Thread: Armed Services Committee Chairman Warns US And China "Headed For World War III"

Armed Services Committee Chairman Warns US And China "Headed For World War III"



"You’re talking to our allies over there and you wonder whose side they’re going to be on."

Wed, 01/30/2019 - 23:55
52 SHARES

Given that China's President Xi Jinping started the year by obliquely warning the US to stay out of Taiwan's business, perhaps it's not surprising that Senators are starting to join US military commanders in warning Americans not to underestimate the threat posed by China's unprecedented military buildup in the Pacific.
In the latest - and perhaps the most stark - warning to date, Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma - who recently took over as the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee - warned during a hearing about the challenges posed by China and Russia on Tuesday that people need to better understand the threats both countries pose to the international world order that America helped create, according to the Military Times.



America has stood idly by as China has built airstrips and military bases out of a series of rocky atolls in the Spratley Archipelago, preparing to flex its military muscle in the Pacific. China's increasingly aggressive behavior was on display last fall when a Chinese Navy ship nearly rammed the USS Decatur while it was carrying out a "freedom of operation" mission.

While the U.S. military has a presence in and around the South China Sea and the larger western Pacific Ocean, Inhofe said America largely watched China lay claim to its rocks and islets before turning other reefs into fortifications, brimming with arms and stockpiled with materiel.
Beijing’s ongoing expansion into the Spratly archipelago agitates neighboring nations and continues to challenge international law, an assertiveness the U.S. Navy attempts to check through routine freedom of navigation operations, or FONOPs.

The days of absolute military dominance in the South China Sea have ended, Inhofe said. But strangely, many Americans don't seem to understand the magnitude of this shift - or its implications. With its One Belt, One Road initiative, debt diplomacy and other efforts, China has managed to pull some of the US's traditional allies away from its orbit, and closer to Beijing.

“It’s like you’re preparing for World War III,” Inhofe said. "You’re talking to our allies over there and you wonder whose side they’re going to be on."
Inhofe and other senators, as well as experts who testified before the committee, noted that the urgency of the Chinese threat against America and today’s world order may not be fully appreciated by U.S. citizens.
"I’m concerned our message is not getting across," said Inhofe, who took over the committee this month.

A military analyst quoted by the Military Times reinforced Inhofe's warning, saying that Americans should be prepared for long-term competition with China.

A fellow hand at CNAS, Ely Ratner, added that it’s important for Senators and all other Americans to know that Washington’s rocky relationship with China is neither "an episodic downturn” nor a problem that began with President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies.
Saying that the American people "should be preparing for long-term competition with China,” Ratner also warned Beijing’s support for embattled Venezuelan strongman Nicholas Maduro should be viewed as a sign of things to come.
"I think it’s a harbinger of what a China-led order would look like…in terms of protecting and defending non-democratic regimes and impeding the ability of the international community to galvanize and respond," said Ratner, a former deputy national security advisor to Vice President Joe Biden.
“If we don’t get our act together in Asia, we’re going to see this movie over and over and over again throughout the developing world.”

Unsurprisingly, China wasn't thrilled with Inhofe's assessment; the editor of the English-language Global Times, a Communist Party mouthpiece, accused the senator of having "mental problems."

View image on Twitter

Hu Xijin 胡锡进 @HuXijin_GT

When the Chinese hear such an idea, their reactions: 1. This Senator has mental problem. 2 He is seeking attention much like a radical internet troll. 3. There are problems with the American society that it produces such a nonsense-talking Senator.

90
9:39 AM - Jan 30, 2019

Beijing, which has repeatedly pushed back against the US's aggressive rhetoric by dismissing its warnings, will be just thrilled to hear from Inhofe, particularly on the day that the "high-level" trade talks between the two countries began.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...-world-war-iii

Beijing Mocks "Insecure" United States Over Russia, China Fears



"If even the United States feels that threats are in all directions, what should other countries do?"

Thu, 01/31/2019 - 12:43
39 SHARES

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang responded on Wednesday to Dan Coats's Tuesday testimony at the Capitol in which the White House National Intelligence Director argued that Beijing and Moscow are actively plotting to undermine Washington's global dominance and undermine democracy worldwide, reports Newsweek. Coates said that Russia and China pose unique, separate challenges along with North Korea and Iran - which he termed "the big four."


Russia, China and Mongolian flags at the Vostok 2018 military exerciseGeng said that Russia and China's relationship was "at the best level in history," and claimed that the two nations have jointly "safeguarded the peace, security and stability of the region and the world."
"The United States is the world's number one power, and its military strength is unparalleled. If even the United States feels that threats are in all directions, what should other countries do?" asked Geng, who said that Washington appeared to be "afraid of a looming threat."

"I don't know where the strong insecurity of the U.S. comes from," Geng added. "I want to emphasize that there is no absolute security in the world, and the security of a country is less likely to be based on the insecurity of other countries."
And according to Newsweek, China and Russia have grown closer in the face of Western scrutiny.

China and Russia have grown closer in recent years over what they jointly view as an expansionist U.S. doctrine harmful to their own agendas at home and abroad. While President Donald Trump initially sought to work more closely with his country's top two military rivals, the first two years of his administration have left the U.S. further alienated from China and Russia.
The two countries were designated as adversaries in central Trump administration documents such as the National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Posture Review and, most recently, the 2019 Missile Defense Review. The ambitious, costly plan would see missile sensors deployed to space and other measures intended to "ensure that we can detect and destroy any missile launched against the United States anywhere, anytime" as Trump said earlier this month.
In response, China and Russia both warned of a potential "arms race." All three countries have already begun developing hypersonic missiles too fast for any currently known defense systems, with Moscow claiming to have already begun deploying such advanced weapons. An award-winning Chinese scientist said earlier this month that he had developed an "Underground Steel Great Wall" capable of protecting against even hypersonic missile attacks. -Newsweek

While China and Russia are formidable, the United States - for now, still has significant advantages in terms of strength, reach and technology. That said, according to the US Institute of Peace, the United States "might struggle to win, or perhaps lose, a war against China or Russia," and "is particularly at risk of being overwhelmed should its military be forced to fight on two or more fronts simultaneously."
Geng suggested that "the U.S. can abandon zero-sum thinking, abandon the view of relations between major powers from a confrontational perspective, conform to the tide of peace and development and work with China, Russia and the international community to jointly safeguard international peace and security."
Speaking to the different challenges posed by Russia and China, DNI Coates saidL "Whereas with China, we must be concerned about the methodical and long-term efforts to capitalize on its past decade of a growing economy and to match, or overtake our superior global capabilities, Russia’s approach relies on misdirection and obfuscation as it seeks to destabilize and diminish our standing in the world."
On Monday following a non-proliferation meeting of the five permanent United Nations Security Council members, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Moscow and Beijing would "focus" on coordinating their nuclear weapons strategies.




https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...ia-china-fears