The "encirclement China" strategy and strained US-China relations

The US Navy's 7th Fleet and 13th Expeditionary Force conducted a military exercise called "Joint Expeditionary Strike" in the South China Sea on February 11. The US Navy's military forces, including the Nimitz aircraft carrier, displayed their ships, aircraft and land-based combat equipment in the exercise, which the Chinese government has always treated as "our territory," drawing attention from all walks of life. Although the US government has not made a public statement on the issue of the South China Sea, it is known to have spoken many times about not hindering free movement in international maritime space.

Reuters reported on February 13 that the military exercise had been planned for a long time, and it is known to have raised a new level of tension in US-China relations caused by the shooting down of a Chinese spy satellite. A statement from the U.S. Navy said that the purpose of the exercise was to "demonstrate our capabilities in the region and thereby contribute to the maintenance of peace and stability." But the Chinese government understood the exercise as a provocation against itself, and quickly responded to it in the "Chinese way".

According to "Focus News" news on February 13, Chinese military aircraft and ships appeared around the Taiwan Strait in the morning. The news reports that there are more than 20 of them. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said, "We found that 18 military aircraft and 11 military ships crossed the border line in the Taiwan Strait." Four Chinese ships that crossed the demarcation line were later found to be roaming around the island of Taiwan.

A Feb. 13 commentary in the South China Morning Post described the new trend as "a new cog in the US's increasingly escalating countermeasures against China." In particular, the most representative event is the four military bases borrowed by the US military from the Philippines, which actually coincides with the opening of a new military base in Guam that can patrol five thousand soldiers. According to the review, the US military is currently reluctant to open military bases in Australia, and the author emphasizes that the Chinese government is interpreting these events as a "tactic to encircle China." Speaking about this, Gregory B. Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Department of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), emphasizes that the Chinese factor is the most important. The answer is China. In the 1990s, the United States abandoned its bases in the Philippines. Because after the end of the Cold War, there was no major external threat to the Philippines or any other country. But they all feel that threat, and that it is growing, as China has committed numerous acts of violence in the Indo-Pacific region over the past decade. So they all started to think that if we want to protect ourselves, we should ally with the US government.

This opinion is reflected in the words of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during his visit to Australia last week. At that time, he said, "China's dangerous and threatening activities in the Indo-Pacific region, including around Taiwan, are aimed at the Pacific countries, as well as the countries along the South China Sea. "This is actually a threat to regional peace and stability." The author believes that some political analysts predict that the negotiations between the two sides will last for several years, but the sudden appearance of the US military in the region is a sign that specific steps are being taken in the US government's defense strategy.

One point highlighted by the South China Morning Post review is the greater expansion of US influence in the Indo-Pacific region. However, the author believes that China's hegemonic nature in the region has always worried Asian countries, so this kind of military expansion of American influence in the region has been unanimously appreciated by those countries. The only country that is upset is China. Professor Carl Sayer of the University of New South Wales, Australia, told the "South China Morning Newspaper" about this, "This means that Baidin's government has begun to engage militarily in the Indo-Pacific region. On the one hand, the United States will achieve the goal of effectively controlling China's threat, and on the other hand, it will be able to send the message to its allies that ``your alliance with the United States has a solid foundation like steel.'' Speaking of which, Mr. Gregory Poling said that it was actually "a rebirth of the old confederacy."

“I think the answer is China. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement calling it "part of the US-led enemy's strategy to encircle China." In the eyes of the Chinese government, everything the US government does in Asia is seen as an 'attempt to encircle and destabilize China'. But one point that the Chinese government always 'forgets' is Chinese behavior. They never mention the evil they are doing in the region. As for war, I don't think either side is interested in starting a war right now. Even in the case of war, this can be caused by accidental actions or misunderstandings. China's current preoccupation is to increase its military and economic power, and to use this advantage to bully its neighbors in the South China Sea into accepting a system of Chinese characteristics. The US is interested in helping its allies in the region to cope with the pressure they are under. In such a situation, neither side wants a military conflict.''

The commentary said the Chinese government was alarmed by the emergence of US influence in this age and the rapid agreement between the US and the Philippines on military bases. He also quickly accused the US side of "creating tension in regional security". Collin Koh, a strategist, says that the rise of American influence in this age "can be seen as the American military encircling China in Asia." His conclusion is also indirectly consistent with some of the US government's responses to the matter. US President Joe Biden made it clear in his State of the Union address last week: “Make no mistake: As we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to defend our country.