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Xinhua: Is the U.S.’s Perverse Eavesdropping Addiction Curable?

Xinhua published a commentary regarding the surveillance wiretapping that U.S. intelligence agencies have been conducting. A report that Snowden’s exposed document revealed that the United States and New Zealand intelligence agencies have cooperated in monitoring the Chinese Consulate General’s diplomatic communications in Auckland is what triggered the commentary. Below is an excerpt from the publication: 

“U.S. intelligence agencies have become addicted to and pervasive in engaging in wiretaps; it does not matter what regions and venues are involved. The latest disclosure has only added another footnote to the world’s largest hacking empire’s hidden secret.” “Snowden’s exposed evidence proves that China is one of the main targets of U.S. illegal wiretapping and eavesdropping; it covers national government leaders, research institutions, universities, and enterprises.” 

“The reason that America is so interested and so unscrupulous in ‘wiretapping’ China is simply to steal intelligence and master all that it can about China’s trends. The reason for the ‘eavesdropping addiction,’ is that the U.S. still hopes to ‘safeguard national security.’ It is to keep America’s leading position in the field of global diplomacy, the economy, science, and technology, and always be aware of those areas in which China is making rapid progress. ‘It is because of fear that China will surpass the U.S. to become the world’s superpower.’" “What is more ridiculous is that the United States, for many years, has been crying ‘stop thief’ [as a thief], and has been using ‘Chinese spies and hacking attacks’ as a continual excuse to put pressure on China. In fact, the United States is the perverse example of ‘a wiretapping addict’ and ‘the hacking empire.’" 
“Overseas, the United States’ intelligence-gathering behavior has repeatedly crossed the bottom line of what can be tolerated. In the United States, monitoring has sparked controversy over violations of citizens’ privacy. However, the U.S. authorities do not seem to intend to stop. After the 2013 wiretapping scandal, U.S. President Barack Obama refused to apologize. Instead, he argued that the American government has maintained a good balance in safeguarding national security and the protection of citizens’ privacy.” 
“Thus, although the United States has lost the moral high ground, it still insists on talking with high-sounding rhetoric. The U.S. has neither given a reasonable ‘antidote’ to hacking, eavesdropping, and surveillance; nor does it intend to take the initiative to cure its ‘eavesdropping addiction.’" 

Source: Xinhua, April 20, 2015 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2015-04/20/c_1115031026.htm

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Showing a Good Gesture to Japan? Can’t Obama Adhere to Some Moral Bottom Line?

Xinhua published an article commenting on how Obama’s treated Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the U.S.  

The article stated, “Facing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe while full of Smiles and with the big ‘gift’ of strengthening Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation, U.S. President Barack Obama also seemed ‘drunk.’ On the historical issue, Obama tolerates Abe without any principles and has abandoned even the most basic moral bottom line.” 
The article continued, “The war Abe is reluctant to face up to also caused great harm to the United States. The Pacific War started with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The U.S. military suffered heavy casualties and also experienced Japan’s inhuman acts.” 
“Faced with all this, Obama has chosen silence. At a joint news conference on the 28th following the Japan-U.S. summit talks, even while in the presence of Obama, Abe still sang the same old tune in answering the question about whether he would issue an apology for Japan’s history of aggression and for the ‘comfort women’ issue, saying that he was ‘extremely pained,’ but he avoided apologizing. Isn’t the American government always the self-proclaimed standard-bearer of human rights values? To such acts brazenly challenging the bottom line of human rights and human conscience, Obama was reluctant to express a just stance openly and resolutely in front of the public. Wasn’t lifting the ban on Japan’s military forces while being unwilling to completely correct the errors of history also a potential threat to the United States? On what basis of shared values was strengthening the alliance between the two countries actually built?” 
The article questioned, “Not adhering to principles in the cardinal problem of history, abandoning the moral bottom line, but continuing to loosen control over the Japanese military forces – is this Obama’s diplomatic legacy based on the ‘Asia-Pacific strategy’ at its core?” 
Source: Xinhua, April 29, 2014 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2015-04/29/c_127748174.htm
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People’s Daily: The U.S. and the Philippines Held Joint Military Exercises to Intimidate China

The Philippine military announced that the Philippine-U.S. joint military exercises codenamed "shoulder to shoulder" opened on April 20. People’s Daily reported on a CCTV interview of China Institute of International Affairs researcher Teng Jianqun, who commented on the military exercises. Teng said that more than 10,000 people from both sides took part in the exercises, more than double the number from last year. In addition, the exercise site was only 220 km. away from the nearest Chinese Huangyan Island. The sudden increase in the number of people in the exercises is indeed surprising. It is a manifestation that the United States and the Philippines have ulterior motives in the South China Sea. The Philippines chose to use the exercise area close to China in order to intimidate China. 

Teng pointed out that, in 1991, after the end of the Cold War and according to the law, the United States should have withdrawn all of its troops from the Philippines. The United States offered to conduct joint military exercises with the Philippines so that that it could continue to station its troops there. 
Teng stated that the U.S. and the Philippines’s military alliance has a long history. The United States has been providing military protection for the Philippines and has a large number of long-term troops stationed in the Philippines, especially since Aquino took office. He has tried to win over the United States to strengthen their military presence in the Philippines. In the current military deployment in the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and other countries, the U.S. has basically achieved its "Air Sea Battle" strategic plan in the South China Sea. 
Teng said, "According to figures released by the United States itself, the number of U.S. military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region each year will reach 170-200. The U.S. will have a military exercise almost every other day. Military exercises have become a symbolic action of the United States’ return to the Asia-Pacific." 
Source: People’s Daily, April 21, 2015 
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2015/0421/c1011-26879925.html

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Qiushi: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Redefines How the International System Changes

Qiushi, published a commentary article on the impact of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) that China is heading up. The writer was YANG Guangbin, a Professor of Politics at Renmin University of China and Executive Dean of the National Institutes of Management. 

The article said, “Other than the fact that the AIIB marks a new milestone in international relations …, it has more far-reaching political significance in the world. That is, it rewrites the way that the international system goes through transformation.” 

“In recent history, the formation and change of the international system has always been a recombination following the total destruction of the previous order. That has been typical of system alteration. The international systems after the reorganization have always been the ones of Western-centrism.” 
“The AIIB rewrites the way that the international system changes. First, the AIIB that China leads is a new force born within the established international order. China’s rise and the role it plays are completely different from those ways familiar to Westerners. Although it is a forced product resulting from the pressure of the U.S., it is also a result of the conditions that were ripe for the formation. Second, it is the first Asian-dominated international system change. Now the theory of international relations should be corrected. Almost all popular theories of international relations are based on the history of Western international relations. It is a discourse system of Western centrism. This time, the little brothers of the "Group of Seven" have squeezed into the AIIB’s founding members one after another. Such an action of rewriting history will also rewrite the theory of international relations. Third, the AIIB has no Ideological boundaries. Fourth, the change is a gradual one.” 

Source: Qiushi, April 3, 2015 
http://www.qstheory.cn/international/2015-04/03/c_1114862108.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

People’s Daily: U.S. Speculation on China’s ASAT Missile Exposed U.S. Combat System’s Fatal Flaw

People’s Daily reported on a CCTV interview of Chinese military experts who commented on U.S. officials’ public statements on China’s anti-satellite missiles. 

The report said, “On March 25, U.S. media stated that there are two Chinese anti-satellite missiles that can hit satellites that are in high orbits. Cecil Haney, the Commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, said that, in future conflicts, the United States needs to be prepared for satellite attacks. The U.S. media also pointed out that with 12 Chinese anti-satellite missiles, there could be a severe limit to the U.S. military’s long-range operations, such as its defense of Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.” 
“Military expert Du Wenlong responded, during an interview with CCTV, that the U.S. amplifies the China threat, [in order to] find excuses to finance more funds to develop its strategic advantage in space. At the same time, the U.S.’ remarks also exposed a fatal flaw in the American combat system. If the U.S. military reconnaissance and early warning system fails completely, its combat capabilities may return to the ‘Stone Age.’" 

 Source: People’s Daily, March, 27, 2015 
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2015/0327/c1011-26760351.html

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Huanqiu: U.S. Freedom of Navigation Operation Was Peremptory and Dangerous

China News Service (CNS) carried an article that was originally published by Huanqiu. The article said that on March 25, the Pentagon made an announcement that the U.S. military conducted freedom of navigation operations last year challenging maritime claims by 19 countries. It was the largest number of countries challenged in more than a decade. The article quoted interviews of some legal and navy experts from China who called this freedom of navigation operation peremptory. The article said that such a freedom of navigation operation prevents other countries from challenging the U.S.’s authoritative rights on the sea. It demonstrates that the U.S. does not accept and acknowledge maritime (rights) defined by other countries. Huanqiu reported that the operation not only upset certain parties, but was also a threat to global security. 

Source: China News Service, March 27, 2015

http://www.chinanews.com/mil/2015/03-27/7163030.shtml 

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

U.S. Enters Hegemony Menopause, Fearing Loss of Absolute Military Superiority to China

In a commentary article, Peng Guangqian, Deputy Secretary General of the China National Security Forum, stated that America’s dominance is in decline and is in the stage of “menopause.” Below is an excerpt from the article: 

“Not long ago, the U.S. Senate and the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing to examine the security challenges that the United States faces in the world. In the hearing, ‘Chinese military threat’ became the ‘keyword’ and was used with the highest frequency. America, which has always regarded itself as unbeatable, now has many senior officials and generals expressing their ‘shock’ at the progress of China’s military modernization and their ‘fear’ of losing the United States’ absolute military superiority. Aside from the mentality of American politicians that ‘unless you are the same race (as us), your heart will always be different,’ the United States really seems to be less powerful than it once was.” 
“History tells us that on the eve of hegemonic decline, when it is declining but not yet completely down, it is precisely at a stage where it is the most vulnerable, the most sensitive, and the most likely to lose its sense of mind. Compared to the past, America’s voice, when talking today, is getting louder and louder, which is precisely a manifestation of its inner anxiety, nervousness, and lack of self-confidence. It is a reflection of hegemony menopause. Obama said the United States ‘will never be in second position.’ This shows precisely that the U.S. is anxiously realizing the real possibility of becoming ‘second.’ In this particular sensitive time, the probability that the United States will have some irrational reactions is greatly increased.” 

“After all, the United States has the world’s largest super war machine and is a superpower with international influence. Once the United States loses its mind, once the decline of American hegemony is out of control, it is, of course, a disaster for the United States itself, and it will not be a good thing for the world either. Therefore, we must be especially vigilant about the direction in which the U.S. is heading. 

Source: Xinhua, February 26, 2015 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2015-02/26/c_127519734_2.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Internet Information Center: US Feels a Sense of Helplessness about AIIB

China Internet Information Center published a rebuttal against an article published in the New York Times on March 20 titled, “Hostility From U.S. as China Lures Allies to New Bank.” The rebuttal said that since March 12, more European countries have signed up to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank or AIIB, putting the U.S. in a very awkward position. The rebuttal questioned why the New York Times needs to be concerned. It stated that the reason China has attracted most countries to welcome the AIIB is that China has had strong economic growth. Even countries such as the UK look to China as its savior due to its own economic crisis. “The U.S. shouldn’t make its own values the absolute truth while discounting others. This type of mentality will affect its own growth.” The article continued that China has no intention of challenging the U.S. The strong opposition from the New York Times shows that the U.S. has a sense of helplessness.

Source: China Internet Information Center, March 25, 2015
http://opinion.china.com.cn/opinion_25_125025.html

New York Times, Hostility From U.S. as China Lures Allies to New Bank, March 19, 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/20/world/asia/hostility-from-us-as-china-lures-allies-to-new-bank.html?_r=0
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