U.S.-China Competition Grows

China continues to expand its military, financial, and political reach throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

The relationship between the U.S. military and China has become more competitive, as the U.S. has tried to enforce the sanctions on North Korea, a Defense Department official noted.

Randall Shriver, DOD’s assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said in the past, the relationship with China was a mixture of engagement and competition, but that has changed in recent years. “We pressed them hard on North Korea,” Shriver said. “We’re trying to enforce the sanctions, and the primary method by which North Korea is attempting to evade the sanctions are through illicit and illegal ship transfers, primarily coal, going out and oil going in. Over time, much of this activity has moved into Chinese territorial waters.”

Speaking on the Defense One-sponsored panel “The China Gap: To Fight or Compete?,”Shriver said China’s leaders profess to be in favor of enforcing the sanctions, but they don’t do it.

He said Chinese army vessels are going outside Chinese territorial waters to shadow and harass U.S. vessels that are trying to enforce the sanctions.

Shriver said China’s military capability is growing, and that is an increasing concern for the U.S. “I hope it gets on a more cooperative path,” he said.

But Shriver said that China’s economic and military aspirations are different from those of the U.S. and nations in the Indo-Pacific region — and that’s at the heart of the problem.

The Chinese want a system more accommodating to their authoritarian model that allows them to exert greater economic and military influence in the region, he said.

However, the U.S. and nations in the region want a free and open Indo-Pacific, Shriver said. And that means upholding international law and norms; protecting other countries’ sovereignty no matter how big they are Celery:This item is considered to viagra on line uk be an excellent food to incline your sexual stimulation. If you are suffering from downtownsault.org viagra on line erectile problems, one of the simplest ways to improve and enhance sexual activity. Are there any Side Effects to this drug? Some men taking Propecia may experience a decrease in sex drive, sexual dysfunction, or changes to ejaculation. http://downtownsault.org/downtown/shopping/up-north-nutrition/ buy generic levitra Watermelon is cheap viagra said to be drug-free treatment for men with erection disorders and premature ejaculation too. reciprocal trade; and peaceful resolution of disputes.

The U.S. military’s response to China’s aggressive stance — particularly in the East and South China Seas — has been to engage with allies and partners in the region on things like multilateral exercises, strengthened defense alliances and maritime presence patrols that include transit through the Taiwan Strait.

Shriver said DOD is also investing in ways to sustain its military edge over China, particularly in the emerging areas of space, cyber and hypersonics.

The idea behind this investment is to ensure the U.S. prevails in any contingency, which should give China pause to use military means for its objectives, he said.

But Shriver emphasized that the U.S. doors are open to cooperation.

Shriver said he frequently meets with his Chinese counterparts, and Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper spoke with Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe via video teleconference from the Pentagon on Nov. 5.

Shriver said he expects Esper will soon meet Fenghe.

“We want to work with China on risk reduction, confidence building, crisis management and communications modalities, and we want to work with them on real-world problems,” he said.

Further enhancing concerns about China’s growing military power in the Indo-Pacific, This summer, a variety of media reports indicated that China and Cambodia signed a “secret agreement” giving the PRC use of that nation’s Ream naval base, where, notes the Jamestown Foundation, it may station military servicemen and warships, for 30 years. Both nations have vigorously denied the reports, but the move would be consistent with Beijing’s policies. According to the Jamestown Foundation, the “Ream naval base is the latest in a network of regional security projects—including Cambodia’s Dara Sakor investment zone and Thailand’s Kra Canal—which, taken together, significantly improve Chinese power projection into the Indian Ocean Region. News of the Ream agreement raises the specter of increasing Chinese maritime militarization at a time of intense unease in Southeast Asia.”

Photo: Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Maxwell McMann directs a Seahawk helicopter aboard the guided missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence during a replenishment-at-sea with the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Pecos in the East China Sea, Sept. 18, 2019.

Quick Analysis

Russia Expanding Aggression

President Putin is using more than one pathway to enter Europe and undermine the West. While most of the world watches the conflict he initiated in Ukraine, the Russian government is actively pursuing a second front in a little noticed campaign in Cyprus. Although the corrupt Cypriot government ended its issuance of “golden passports” in 2020, Russian intelligence is functioning quietly there to transform this EU country into a Russian beachhead of illicit economic activity aimed at penetrating the capitalist West, according to Paul Goble of the Jamestown Foundation. Cyprus is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nor does it receive as much attention as those countries who are member states. That adds to its allure as a prime location for Russia to attempt to gain a European foothold. Last week a NATO report, cited in the European Daily Monitor, noted that Russian intelligence agents have been plotting to destroy European infrastructure across the continent to disrupt states supporting Ukraine. It further suggests that Putin’s immediate goal is to lay the framework for a future move against the security organization’s members. Hungary, in particular, is another country garnering Moscow’s attention as it opposes the Western response to Russian aggression. Russia is focusing its intelligence efforts on other European, non-NATO member countries in addition to Cyprus, including Austria, Malta, and Ireland. The NATO report suggests that Moscow has had success in disseminating the Russian political narrative in these states to advance its campaign against the West. The island of Cyprus is proving to be a good target for Moscow as it is an ethnically divided island that is part of the EU since 2004. Northern Cyprus, officially called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that is only recognized by Turkey. The division precludes it from joining NATO. As Goble suggests, “it offers Russia troubled waters in which to fish.” Over the last 20 years, he points out, Cyprus’ challenges have opened it to a massive influx of Russian citizens, who now comprise approximately 10 percent of the island state’s population. Over 2,900 residents are Russians who entered until the “golden passport” program that allowed wealthy or well-connected Russians to move to Cyprus. It also provided them with documentation to travel freely throughout Europe! Although less visible on the world’s radar than the war in Ukraine, Moscow is also being helped by Cyprus’ banks opposition to seizing Russian assets and its support in evading Western sanctions. Russia has placed tens of billions of US Dollars there for money laundering. It has been more than two years since a single Russian “diplomat” has been deported and, in fact, the Embassy has grown to over 300 staffers on this tiny island state of only 1.2 million people. The Russian embassy in Nicosia has advanced communications antennae on its roof and opened a consulate on the northern end of the island. Moscow’s Ambassador, Mura Zyazikov, is a lieutenant general in the FSB with no diplomatic experience. The FSB, SVR (Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service), and GRU are actively using the island as a base of operations against NATO Member states, Israel, and other Western allies. Moscow backs pro-Russian political parties who in turn influence Cypriot decisions on education, language, and other issues. “Dmitry Khmelnitsky of the Dossier Center says that its findings should be of concern not only to Cyprus but to the West as a whole. Those who ignore what Moscow is doing because Cyprus does not follow the EU sanctions regime are missing something critical,” says Goble. “Cyprus does not seek to get rid of Russian agents and does not interfere with their work,” Khmelnitsky concludes, “despite the fact that what the Kremlin is doing is so clearly visible.” This has an impact not only on the small island but on the EU, NATO, and the West in general. Earlier this year the Moscow Times reported that when the FBI became more interested in Russian business and oligarchs in Cyprus, at least 10 of the major Russian businesses operating there left. Despite the government of Cyprus’ vow to implement plans for new sanctions against Russia, it continues to ignore Putin’s atrocities in Ukraine and to shield the wealth of the 50,000 wealthy Russian citizens and oligarchs residing there. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept. Illustration: Pixabay