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NSC Adviser Says Beijing Has « Heartburn » Over Biden’s Collection Of Allies
China’s « dramatic » military build-up has caused unease across Asia and has been the driving force behind the recent US three-way security pact formation, UK and Australia, which is focused on the region, said President Biden’s senior national security advisor for the Indo-Pacific.
Kurt M. Campbell, deputy assistant to the President and coordinator of the National Security Council for the Indo-Pacific, also said the government was up the so-called « AUKUS » pact and other US steps – such as building pro-democracy – deliberately « quad » alignment with Japan, Australia and India – cause « heartburn » for Beijing.
Mr Campbell gave the comments on Friday at the US Institute of Peace forum, days after Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi held a three-hour virtual summit to resolve a number of issues in the US Institute of Peace amid growing international concern to discuss the brewing of a cold war between America and China, the greatest communist power in the world.
Mr Campell said the Biden government is trying to compete with China in every area around the world , but wants to avoid poses and escalations in the style of the Cold War. However, Chinese leaders have accused the US of fueling new Cold War dynamics by strengthening ties with like-minded allies, including nations that might otherwise be under Beijing’s control.
« I think it would be fair to say that President Xi made it very clear at the virtual meeting that a number of things the United States are doing causes heartburn in China, « Campbell said. « And I think our bilateral security alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines and Thailand are at the top of this list – new partnerships such as Vietnam, the Quad, constructive cooperation with India, AUKUS, and frankly speaking more dynamically with the Europeans about areas of cooperation in the field of technology and the like. «
» I think President Xi has made it clear that, from a Chinese point of view, these represent what they call Cold War thinking would denote, ”he said. “We believe that these are key features, interrelated, overlapping, eclectic, some formalized, others informal, that together help to trace this operating system that has generated such profound prosperity over the past 30 years . I think the most important thing for us in the future is to be open and transparent about our work. ”
SEE ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: China’s military consistently exceeds US estimates
Campell said that the pursuit of transparency stands in contrast to the largely opaque military build-up in Beijing over the past quarter century.
“Since about 1996,” he said, “we have had one of the largest military builds in all sectors experienced – shipbuilding, nuclear technology [and] a number of technologies that are worrying China in modern times massive military investments and new capabilities. «
» We believe that some of it is destabilizing, a lot of it was done in an opaque way and I think behind the scenes there are many in Asia concerned about this significant, dramatic military investment, ”he said. « Indeed, some of these steps have resulted in other countries responding, and I would say AUKUS is one of those answers. » US military officials expressed particular concern about China’s growing nuclear arsenal. A recent Pentagon report warned that China is on track to more than double its arsenal in the coming years, delivering 700 nuclear warheads by 2027 and 1,000 by 2030.
While China’s military toning around Taiwan as well as others Weapons advances – including a test of a nuclear-powered hypersonic missile – have made headlines around the world in recent months, a White House summary of Monday’s summit between Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi did not mention any specific discussion on such matters.
In the However, in summary, Mr Biden « underscored the importance of managing strategic risk » with China and « recognized the need for guard rails with common sense » to ensure that US-China competition « does not come into conflict. » / p> The concern that a conflict might accidentally break out is in the face of im Beijing’s military capabilities are accelerating.
A senior US Air Force general told the Washington Times earlier this month that China’s military progress continues to exceed US estimates. Neither the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War nor any other country in recent history has consistently outperformed the projections of the Pentagon and the intelligence services.
Lieutenant General S. Clinton Hinote, Air Force Assistant Chief of Staff for Strategy, Integration and Requirements , gave a blunt assessment of how quickly the Chinese armed forces have accelerated important programs such as hypersonic weapons, nuclear weapons, and many others. was that it was the only country I remembered … that was accelerating consistently faster than we estimate, ”General Hinote told the Times. “The Soviets didn’t do that. Certainly not North Korea or Iran or something. But China has done a good job of taking its economic power … and applying it to accelerating military capabilities. «
» The military capabilities, ranging from nuclear to cyber to space, give a multitude of Concerns, « said Campbell, adding that during the summit on Monday Mr. Biden tried to open a dialogue with Mr. Xi about the need for transparency and open channels for communication in order to avoid unwanted conflict.
» The president wanted to say, ‘As great powers, we have an interest in doing everything in our power to prevent first-level problems, inattention, misjudgments and accidents,’ « said Campbell.
» Which we love to do and we have tried in the past is to involve China in discussions about what we would do if we were exposed to an accident or inattention, ”he said. « We are in the very early stages of such a discussion. »
Copyright © 2021 The Washington Times, LLC.
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