USA rivalry against China officially announced as the world's most important opposition
November 23rd, 2018 - A 525-page report to the US Congress concludes that China's rise "undoubtedly put at risk the national security and economic interests of the United States, its allies, and partners”. This report was drafted by a commission advising the US Congress on security and trade issues in the US-China relationship.
Why is this assessment so remarkable?
It contains two messages, besides the one just quoted in addition to an implicit one.
The implicit message is: We, the United States, regard the whole world as our sphere of influence, in which we have the leading role. We will not let China dispute that.
So the implicit message assumes China is doing what the US itself has been doing for a long time. And the allies and partners should regard a threat to the world power number one position of the USA as a threat to their own security, their own economic interests.
In fact, it is the Trump politics itself that put at risk the security and interests of the USA. I will only pick out these eight points:
- The "America first" policy makes a blunt claim to hegemony in the world and within one's own country.
- Within the US itself, Trump politics undermines the independence of the judiciary, it undermines freedom of the press, it promotes racism in the US, its policies continue to undermine the social position of women and celebrate sexism as a lifestyle.
- The Trump government's tax laws minimize the share of the rich and super-rich in financing social tasks and put the financing of public tasks on the shoulders of the working people of this and future generations. In addition, the Trump policy increases the national debt by another trillion US dollars.
- The Trump policy endangers the trade in goods in particular, but not only, with China. The American farmers have to store the soybean harvest, which was otherwise taken at 60% to 80% by China, at high prices or even let it rot. Government taxpayers' money is distributed to the farmers in billions and is then lacking elsewhere.
- The Trump politics builds walls against refugees (Mexico), separates children from their parents in the refugee camps and stirs up the war of religions against Muslims.
- The Trump politics replaces provocatively the protection of the environment by further and intensified overexploitation of the environment.
- The Trump policy declares that it wants to militarize space. The arms budget of the US exceeds the sum of the arms budgets of China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, India, France, Great Britain and Japan.
- The messages and statements of the Trump politics to the population as well as to the world have leveraged lie and demagogy to a system. More than 3,000 lies and misleading statements have been proven to Trump so far and more are being made every day.
This report to the US Congress is the document that officially proclaims the US rivalry with China as the world's most important opposition. This means that the global political situation will be changed by two camps from now on and in the future.
US policy in the Indo-Pacific area is based on hypocrisy
Mike Pence, the Vice President of the USA, explained before the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations:
- „Our vision for the Indo-Pacific excludes no nation. It only requires that nations treat their neighbours with respect, and respect the sovereignty of our nations and international rules and order.”
I'd love to! Agreed!
Have the governments of the USA practised respect for neighbours and international rules in the Indo-Pacific region?
In 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on the inhabitants of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing over 70,000 people in one fell swoop and causing consequential damage for decades.
1953 Korean War in a country more than 6,000 miles away from the USA. To date, almost 30,000 US troops have been stationed in South Korea.
From 1965 to 1973 the USA waged one of the most brutal wars in Vietnam, almost 9,000 miles away, with the cruellest bombing, use of napalm and chemical weapons.
From 2001 to the present day, the USA has been waging war against Afghanistan, 12,000 km away.
Since 2004, the USA has flown 330 drone missions over Pakistan, killing over 2,200 people. (Wikipedia, entry drone strikes in Pakistan)
What Pence wants to tell us is this: "Respect for neighbors" - as far as they are on the side of US world hegemonic politics. But war and oppression, as far as this is not the case.
Furthermore, Pence wants to tell us that the USA adheres to "international rules" - as far as these are in the interest of the USA. But breach of international law, as far as it opposes the hegemonic US interest.
With abysmal hypocrisy the US policy tries to make its world hegemonic aspiration palatable to all peace-loving people. Let's stick to the facts!Hypocrisy does not end peacefully.