People’s Daily recently reported on Zhen Zehao, Associate Professor at the National Defense University, who stated in a commentary that the purpose of the U.S. military exercises in the Asia Pacific region is to contain China and reestablish its superpower image.
Zhen said, “At the end of 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama proposed in high-profile "to return to the Asia-Pacific." Since then, the Pacific has no longer been ‘pacific.’ The United States has frequently organized joint military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Zhen asked, “Why is the United States so fond of the Asia-Pacific region? Why does it so frequently use such an action as military exercises?"
Zhen explained, “From a geostrategic perspective, the Asia-Pacific is an irreplaceable part of the ‘anticommunist levee’ that the U.S. has built in the Far East. Containing China in the Asia-Pacific region is an integral part of the U.S.’s China policy."
“In recent years, by organizing a series of joint military exercises, the United States has sought to broaden its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region; it continues to strengthen its political and military intervention activities in the region; it has had a significant impact on security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region; and it has exacerbated conflicts of interest between all parties in the region. The region was thrown into a complex situation in which competition and cooperation are intertwined, causing a new round in an arms race that is leading the region to be ‘politically cold and economically hot.’”
In conclusion, Zhen said, “The United States intends to use the joint military exercises to disrupt the order in the Asia-Pacific; it is taking full advantage of these military exercises to multilaterally contain China and thus enhance U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific region. This is probably the most fundamental intent of the U.S. In addition, the United States has chosen the Asia-Pacific region, not only to use it as a trump card to clamp down on China’s ‘regional hegemony,’ but also to reinforce its far-reaching intention of displaying its power and reestablishing its superpower image.”
Source: People’s Daily, April 8, 2013
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/0408/c1011-21050399.html