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US-China Relations - 118. page

Xinhua: Abe Enshrines the “Ghosts;” Japan and U.S. Play Duet again

Shortly after Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s visit to the Yasukuni war shrine on December 26, Xinhua wrote a commentary on the visit. Below is an excerpt from Xinhua’s commentary:

The Japanese Prime Minister’s “out of line” action was premeditated. It indisputably shows that the Japanese right-wing militarism has a deep root and has a big market. There are two main reasons for this: 
First, Japanese society has been making a right turn. Its purpose is, through wiping out the history of aggression and revising the pacifist constitution, to remove the hat of being the defeated nation and get rid of the shackles of the post-World War II international order so that it can become a "normal state" with the ability to develop a regular army, send troops overseas, and realize the goal of being a "big political power." 
Military expert Peng Guangqian said, "In the past (many) think there were only a handful of Japanese right-wingers, but the facts show there are a large number." 
Zhang Huanli, a researcher from the International Affairs Institute of Xinhua News Agency and a senior reporter residing in Japan for many years, said, "China has always advocated ‘Sino-Japanese friendship,’ and ‘good-neighborliness.’ The Japanese did not believe in this. [We] must be realistic and carefully look at the real Japan.” 
Second, the United States has shifted its strategic center eastward. Japan believes that this is an opportune time. As America’s most effective ally, Japan diligently collaborates with the United States, strengthens the Japan-U.S. alliance, and vigorously promotes the policy of containing China. It shows an unprecedented tough diplomacy toward China and carries out military deployment and exercises against China. 
Although the United States expressed disappointment following Abe’s enshrining the "ghosts," anyone with a clear mind can see that the U.S. and Japan are actually “singing a duet.” 
Source: Xinhua, December 29, 2013 
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2013/1229/c1002-23969901.html
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Luo Yuan: China Is Not a Lamb That Others Can Slaughter at Will

Chinese Strategic Culture Association Executive Vice President and Secretary-General Luo Yuan had a discussion online on People’s microblog [under the website of People’s Daily] with the Netizens about the recent developments in the situation of the Diaoyu Islands.  

Some asked: "Recently, it has not seemed to be peaceful in China’s surrounding waters. How do you think about the China-U.S. naval confrontation incident in the South China Sea earlier this month? Does it mean that China will no longer just tolerate everything blindly in its territorial waters?" 
Luo Yuan said that, in dealing with the surrounding hot issues, China has maintained a great deal of restraint and tolerance. It can be said that we have been tolerating again and again. Now it is becoming intolerable. While we were conducting normal naval training in the Western Pacific, a Japanese missile frigate intruded into our exercise area for reconnaissance at a close distance. While our aircraft carrier battle groups were in the South China Sea for normal research and training, the U.S. cruiser also came close to our aircraft carriers. No sovereign state allows this. It was a legitimate defensive measure that we sent amphibious landing ships to drive them away and guard ourselves. We didn’t cause any threat to any country. The issue now is that the United States came close to our doorstep with its cruiser; it was not China’s warships going to the United States to provoke. It is the United States interfering with China’s normal military training, not China interfering the U.S.’s normal navigation. The U.S. cannot be too tyrannous and cannot go too far bullying people. China is no longer the lamb to be trampled upon and insulted. 
Source: People’s Daily, December 24, 2013 
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/1224/c1011-23934591.html
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Xinhua Commentary: The U.S. China Relationship is Delicate and Sensitive

Xinhua published a commentary which stated that the U.S. China relationship has entered into a time frame that is both delicate and sensitive. On the one hand, the U.S. China economic relationship remains strong, but, on the other hand, the U.S. is still on guard and distrusts China. At the same time, occasional military conflicts have taken place between the two countries from time to time. The article cited three reasons for the complexity of the relationship between the U.S. and China. The first reason is that the base for the U.S. China relationship developed out of the confrontational relationship during the cold war and thus is weak. Secondly, the relationship between the two has involved broader aspects. The third reason is that the power between the two shows that the U.S. is getting weaker while China is getting stronger. The article ended by pointing out that, if both countries can handle the relationship well, it will mean not only that the U.S. China relationship is growing stable and mature, but also that it has a significant impact on the international situation and the world’s security environment.

Source: Xinhua, December 20, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/comments/2013-12/20/c_118642127.htm

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U.S. Secretary of State Targets China by Throwing Money to Vietnam

Xinhua published a report from Beijing Youth Daily about U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Vietnam. On December 16, Kerry announced a pledge of US$18 million in aid to Vietnam to strengthen Vietnam’s coastal patrol. Kerry said this assistance had nothing to do with the South China Sea issue. 

 The report said that Kerry gave a pretty name, “maritime security assistance,” to the aid but the U.S.’s intentions were quite clear. The report, citing Associated Press, said that the United States is directly targeting China by aiding Vietnam. It said that Kerry also spared no effort to meddle in the East China Sea issue. He mentioned Japan-China relations at a news conference, urging both sides to "strengthen dialogue and diplomatic efforts" to resolve their East China Sea-related differences. 

Source: Xinhua, December 18, 2013 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2013-12/18/c_125875820.htm

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Navy Admiral: U.S. Warships Forcibly Entering Our Carrier Zone Is Similar to Provocation

The report below was originally published in Jinghua Times and then republished in People’s Daily. 

On December 5, a U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class of guided missile cruiser nearly collided with a Chinese warship while carrying out surveillance of China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier in the South China Sea. According to the Global Times, the U.S. military had entered the inner defense zone of the cruiser aircraft carrier battle groups. 
This is another incident in the escalating confrontation between an emerging big maritime country, China, and the United States, the maritime power that has been dominant in the Asia-Pacific since World War II. 
Rear Adm. Yin Zhuo, director of the Chinese PLA Navy Advisory Committee for Information Technology, said that reconnaissance operations do not violate international law; however, because the Liaoning ship had already designated the area of activity and briefed the world before the pilot training exercises, under normal circumstances, other country’s ships would not freely enter the relevant waters for safety reasons. He noted that the U.S. military "test Gibbons" cruiser was sailing through our carrier battle groups, ignoring the advice of our guard vessels. This is a very unfriendly close reconnaissance operation, similar to provocation. 

Source: People’s Daily, December 17, 2013
 http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/1217/c1011-23858252.html 
http://epaper.jinghua.cn/html/2013-12/17/content_48996.htm

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Huanqiu: Biden’s Beijing Trip Made Japan Recognize Who Is the Real Master

Huanqiu (Global Times), a subsidiary under People’s Daily, published an article stating that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s position in China made the noisy Japanese media "cool down." The article stated, in quoting a report by Hong Kong’s Oriental Daily, that on multiple public occasions in Beijing, Biden talked mainly about "the United States and China actively promoting the advancement of new relations between big powers" rather than the air defense identification zone. This made Japan, who asked the U.S. to do this and that, recognize "who is the real master and who can give orders." 

The article also claimed that, in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, although Biden provided the reason why the United States is against China’s setting up the identification zone, China’s response was clearly the more important focus. Xi Jinping strongly rebutted him. The article stated that the foreign media that expected the United States to send a strong signal to China commented, "Biden’s visit to China was rebuffed." "Biden made the Japanese worry about the U.S. attitude." 

Source : Huanqiu, December 6, 2013 
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2013-12/4635259.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

People Daily: China’s ADIZ Hit Japan and the U.S. Where It Hurts

The following is an excerpt from a commentary published on the People’s Daily website: 

China’s announcement of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) caused uproars in Japan, the United States, Australia, Canada and other Western countries. Japan and the U.S. even sent military planes as an act of provocation. Their media also followed the barking and rallied together to attack (China). Some people laughed at China, saying that the ADIZ is a self-inflicting "disgrace," "useless," "a paper tiger." In fact, such an extraordinary response proves that the Chinese move hits Japan and the U.S. exactly where it hurts. 
One of the accusations against China is China’s military modernization is "breaking the balance of power in the region." The United States, therefore, should "return to Asia" to rebuild "the Asia-Pacific balance." Some U.S. allies in Southeast Asia also expect the United States to balance China. It should be noted that the Asia-Pacific has never had military balance: the United States not only has never left Asia; it has had military dominance in East Asia. … In recent years China’s military modernization has been more for the sake of configuring its legitimate defense, as is needed for a big country. It is a process to rectify the "imbalance" and achieve "rebalance." This is where the United States and Japan’s worries are. However, China cannot stop growing the crops because of "fear of locusts.” 
Establishing the ADIZ is not only a matter of the sovereignty of our core national interests and of economic importance; it also has great strategic significance. The United States not only has never accused Japan because of its air identification zone; the U.S. also strongly supported it. Why do the two countries cooperate so seamlessly? Their purpose is, through the establishment of an air defense identification zone, to achieve blockage of China’s sea and air passages at the first island chain. In fact, Japan’s attempt is not "unacceptable." China must break barriers. How to break through? The United States and Japan have now shown us the way to follow. Now that American and Japanese military airplanes can break into China’s ADIZ without notice, then China of course can pass through Japan’s aviation identification zone without notification. Thus, the first island chain of the U.S. and Japan has become a "useless paper tiger." 

Source: People’s Daily, December 3, 2013 
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2013/1203/c1002-23729935.html

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BBC Chinese: U.S. Ambassador’s Resignation Triggered Widespread Discussion

BBC Chinese recently reported that the announcement of the resignation of Gary Locke, the U.S. Ambassador to China, immediately triggered a massive discussion on the Chinese Internet. Many netizens joked that Mr. Locke’s decision was largely based on the air quality in Beijing. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing started offering local PM2.5 pollution readings, which pushed the environmental protection topic to the top of China’s agenda list. Many netizens also “strongly complained” that Mr. Locke played a key role in major incidents that involved helping well-known human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng flee China and in allowing the Chongqing Deputy Mayor Wang Lijun to enter the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu. Mr. Locke is also famous for his low profile style of spending taxpayer money, which contrasts significantly with the behavior of Chinese government officials. Some suggested that Mr. Locke might be getting ready to run for U.S. President, since he has accumulated enough experience in foreign relations, state governance, and running the federal-level Commerce Department. 
Source: BBC Chinese, November 20, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/11/131120_locke_resignation_weibo.shtml
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations