By Dennis Etler
The US, since its inception, has believed in and practiced "manifest destiny," the doctrine that legitimizes and gives sanction to its Westward push across the North American continent. Nothing could nor would stand in the way of pursuing this objective. The theft of native lands and extermination of native peoples was seen as an inherent good, "the only good Indian, is a dead Indian."
Once the US reached the West Coast, they were confronted with a new obstacle, the Pacific Ocean. But that was seen not as an impediment but an opportunity for further expansion and by the end of the 19th century, the US had extended its dominion over much of it, from Hawai'i to Guam and the Philippines. It was the victory of the US over Japan, and the occupation of Japan, Okinawa, and South Korea by American armed forces, that sealed the Pacific as an American lake and placed the Western border of the US in East and Southeast Asia as it assumed the mantle of Imperial Japan's Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere. The US fought two wars, in Korea and Vietnam to impose its rule over the region. Even though it suffered a stalemate in Korea and a loss in Vietnam, the US never relinquished its hold over the Pacific and its western periphery.
For the US to now assert that its "forward-deployed naval forces will accept calculated tactical risks and adopt a more assertive posture in our day-to-day operations," as if it has not done so for the last 70 years is the height of obfuscation. For it to assert that "we will operate, reinforce and maintain the international standards and rules-based order that we have [had], in the Pacific in particular, for the past 70 years," is to just restate what its objective has been since the end of WW2 when the US imposed upon the world the "international standards and rules-based order" it so ardently champions!
The US is so full of itself that they can't see that they are the ones with "malign intent," not China, Russia, Iran nor anyone else who the US targets as its enemy. And they will "lean on a network of (subservient) allies who are willing" to do its bidding. But the US can see the writing on the wall and it's in Chinese characters. As the US strategic outline says, "For generations, we have underwritten security and prosperity and preserved the values our nation holds dear. However, China's behavior and accelerated military growth place it on a trajectory that will challenge our ability to continue to do so." Yes, China is now a peer competitor, something the US finds impossible to countenance.
US Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite has called China "a threat beyond any comparison ever in the history of our country." This is an interesting turning of the tables. Who, pray tell, is threatening whom? Who has its fleet deployed thousands of miles from its shores plying the coastal waters of another country, has waged two decades-long wars on its borders, and has military bases stationed surrounding it, China or the US? For the US to portray China as an aggressor when it is protecting its core nearshore national interests is hard to fathom.
China's "quickly expanding naval capabilities and its ability to mobilize a massive workforce," is a testament to its rise as a nation that can protect itself from foreign domination. And the fact that "China's navy battle force has more than tripled in size in only two decades," due to the "rapid growth (that) is enabled by a robust shipbuilding infrastructure, including multiple shipyards that exceed those in the United States in both size and throughput," is a testament to the rise of China not as a threat to the US but as a nation that has raised itself up by the bootstraps and can no longer be bullied by the US or anyone else.
Dennis Etler is an American political analyst who has a decades-long interest in international affairs. He’s a former professor of Anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California. He recorded this article for Press TV website.
No comments:
Post a Comment