US Incites Conflict In Asia Pacific, Sparking Widespread Anxiety
A prominent critic of China in the U.S. Congress known for his humorous but dangerous obsession with the “China threat” narrative, recently made the case for the formation of a regional anti-China coalition in the Asia Pacific region in an opinion piece for Japan’s Nikkei Asia website.
In his zeal for a bloc conflict with China, Rubio is not alone. The U.S. administration has been eager to establish “small cliques” aimed at China because it is stuck in a Cold War mentality.
The U.S. attempt to maintain hegemony through camp antagonism, according to Asia-Pacific experts, endangers regional peace and security.
FORCING SMALL CLiques
Washington has been promoting “great power competition” and the so-called “Indo-Pacific strategy” in recent years.
Washington assisted the Japanese government in changing Japan’s fundamental national security strategy despite widespread criticism. As a result of its growing alliances with American forces, Japan is striving to become a significant military force and posing new threats to regional stability and security.
The United States and South Korea have reached strategic agreements on “extended deterrence,” with Washington deploying more “strategic assets,” including nuclear-capable submarines, to the Korean Peninsula despite conducting large-scale joint military exercises.
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Washington is also trying to reconcile Japan and South Korea in order to create a trilateral military alliance.
The Philippines and the United States engaged in their largest joint military operations in decades in April. In addition to the five previously agreed locations across the nation, the Philippines granted the U.S. military access to four more military facilities in February. Washington is also attempting to establish trilateral cooperation mechanisms with the Philippines, Japan, and Australia.
Regional peace and stability have also been threatened by the trilateral Australia-UK-U.S. (AUKUS) cooperation on nuclear submarines.
EXPORTING DESTABILISATION AND SEEKING HEGEMONY
In the Asia-Pacific region, the United States has created a number of cliques and increased military cooperation with its allies under the pretence of “coping with threats together,” but in reality, its true goal is to bind its allies to the U.S. chariots and exploit others.
Kazuteru Saionji, a visiting professor at Higashi Nippon International University in Japan, claimed that Washington purposefully fosters tensions between some nations and China in order to persuade them to align themselves with the camp opposing China in an effort to maintain its regional hegemonic position.
According to Kim Dong-yup, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, the United States, Japan, and South Korea claim to be bolstering their deterrence against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), but in reality, they are aiming to contain China.
Washington paints China as a “threat” to the region and even the entire world in order to force regional nations to support American hegemony. However, “the United States has numerous governments installed abroad and hundreds of military bases outside of its own borders.”
The author of the article, Australian honorary professor Mackerras, titled “The Dangerous One Is the U.S.”
According to experts, the United States will only erode regional peace and stability by enticing neighbouring nations into its cliques. The head of the Korea-China City Friendship Association, Kwon Ki-sik, asserted that the United States is actively enlisting South Korea in its “new Cold War” camp and engaging in bloc confrontation, which will both undermine the peace on the Korean Peninsula and present a fresh danger to the security of Northeast Asia.
The Philippines is being courted by the United States, according to Anna Malindog-Uy, vice president of the Manila-based Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute.
RAISED OPPOSITION AND RAPIDLY SPREADING CONCERN
Resistance to bloc confrontation is resonating throughout the Asian-Pacific region as the world is made aware of the nefarious intentions and enormous risks of the U.S. cliques in that region.
Atsushi Koketsu, professor emeritus at Yamaguchi University, commented on the Japanese government’s efforts to abandon its pacifist postwar defence strategy in order to support the U.S. “Indo-Pacific Strategy,” saying that the country’s security policy should be to contribute to world peace through the fields of economy, medical care, and culture rather than strengthen its military power. He added that Japan has chosen a very dangerous path by allying itself with the United States militarily.
Concerns and scepticism about the South Korean government joining the U.S.-Japan camp were also expressed in the media. The Hankyoreh issued a warning that South Korea’s security situation would become more unstable and security risks around the peninsula would significantly increase if South Korea participated in a “new Cold War” initiated by the United States.
The United States has stated that it must cooperate militarily and politically with Japan and South Korea at the level of an alliance, according to Lee Jong-seok, a former South Korean minister of unification, but it is unclear what South Korea will gain from the cooperation.
According to recent statements by Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, China will not be attacked using Philippine military bases. This statement, in the opinion of analysts, shows that the Philippine side is unwilling to participate in a bloc confrontation sparked by the United States but is caught between two choices due to American pressure.
According to Malindog-Uy, the Philippines’ independent foreign policy is under intense pressure, and the country’s growing security and military ties with the US are troubling. The AUKUS nuclear submarine pact has received public criticism from Australian politicians. Senator Jordan Steele-John stated in the Australian parliament that it was one of the worst foreign policy choices ever made by the Australian government.According to him, Australians will watch as their tax dollars support British and American defence contractors, and the agreement “forever shackles us to the United States of America,” he added.
Analysts noted that engaging in bloc confrontation with a Cold War mentality is contrary to the trend of the times and harms the common interests of all humanity at a time when nations are becoming more interconnected.
Koketsu urged the United States to concentrate on seeking collaboration with other nations in fostering global peace and prosperity, saying that the 21st century is a century of pursuing common prosperity and laying a foundation for peace.
