus whether it is to be a cold or hot war. But one way or another, there has to be a massive military build-up and that can only mean “warning” against China’s supposed military superiority in this and that combat area.
China may outmatch US military in missile production and shipbuilding: report
The latest from the Pentagon? “China has already achieved parity with – or even exceeded – the United States in several military modernisation areas,” including shipbuilding, land-based conventional ballistic and cruise missiles, and integrated air defence systems, it claimed.
And last week? Something from Australia, the closest English-speaking ally of the US in this part of the world. The US military is no longer the primary force in Asia, and missiles from China’s rapidly improving military could overwhelm its bases in hours in the opening of hostilities, according to a new study by the United States Study Centre, at the University of Sydney. It warned that America’s defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific region “is in the throes of an unprecedented crisis” and could struggle to defend its allies against China.
Really? Hundreds of US bases, with more than 132,000 active military personnel, dot across Asia, which represent by far the largest military presence outside the US and not counting its military allies in the region. And China could overwhelm all those bases in a matter of hours!
Who helps fund the centre? Surprise, surprise! This is from the centre’s own budget report: “In the last five years, 1 per cent of the centre’s operating budget came from the US government. During that same period, 8 per cent of its budget came from US-based foundations, companies or individuals.”
A July article in The Atlantic magazine, quoting such luminaries as Admiral Philip Davidson, who oversees US military forces in Asia, declares: “If a war broke out between the United States and China, the clash between two of the world’s most powerful militaries would be horrific. And the United States could very well lose.”
Early this year, Davidson already warned – or claimed – that the US was losing control of the South China Sea to China.
Again, Foreign Policy, which has a well-known anti-China editorial stance, declared in an article last month – in line with all the other warnings – that Taiwan had all the flashy weapons but no ammunition or logistics to support them. Conclusion? Taiwan needs to buy more expensive weapons from the US and the US needs to boost the island’s defence as well.
All this sabre-rattling has alarmed even Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who last week called for restraint in naval activities in the Taiwan Strait. Leaders like Tsai understand that if push comes to shove between China and the US, the island will be the first casualty.
The US has been waging war non-stop in the past two decades. It was militarily involved in 32 countries in the past 70 years. Its current defence budget dwarfs the combined spending of the next seven countries. It spends US$3 for every US$1 China spends on its military.
The last time China had a proper war was in 1979, with Vietnam.
The US may not be the shining city on a hill, but it is still the biggest muscle on the block.
