Opinion | US warns of South China Sea ‘provocations’ – but who is provoking whom?
- The US denounces Chinese ‘aggression’ while relentlessly conducting probes and showing off its military might in China’s backyard
- Were China to do the same near America’s Gulf coast, how would Washington react?
The frequency and intensity of dangerous incidents between the US and China militaries in the area are indeed increasing. And the possibility of an escalation is certainly higher following the visit to Taiwan by second in line to the US presidency Nancy Pelosi. But the US needs to pause and examine just who is provoking whom.
Jung Pak, of the US State Department’s bureau of East Asia and Pacific affairs said recently there was “a clear and upward trend of PRC provocations against South China Sea claimants and other states lawfully operating in the region”– which means the US and its allies.
Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, went further by declaring that “Beijing is systematically testing the limits of our collective resolve”, implying that this has become China’s policy.
This is clearly the latest Washington anti-China meme. But it evokes the famous exclamation of tennis star John McEnroe: “You cannot be serious!” The US certainly shares some of the blame for the situation. Let’s look at the facts.
