US slams China and Russia in new National Military Strategy
China and Russia are singled out by US National Military Strategy as aggressors who pose a threat to regional and global security.
The Defence Department of the United States has updated its National Military Strategy for the first time since 2011 and the message is clear; the world is sliding into disorder and the US is here to restore it.
In deciphering the greatest threats to US interests, the document concludes that despite the growth of non-state actors and their ability to disrupt trans-regional security, nation-states remain the greatest actors on the international stage and the greatest threats to the US and its global world order.
Unsurprisingly, North Korea and Iran are singled out as two states whose quests for nuclear weapons capability will only serve to promote instability in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific, whilst North Korea’s ambitions to develop inter-continental ballistic missiles pose a direct threat to the US homeland.
But elsewhere, a re-assertive Russia and China have been reprimanded for their aggressive foreign policy ambitions. Despite cooperation in countering terrorism and narcotics, the report berates Russia for having “repeatedly demonstrated that it does not respect the sovereignty of its neighbours” and that “it is willing to use force to achieve its goals”. Its actions in relation to Ukraine and the increasing of its nuclear arsenal fly directly in the face of long-standing international norms ranging from the UN Charter to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
International norms have also been ignored in Beijing, with the report expressing disappointment over China’s behaviour in the East and South China seas. It labels China’s claims of territory as “inconsistent with international law”, and its tactics to claim territory in vital shipping lanes as “aggressive” and as “adding tension to the Asia-pacific region”.
Beijing has been left unimpressed if not outraged, whilst China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, has accused the US of “groundlessly exaggerating the China threat”. The US must discard its “cold war mentality”, said Chunying, and take an “unbiased perspective of China’s strategic intention”.
What’s clear is that as China’s economic might grows, so too will its thirst for power, presence and influence on the international stage. The US must remain committed to its Asia ‘pivot’ and act as a restraint on Beijing’s ambitions.
Priorities should involve concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement that will place the US at the centre of 40% of global trade alongside 11 other Pacific Rim nations. It must also bolster its security alliances from Tokyo to Manila in order to act as a deterrent on Chinese aggression.
Economic dynamism and a continual showcase of military superiority is the US’s best chance of achieving and maintaining stability in the Asia-Pacific. This holds true in Europe, and economic pressure on Russia should continue to be applied if Putin’s behaviour is to be wielded to support rather than hinder global security.
Yet there are no guarantees when the stakes are so high. Putin’s legitimacy is increasingly dependent on an anti-west narrative that justifies the militarisation of Russian society, and as western sanctions continue to cripple its economy, there’s no way of knowing if this strategy will undermine Putin’s power or simply rally the Russian people further behind him. In Asia, China is playing for hegemony, and as its military might catches up to its economic clout, only time will tell how far US power can go in restraining such goals.
It’s no wonder that in the report, Chairman Martin Dempsey decried today’s global security environment as “the most unpredictable” he has seen “in 40 years of service”.
