While Pursuing Peaceful Development, China’s Leadership Prepares for War,

While Pursuing Peaceful Development, China’s Leadership Prepares for War,
by William Jones, appears in the upcoming EIR. Both Russia and China have, in the past weeks, exercised their strategic nuclear forces, sending a clear message to those in the West who are rushing toward nuclear confrontation (over Syria and Iran in the Mideast, and with the Air-Sea Battle war plan in the Pacific) that a war on Russia and/or China will be thermonuclear, and can not be won - by anyone. 

    The opening paragraph of the article follows. The full article is attached.    Mike Billington 

38 International EIR November 15, 2013
Nov. 9—On Oct. 18, China began the first combined
weapons open-sea drill in which maritime and air forces
from all three of the country’s fleets took part. This also
included the first major public viewing of missile
launches from China’s submarine fleet. Occurring in
the context of the heightened tensions in the Asia-
Pacific region, brought about by the U.S. “pivot” and its
provocative Air-Sea Battle Doctrine, the message
which China delivered is that while it pursues a clear
policy of peaceful development, it is prepared for war,
if war were to come.
The maneuver, titled “Maneuver 5, lasted roughly
two weeks, from Oct. 18 to Nov. 1. It was unusual in
two respects. First, these were open-sea maneuvers
with combined forces, the first of their kind for the Chinese
fleet; and second, they were conducted in what is
called “back-to-back” format. The maneuver involved
flotillas from all three of the Chinese fleets—North Sea,
East Sea, and South Sea Fleets.
Dividing the groups into opposing “red” and “blue”
teams, the scenario also included a “back-to-back” feature,
which, Rear Admiral Liao Shining explained,
“simulates the uncertainties in wars. . . . During the exercise,
both the ‘Red Army’ and the ‘Blue Army’ had no
idea of each other’s position, navigation factors, or operational
intentions. The directing department only carried
out guidance work with few interventions made in
order to let both parties establish their independent
combat systems, and organize their independent reconnaissance
and pre-warning, command and control, as
well as assault actions.”
Dangerous Intrusion
While the maneuvers were envisioned as war
“games,” a dangerous intrusion by Japanese vessels
into the area could well have turned this into a more
serious matter. While the Chinese maneuver had been
announced far ahead of time, and a warning for ships to
stay out of the zone during the maneuver period had
been issued, a ship of the Japanese Maritime Self-
Defense Force forced its way into the drill zone on Oct.
25, remaining there until Oct. 28.
In addition, during the navigation of the Chinese
Navy fleet to the drill area, warships and aircraft of the
Japanese Self-Defense Force conducted intensive
tracking, surveillance, and monitoring. China issued a
protest to the Japanese government: “These actions by
the Japanese ships and aircraft have not only disturbed
our legitimate drills,” Chinese Defense Ministry
spokesman Yang Yujun told reporters, “but also imposed
hazards to the navigation safety of our ships and
aircraft, and may even lead to misjudgment, misfire,
and other incidents.”
Media Blitz Serves as a Warning
The maneuver was accompanied by an extensive
media blitz covering the development of China’s submarine
force since the 1970s. CCTV carried extensive
coverage of the submarine fleet’s missile
launches, the first time such launches were shown to
the general public. People’s Daily, Global Times, PLA
Daily, and China Youth Daily on Oct. 23 all had frontpage
stories on the Chinese submarine fleet. While the
videos showed the activity of the Xia-class submarines
used in the drill, the media also discussed the
development of the more advanced Jin-class submarine,
as well as an even more sophisticated Tang-class
submarine.
Then, as something of a signal piece, Global Times,
a daily published by the government-supported People’s
Daily, on Oct. 28, carried a lengthy article entitled
“China for the First Time Possesses Effective Underwater
Nuclear Deterrence Against the United States,”
noting that China had the capability to retaliate against
a nuclear strike and could reach U.S. cities in the western
United States. “This is the first time in 42 years
While Pursuing Peaceful Development,
China’s Leadership Prepares for War
by William Jones
November 15, 2013 EIR International 39
since the establishment of our Navy’s strategic submarine
force that we reveal on such a large scale the secrets
of our first-generation underwater nuclear force,”
Global Times wrote.
The article was accompanied by maps showing trajectories
to cities on the U.S. West Coast. “The 12 JL-2
nuclear warheads carried by one single Type 094
SSBN can kill and wound 5 million to 12 million
Americans,” the Global Times warned. The article featured
30 photos and graphics detailing, among other
things, damage projections for Seattle and Los Angeles
after being hit by Chinese nuclear warheads, and
the deadly radiation that would spread all the way to
Chicago.
Naval expert Col. Li Jie, at the Navy’s military
academy, speaking to Global Times, put it this way,
“The changing international situation has caused containment
to China’s growth. The U.S.-Japan alliance
and U.S. pivot to the Asia-Pacific both apparently target
China. The publicity of the submarine force is a warning
to any country that attempts to provoke China, telling
them whoever makes the first strike should think
about the consequences.”
The Lessons of History
Even more provocative was a Chinese video, produced
by China’s National Defense University with the
backing of the People’s Liberation Army General Staff,
entitled “Silent Contest.” The video portrays the demise
of the Soviet Union, a spectre which continues to haunt
the Chinese leadership, which is intent on avoiding the
pitfalls that led to that collapse and the near-destruction
of the Russian nation. The documentary went through
the Gorbachov “rapprochement” with the West, with
extensive film footage of Gorbachov, Reagan, and
Thatcher. This was followed by footage of the fall of
Gorbachov, the storming of the White House in
Moscow, and the rise of Yeltsin, who was then fêted by
grateful Western leaders.
Following the demise of the Soviet Union and the
victory of Yeltsin, Russia was “open for business,”
and within 10 years, was facing the worst financial
crisis since the 1930s. Footage then shifts to scenes
from Georgia and Ukraine and the “color revolutions,”
with statements by U.S. Senators Richard
Lugar and John McCain about the importance of “exporting
democracy.” There are also extensive pictures
from the various NGOs doing the “exporting”—the
National Endowment for Democracy, the International
Republican Institute, and the National Democratic Institute.
The video then shows footage from Victoria’s
Secret commercials, the jewelry channel, and advertisements
for Bentleys and Mercedes, pointing to the
way that Western values have served to undermine
China.
The last section of the video returns to the “color
revolutions,” with footage of Mikhail Saakashvili at the
U.S. Capitol, being fawned upon by legislators and the
press. It shows similar footage with the Dalai Lama in
the Capitol, and meeting Obama at the White House. It
then shifts to footage of bodies, apparently victims of
the riots in Tibet, or in the Chinese cities with large Tibetan
populations. Next comes Uighur leader Rebiya
Kadeer agitating on the streets of Washington, and pictures
of riots in Xinjiang and the devastation they
caused.
The film ends with scenes from the PLA on parade,
which underlines the filmmakers’ view of the key role
the Army plays in preserving the sovereignty and integrity
of the Chinese nation. While the video was quickly
taken off the Weibo internet site, with Chinese officials
obviously worried about its effect abroad and in China,
it reflects some of the thinking within the Chinese military
and the population at large.
While fairly provocative, the video gives an alltoo-
accurate description of what U.S. policy has
become since the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
What is lacking is any sense that there exists in the
United States another tradition opposed to that Anglo-
American imperial crowd, the London-Wall Street financial
elites, whose policies are clearly depicted in
the PLA video.
While Teddy Roosevelt (who makes a cameo appearance
in the video), as well as George W. Bush and
Barack Obama, fit the mold of the Anglo-American
“hegemonist” depicted in “Silent Contest,” George
Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt,
and Lyndon LaRouche definitely do not. And if this
“other America” were to emerge victorious in the
fight for the “soul of America,” with the reinstatement
of Glass-Steagall and the development of the
NAWAPA water development project, China and
the United States could join hands across the Pacific
to bring peace and development to the region and to
the world. And given the nuclear capabilities now
prevalent in any conflict between major powers, the
alternative to peace is far too grim to even contemplate.