Skip to main content

China and US Flex Muscles As Trade War Escalates

China and US Flex Muscles As Trade War Escalates
FILE IMAGE: 9news.com.au
On April 5, China launched an unprecedented in its dimension naval military drills in the South China Sea.
The exercises involved the Liaoning aircraft carrier and more than 40 vessels from the North, East and South Sea fleets, which China’s military muscle.
“China wants to show the outside world its determination to defend the fruits of its economic reforms over the past 40 years,” Chinese military analyst Zhou Chenming commented on the situation, according to “South China Morning Post”.
Chinese military spokesman Ren Guoqiang confirmed that the aircraft carrier would lead large-scale naval drills, but that was “routine” exercises of China’s “defensive” military policy and those activities posed no threat to other countries.
“Like the US, China’s military might is one of the government’s political tools to protect the country’s national interests”, Zhou Chenming emphasized.
Beijing deployed naval forces in response to the US increasing military cooperation with rival claimants, including Vietnam and the Philippines.
Currently, the USA have sent three aircraft carrier battle groups to the Asia-Pacific region. The USS Theodore Roosevelt group arrived in Singapore on April 2 after a deployment in the Middle East. It is likely to conduct drills with two US 7th Fleet carrier groups — centered on the USS Ronald Reagan and USS Carl Vinson — as it passes through the disputed waterways.
China considers the South China Sea as its own territory, claiming and demonstrating its readiness to challenge American tries to limit the influence and projects in the region.
Washington worries about the Chinese construction of military facilities at the artificial islands in the South China Sea. Thus, it can become a large anti-access and area-denial (A2AD) exclusion zone challenging the global dominance of the US Navy.
About 90% of the South China Sea has been declared sovereign territory by China under its arbitrary “Nine Dash Line”, extending some 2000km from its mainland. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei also have claims in the area. The US also challenges the Chinese claims and supports its competitors.
The military race comes as contraction rises between Beijing and Washington over a looming trade tariff “war”.
On April 3, Washington published a list of 1,333 Chinese imports with worth about $50 billion, for punitive tariffs of 25%.
On April 5, the US President Donald Trump stated the readiness to increase the tariffs up to $100 billion.
On April 6, China promised to respond with the same measures to the USA. Gao Feng, spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Commerce affirmed that Beijing would fight “at any cost” and take “comprehensive countermeasures” if the United States continues its unilateral, protectionist practices.
The growing military and economic race between China and the USA could indicate that Washington perceives Beijing as a serious competitor.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif