US deploys force to counter China ahead of Shangri-La Dialogue
Once again, world public opinion is focused on the East Sea hotspot in the context of extremely tense US-China relations with the trade war.
Clash of two interests
After years of heated US-China confrontation in the South China Sea, Acting Secretary of Defense Michael Shanahan is expected to announce the Pentagon's new Indo-Pacific strategy at the Shangri-La Dialogue on June 1, 2019.
Notably, just one day later, Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe is scheduled to speak about China’s role in the Indo-Pacific region. This is the highest-ranking Chinese general to appear at this top defense conference in Asia in eight years.
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| US amphibious assault ship Wasp. Photo: US Navy |
The presence of these two officials is significant. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire 1.3 million square kilometers2The East Sea and will do anything to establish its position here. Chinese President Xi Jinping once declared that he would not give up even an inch of their so-called “sovereignty” in this area.
Meanwhile, US military officials have strongly pledged to continue ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific.
William Choong, senior fellow at the Shangri-La Dialogue, said in a tweet on May 28 that the presence of both Wei and Shanahan would create “a clash between two visions: the US-Japan “free and open Indo-Pacific” and China’s “Asia for Asians.”
“Chinese leaders now recognize the value of multilateral defense forums and want to take away America’s monopoly on great power influence,” analyst Carl Schuster, former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, told CNN.
America's powerful and comprehensive posture in the East Sea
America's intentions for the South China Sea region have been conveyed powerfully.
The Pentagon has stepped up freedom of navigation operations to a weekly frequency. And the commander of US Pacific Air Forces said this month that US Air Force jets were flying in and around the South China Sea almost daily.
Washington has also sent warships through the Taiwan Strait that separates mainland China from Taiwan (which China considers a breakaway province) several times in 2019.
Moreover, the US is not acting alone. Its allies and partners are also active in the region.
US pressure on Beijing is mounting in Washington, where a bipartisan group of US senators last week introduced a bill to impose sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals helping build up China's military posture in the South China Sea.
In a statement, US Democratic Senator Ben Cardin affirmed: “China is a bully in both the East Sea and the East China Sea, invading and intimidating its neighbors. We cannot stand idly by in the face of such behavior.”./.