A Cold War China Policy - New York Times
A Cold War China Policy - New York Times
November 19, 2005
Editorial
A Cold War China Policy
President Bush probably won't mention the word "containment" when he visits China this weekend. But his hosts can surely be excused for wondering whether his administration is now trying to revive that cold war anti-Soviet strategy and apply it to the very different circumstances of today's complex relationship between Washington and Beijing.
China's headlong economic advance presents real challenges to American policy makers, like potentially destabilizing trade and currency imbalances and a growing competition for scarce global energy supplies. But China poses no obvious military threat to the United States at this time. In the one area of potential future conflict, Taiwan, tensions have notably eased in recent months.
Yet for the past few months, the Bush administration has been going out of its way to build up its military ties with countries surrounding China. India and Japan are the two most troubling examples. Washington has pressed ahead with an ill-advised initiative to share civilian nuclear technology with India, despite that country's refusal to abide by the restrictions of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. And it has actively encouraged an already worrisomely nationalist Japanese government to shed postwar restraints on its military and embrace more ambitious regional security goals. Washington has also taken steps to strengthen military cooperation with Vietnam and Indonesia. Mr. Bush's stopover in Mongolia on Monday will likewise be aimed at cementing a new security partnership.
The risk is that this neo-containment policy could become a self-fulfilling prophecy, leading China to start throwing its own military and economic weight around to break out of the containment trap.
Asia's great challenge at the start of the 21st century is to find ways to adjust to an economically stronger China without falling into the destructive military rivalries of the past. That, not a new version of containment, should be the central concern right now for the United States, and for Japan and India as well.
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November 19, 2005
Editorial
A Cold War China Policy
President Bush probably won't mention the word "containment" when he visits China this weekend. But his hosts can surely be excused for wondering whether his administration is now trying to revive that cold war anti-Soviet strategy and apply it to the very different circumstances of today's complex relationship between Washington and Beijing.
China's headlong economic advance presents real challenges to American policy makers, like potentially destabilizing trade and currency imbalances and a growing competition for scarce global energy supplies. But China poses no obvious military threat to the United States at this time. In the one area of potential future conflict, Taiwan, tensions have notably eased in recent months.
Yet for the past few months, the Bush administration has been going out of its way to build up its military ties with countries surrounding China. India and Japan are the two most troubling examples. Washington has pressed ahead with an ill-advised initiative to share civilian nuclear technology with India, despite that country's refusal to abide by the restrictions of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. And it has actively encouraged an already worrisomely nationalist Japanese government to shed postwar restraints on its military and embrace more ambitious regional security goals. Washington has also taken steps to strengthen military cooperation with Vietnam and Indonesia. Mr. Bush's stopover in Mongolia on Monday will likewise be aimed at cementing a new security partnership.
The risk is that this neo-containment policy could become a self-fulfilling prophecy, leading China to start throwing its own military and economic weight around to break out of the containment trap.
Asia's great challenge at the start of the 21st century is to find ways to adjust to an economically stronger China without falling into the destructive military rivalries of the past. That, not a new version of containment, should be the central concern right now for the United States, and for Japan and India as well.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections XML Help Contact Us Work for Us Site Map Back to Top
posted by Eastlaw at 11:59 PM
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