Does the US Want Another Cold War?

[unhappycamper]

http://watchingamerica.com/News/191858/does-the-us-want-another-cold-war/

Does the US Want Another Cold War?
The People's Daily, China
By Ren Weidong
Translated By Nathan Hsu
10 January 2013
Edited by Lau­ren Gerken

~snip~

This region is the primary geopolitical battlefield on which the U.S. will seek to contain China. The U.S. is sparing no effort to lay the groundwork for a new Cold War here. Apart from the bolstering of old military allies, U.S. actions have also shown several new characteristics. The first is linking together, to the greatest extent possible, a united front against China. It has comprehensively strengthened its economic, political, and most especially its military relationship with Vietnam, improved relations with Myanmar, and thawed its long-frozen relationship with Laos. Secondly, it has constructed a spider web-like strategic framework around itself. Thirdly, it has both strengthened its front-line deployments and expanded its strategic depth. Illustrations of this are its encouragement of the development of Japanese military strength, deployment of littoral combat ships to Singapore, and the return to its naval base at Subic Bay in the Philippines. Fourthly, it has begun to polarize the region economically. The U.S. has been a strong proponent of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP), which excludes China.

As the U.S. builds a new Cold War state of affairs in Asia and the Pacific, Japan's attitude has been the most supportive. It willingly serves as the pawn and strategic front line of the U.S., and has also interfered in every corner of the region, forming a strategic network. Clearly, the strategic relationship between the U.S. and Japan is a highly unified one regarding the containment of China. However, this is being done at the cost of sacrificing what was gained in the war against fascism, overturning the post-war order in Asia, and destroying the region's peaceful political foundation. This will inevitably result in severe regional turmoil.

The truth is that the majority of Asian-Pacific countries are opposed to a new Cold War. Against the overall backdrop of the U.S. seeking to start a new Cold War, countries like Japan are the extreme minority. Most countries in the region are unwilling to overtly pick sides, but try to use what leverage they have to implement balancing policies towards the great powers and create a strategic equilibrium, ultimately hoping to use this to increase their own security and gain more room for profit.

Of course, the situation is extremely complex, with opportunity and challenge juxtaposed. Asia is by no means the only strategic focus of the U.S., nor one which the U.S. will necessarily place above all others. Currently, the U.S. is in a situation where it cannot neglect any area, whether it be Europe, the Middle East, or Asia.

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Gonna be interesting how the resource wars and currency war plays out.

[Ian Iam]

2. The People's Daily?

Really?

[bemildred]

3. I remember well the sense of abandonment in the defense business back in the early 1990s,

when the Russians didn't want to be our enemies any more. There was much agonizing over whom could serve as a new enemy of suitable magnitude. Drug cartels? Terrorists? Cyber-criminals? It's just been patch patch patch since then. Nobody who could quite measure up the way the Soviets did. I'm sure the Chinese would be welcomed if they decided to step up.

[rachel1]

4. If the military-industrial complex wants it then the answers is YES

It seems that the bloodthirsty imperialistic occupations of Afghanistan, Iraq, and the extrajudicial drone murders in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and elsewhere aren't enough.

[Socal31]

5. I will take 10 cold-wars over 1 hot-war any day of the week.

The hawks in China are taking over. I read a lot of Chinese news in English, and some of it is disturbing.

They know they are rising, are becoming extremely nationalistic, and have not forgotten what Japan did to them in the last century. They do respect Americans in general, just not American policy.

I personally would love to withdraw our defense treaties with Taiwan and Japan. I would do it in a heart-beat.

Unfortunately that does not look realistic, and China is asserting itself in the South China Sea.

This is not a "new" cold war. Our bases in Okinawa, South Korea, and Japan are leftovers from the previous one.

In a perfect world none of it would exist, but it does. And I would rather play cat-and-mouse in Asia than the BS we are pulling in the ME and Africa.

[octoberlib]

6. Yep.

Whatever kind of war it is, they want it to be perpetual.