Exclusive | US-China competition in Indo-Pacific a ‘marathon, not a sprint’, acting assistant secretary of defence says
- Head of Washington’s regional strategy David Helvey calls on ‘like-minded partners’ to defend international order
- Conflict ‘not inevitable’ but countries cannot sit ‘idly by’ while Beijing bends and disregards rules
Washington needs long-term strategies and “like-minded partners” to compete with Beijing in a “marathon” race to lead the international order, according to a senior US defence official.
David Helvey, acting assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said the Chinese Communist Party’s challenge to the international rules-based order would be a marathon, not a sprint, in an exclusive opinion article for the South China Morning Post to be published on Saturday.
“Together, we must be resilient as we face this long-term challenge by continuing to uphold and represent core principles such as respect of sovereignty, transparency, peaceful resolution of disputes, and freedom of navigation and overflight.”
As US-China trade war turns two, superpower relations hit ‘alarming’ point
While “China’s rise does not mean conflict is inevitable, nor does competition inevitably lead to conflict”, the international community cannot “sit idly by as China’s authoritarian leaders continue to bend, disregard, or rewrite the rules to impose … their preferences”, Helvey said.
“That is why now, more than ever, like-minded partners must take action by being prepared, networked, and resilient so that together we can secure peace and prosperity for decades to come,” he said.
Hong Kong national security law official English version:
The US should “remain focused on deterring aggression” by maintaining a ready and capable force, developing innovative operational concepts, and investing more to solidify its technological advantage, including in space and cyberspace.
“We must also be resilient in protecting our communications infrastructure and networks, economies, and political and social institutions from the CCP’s malign influence in order to preserve our shared interests and security.”
Helvey said the US needed to look for opportunities to include new partners in its efforts and called on existing allies and partners to boost their national defence and “contribute to the defence of our shared interests”, as well as deepening their interoperability, joint training, combined exercises, and bilateral planning so they could act “coherently and effectively together”.
04:12
Are Xi Jinping’s China and Donald Trump’s US destined for armed conflict?
Liu Weidong, an expert on international relations with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the Trump administration was now strengthening its efforts to rally allies and partners in containing China.
“Currently the Sino-US tension has been shifted towards the direction of a Cold War which points to ideological rivalry,” he said. “The US has been criticised for relying on itself too much and not working together with its allies. Now it is using every opportunity to incite waves of anti-China sentiment.”
Collin Koh, a research fellow from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, said it was expected that the US and its regional allies would have a more robust engagement, after years of concern over American commitment to the region under US President Donald Trump's America First directive.
Additional reporting by Wendy Wu