China and the United States – best of frenemies
By coincidence or design, the two major events of the past 10 days have brought into sharper focus a “new normal” in ties between Beijing and Washington: confrontation and cooperation are intensifying at the same time.
Friction was all too palpable at the high-level security conference known as the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore a little more than a week ago.
What is the Shangri-La Dialogue and why is it so important?
Senior defence officials from the United States and its allies have ratcheted up pressure on China to uphold principle and international law in Beijing’s broad maritime claim to the South China Sea. In particular, they are keen for Beijing to respect an upcoming ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague where the Philippines has challenged China’s maritime claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
China’s dialogue delegation better prepared and more at ease than last year
US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said on the first day of the conference that China risked erecting a “Great Wall of self-isolation”. Carter was backed by defence ministers from Japan and other countries, including France and Britain, urging compliance with the international laws and norms even though some of them did not mention China explicitly.
The next day, Admiral Sun Jianguo, a deputy chief of the Chinese military’s joint staff department and China’s main delegate to the conference, launched a forceful defence, accusing Washington and its allies of harbouring a cold war mentality. He said China would not be isolated and reiterated Beijing’s refusal to recognise the Hague tribunal’s ruling.
Rhetorical truce: China and US expected to avoid conflict at Singapore security forum
In fact, both Carter and Sun spent much more time talking about how their two militaries should cooperate. Carter said the Chinese navy had been invited to take part in the high-profile Rim of the Pacific international naval exercises later this year and that he would visit China later this year. Sun said “shaking hands is better than clenching fists”.
US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter warns China against building ‘Great Wall of self-isolation’
But it was their war of words over the South China Sea that caught global headlines and was expected to heighten worries in the region and beyond. Indeed, just days after the conference, the US military accused a Chinese fighter jet of manoeuvring too fast and close to a US Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane as it flew over the East China Sea.
The defence ministry responded by saying its pilots operated according to the rules and accused the US military of exaggerating the issue.
Then two days later, an even more significant development occurred as China for the first time sent a warship into waters near disputed islands in the East China Sea known as the Diaoyus in China and Senkakus in Japan, which controls them. This sparked a flurry of activity in Japan, including summoning the Chinese ambassador at about 2am as the events unfolded.
Even more intriguing were the three Russian military vessels spotted near the islands around the same time, although it was not immediately clear if their presence was linked to that of the Chinese warship.
While the Western media mentioned the Russian presence in passing, the Japanese and Chinese media played it up, suggesting that China and Russia might want to cooperate in pushing back the US and Japan.
Washington keen to build ‘principled security network’ in Asia-Pacific, says US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter
The defence ministry did not confirm directly that its warship entered the disputed waters but defended its right to send vessels there.
On Friday, the Russian foreign ministry told Kyodo news agency its three naval vessels were merely making a passage in the high seas when they went near the disputed islands, and it was surprised by Japan’s reaction.
But it did not comment on whether the passage was related to that of the Chinese naval ship around the same time.
To add more excitement, news also emerged last week that the US will deploy two aircraft carrier strike groupsto the South China Sea in the coming weeks. Although they might not sail close to disputed waters, the presence of the carriers USS John C Stennis and USS Ronald Reagan and their support flotilla is clearly meant to send a message to Beijing.
Having such significant developments happening in just 10 days will no doubt raise concerns about a new kind of cold war looming on the horizon.
Beijing calls for dialogue with Manila but insists Philippines drop South China Sea Hague case
But the annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue talks between the US and China last week, held straight after the Shangri-La Dialogue, was cause for optimism that the world’s two largest economies will deepen their cooperation to lead the global economy and provide a framework for tackling other complicated global issues.
To be sure, the two-day meeting involving top officials from both countries failed to produce any breakthroughs and the annual talks were the last for administration of US President Barack Obama, so it remains uncertain whether they will continue in the present form when a new US president comes to power in January.
Building a better table: what next for the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue?
But as US Secretary of State John Kerry said at the end of the talks, the meetings provided an “essential mechanism” for both sides to air differences and nurture cooperation. The two countries discussed a wide range of issues of global reach and significance, including climate change, North Korea, Iran, Syria, and Africa.
Meanwhile, trade and investment continued to be the bedrock of bilateral ties, despite rising friction over China’s excess industrial capacity that Washington says has led to distortions of global markets, and complaints from US firms about a worsening business environment on the mainland. Nonetheless, China last year became the US’ biggest trade partner.
Your quick guide to the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue
This week, both sides are scheduled to exchange their revised “negative lists” of sectors that are closed to foreign investment in the hope of concluding the bilateral investment treaty ahead of the Group of 20 meeting in Hangzhou in September.
Beijing is under rising pressure to pare its negative list and it is in its own interest to see the agreement concluded at an earlier date.
As chair of the G20 meeting, China promised a road map to steer the world economy out of the woods and for that to happen, deeper cooperation with US is essential.
