China's Slings and Arrows
China made its displeasure with the U.S. known after Obama's Asia tour.
A U.S.-Japan agreement over the Senkaku Islands isn't sitting well with China.
The week since President Obama's return from his Asia-Pacific tour has, unsurprisingly, seen a stream of negative commentary from Chinese state-run media on on the U.S. role in Asia. China was especially unhappy with a U.S.-Japan joint statement confirming that the allied nations’ security treaty applies to all territories administered by Japan, including the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, and with a U.S.-Philippines defense agreement boosting America’s troop presence in the island nation. An annual joint military exercise between the United States and the Philippines currently underway is also being viewed with apprehension from China.
“U.S. shows its true colors,” announced an editorial in the English-language China Daily the day of Obama's return to Washington. “It is increasingly obvious that Washington is taking Beijing as an opponent,” said the editorial, taking aim at America’s alliances with both Japan and the Philippines. “Ganging up with its troublemaking allies, the U.S. is presenting itself as a security threat to China.” The editorial accused the United States and its “malicious” allies in Asia of projecting a “threatening image of China” in a concerted “attempt to contain China’s influence in the region.” According to the editorial, however, these efforts will ultimately fail: “Washington must come to terms with the reality that China will continue to grow, though it will not follow the U.S.’ hegemonic path.”
While China was displeased at U.S. agreements with both Japan and the Philippines, its greatest anger has been with the U.S.-Japan security arrangement. An editorial in People's Daily accused the two nations of "double-dealing" and "betraying history" on the Diaoyu/Senkaku issue, saying that "Japan is taking advantage of American greed to cause trouble" with its neighbors (i.e., China) in the Asia-Pacific region. "China's peaceful rise will not be constrained by any other country," the editorial likewise insisted. "The U.S. and Japan will taste bitter fruits if they continue their betrayal of history."
People’s Daily also highlighted “indignation” expressed by Chinese netizens following the U.S.-Japan joint statement. “The Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea have been an integral part of Chinese territory for centuries,” said one netizen quoted by People’s Daily. “The U.S. has no right to interfere.” Said another quoted by People’s Daily, “The U.S. makes a song and dance about freedom and democracy. But the Diaoyu Islands are Chinese territory. … You have to understand other people’s rules when you come to their home. Insist on being thoughtless, and exceed the boundaries of courtesy, and you will pay the penalty!”
Meanwhile, the Beijing Review insisted that Washington is in "decline," and is being played by Japan to the latter's advantage. "Washington neither wants to, nor is able to convince Tokyo to start dialogues with Beijing over the the Diaoyu Islands issue," said the Beijing Review. "Obama did flaunt his country's status as a superpower by backing Japan. But unfortunately, he also exposed the degradation of Washington's political wisdom. ... The United States is too spoiled by its egoistic superpower status to be a mediator."
Despite its expressed confidence in China's rise and America's decline, China clearly sees America as an established rival to its own rising influence in Asia, eyeing a U.S.-Philippine joint military exercise with apprehension. The 10-day Balikatan exercise involves 5,500 U.S. and Philippine troops, and focuses on dealing with natural disasters and tensions "due to excessive and expansive maritime and territorial claims” and “aggressive patterns of behavior" — a clear reference to China's assertions of supremacy in the South China Sea. Analysts cited by the Global Times characterized the exercise as a show of U.S. force aimed at containing Chinese power in the region, and suggested that these U.S. "tricks" were a barrier to improved relations between China and its neighbors. The Global Times also suggested that "U.S. power is in decline," and that perhaps China could look forward to one day having the United States out of its way.
These statements show a continuing attitude of bitterness toward the United States and its Asian alliances, and a sense that the United States is trespassing on China's "backyard" with its presence in Asia. As in previous statements, they reveal a fixation on the idea that America seeks to "contain" China, even as U.S. power declines according to Chinese observers. Japanese and Philippine "troublemaking," according to China, is also a recurring theme. As China continues its quest for regional supremacy in Asia, and as the United States continues to not go away, this tension with America and its Asian allies can only be expected to increase.
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