Countering the Beijing threat

As America’s war in Middle East and Central Asia draws to a close, it has started worrying about Chinese challenge. While Washington faces $14.2 trillion budget deficit and pours billions in war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, Beijing is flexing its military muscles in the region. US cannot allow this as it would create an imbalance in the region. A report published in New York Times in its 16^th November edition said “As US turns to Asia it sees China everywhere.” The reports also accused Chinese maritime force of targeting Philippines’s research and civilian ships. This is the how US media and the US itself is wary of China.

The fact that Washington cannot tolerate any Beijing superiority in the region is further confirmed by President Obama’s visit to Australia, showing interest in using the former US World War II base once again. This shows how desperate the Americans are to isolate the Chinese in their region. US find Australia as an alternative base because Afghanistan is a region which would take a million men and a thousand years to conquer. Secondly movements like ‘Occupy Wall Street’, if in case get successful will force the American establishment to call off the military campaign in Afghanistan as it is a burden on US economy and has caused a massive economic meltdown. Australia would be a good choice to maintain some regional superiority, although it will lose a precious and a strategic outpost like Afghanistan leaving it to the regional powers like Pakistan, India, Iran and of course Russia to contest for it, China is least interested as its interest lies in Pacific ocean trade routes because it generates US$ 5 billion a year and in mineral rich South China sea. China is now sensing the threat from US as it attempts to encircle the growing superpower. That’s what they’ve been doing, formerly with USSR. Washington desperately needs to counter the Beijing threat, Beijing on other hand is well aware of Washington’s intentions and its ‘camouflaged diplomacy’. The test flight of Chinese homemade 5^th generation stealth fighter aircraft capable of carrying nuclear warhead, which, coincidently, according to Chinese authorities, coincided with a high profile US delegation on visit to China, signaling Washington diplomatically to keep its eyes off the region or else we know how to deal with you. The US authorities are suffering from paranoia because of Beijing’s growing military and economic powers, each year the defense budget allocated is kept secret and this frightens those in Capitol Hill even more. Another variable that fits in the US-Pacific-China equation is the US’s proxy power in the region, India. US will definitely be worrying for its civil nuclear partner, as it already faces threats from Islamist Jihadis which are allegedly trained by its neighboring country’s top spy agency ISI. On the other hand it shares its huge borders with arch-rivals Pakistan and China which the New Delhi sees as a threatening alliance especially in the defense sector. That also adds worry to US as it will have to support its partner in case of any morass. Currently the US is unwilling to leave Afghanistan as it is serving as an important outpost for CIA in the region controlling any geo-political move played by any of the hostile regional power like Iran and Russia, but the Taliban has caused enough bedevil in the last 10 years.

The Chinese military and economic growth was in spurt in last couple of years and the US now want to stagnate it by any means. Washington is now playing a triple tug-a-war, one with China, second with Taliban in Afghanistan and third within the Capitol Hill. One may view the Chinese and the Taliban factor as same because if they win it will lead to ousting of the superpower from the region. This tug-a-war may trigger Cold War II.