Once China declared the air space over several disputed islands (currently controlled by Japan) a Chinese defensive zone, requiring aircraft to clear over-flights with authorities from the People’s Republic of China, the gauntlet was slammed onto the challenge field. The United States, Japan and South Korea promptly rejected the PRC imperative and flew military aircraft across the areas without PRC clearance. The U.S. pressed for a diplomatic solution, but to the Chinese because of these over-flights, we were siding with the Japanese against the Chinese territorial claims. The United States was not a trusted ally willing to remain neutral in this long-standing dispute.
While the our very long-term Japanese allies have some pride at maintaining their stake over these unpopulated islands, the Chinese are ultra-passionate. The Japanese atrocities against Chinese immediately before and during WWII might just as well have happened yesterday. Chinese politicians were whipping up local anger at this lingering anomaly. The signals also launched a welcome sign for possibly strengthening European ties to the PRC… at the expense of the American connection.
When senior PRC officials suggested in the press that the renminbi (the Chinese currency) be considered to be no less than a side-by-side reserve currency with the U.S. dollar as an international trading/valuation unit, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron promptly indicated that Britain was willing to tear down the trade barriers with China and become an active renminbi trading partner. Was this a willingness to sell the United States down the river? And while the United States would never entertain a Chinese power company’s owning a significant interest in an American nuclear power-generating facility, Cameron indicated that the U.K. had no such compunctions. China was welcome to invest in new British nuclear power plants.
Leading a 131 person trade delegation to the PRC, Cameron was bending over backwards to accommodate Chinese requests, including reciprocal banking operations. Oh, and he got an agreement to sell 100,000 Jaguars into the PRC market. As others sought to contain Chinese aspirations (a comment seemingly aimed directly at U.S. policy), noted Cameron, as for England (and perhaps other European powers willing to play the game), the economic walls with China were coming down.
To the PRC, this was an opportunity to build more ties to Europe… leaving the United States with a growing schism with its European allies, and the PRC continuing to marginalize our political clout. This could be the beginning of a less-than-subtle realignment of global powers who might well be willing to accept weakening ties with the U.S. in order to placate this new rising economic super-power.
The PRC political machine is quite expert as finding new balance in global situations to tilt the playing field in its direction. The fight over the Japanese islands created just such an opportunity. It serves as a reminder to Washington that the U.S. no longer remotely calls the shots. China was pulling the strings with amazing results. Since the world no longer needs the United States to protect it from the Soviet arsenal, China was the growing power just as the United States, unable even to get its own Congress to function effectively, was sliding down in the other direction. Those nations worried about their future are embracing the PRC over a very unpopular American “bully” (with drones, NSA-spying and unpopular wars defining its global perception).
Does this mean that China is turning her back on the United States? Not exactly, and you can expect these masters of martial arts to apply their moves to throw us out of balance, pulling us in when they need us and moving towards others at our expense when that suit their needs. We may not like this new-found Chinese power, but we kind of did it to ourselves. Borrowing money to fight unwinnable wars against indigenous rebels who have kept us at bay for years… while lowering taxes, cutting our educational funding, letting infrastructure crumble and cutting research spends, just as China amped up its commitment in each of these long-term-value-producing venues.
To be treated like a first class political and economic powerhouse, we need to get our own Congress working, our economic interests in order and our global priorities based on practical success. That would be a huge change from the direction we are heading in right now.
I’m Peter Dekom, and even our allies are tracking our steps, taking advantage of even momentary glitches in our vectors.
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