Xi Jinping’s ‘Pax Sinica’
PerryScope
By Perry Diaz
By Perry Diaz
What started as a word war between
Japan and China could lead to another world war, and perhaps the last
world war – of the “Dr. Strangelove” variety — on planet Earth. And just
the thought of a catastrophic nuclear war would deter China and Japan
from starting a war. So, why then wouldn’t the two protagonists stop
jabbing at each other and sit down to settle their territorial dispute
over the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Islands to China)?
But it is easier said than done. With no economic value that’s worth
fighting for, it makes one wonder what do these eight uninhabited small
islands and islets have that is making China go gaga over them?
Could it be that there is something else that China wants that is of
far greater value than these desolate specks of land in the middle of
East China Sea?
If China gained control of the Senkaku group of islands, which is 114
nautical miles west of Miyako Island, she would be in a position to
control or block the Miyako Strait, which connects the East China Sea to
the Philippine Sea… and the Pacific Ocean beyond.
First Island Chain
Recently, China broke through the First Island Chain, which runs from
the Asian mainland all the way to Vietnam by way of Japan, Taiwan,
Philippines, Borneo, and Malaysia. For the first time, her navy entered
the Pacific Ocean from the North China Sea through the narrow Soya
Strait between the Russian island of Sakhalin and the Japanese northern
island of Hokkaido. After spending some time in Western Pacific waters,
the ships sailed south to the Philippine Sea and then passed through the
Miyako Strait on their return voyage to the home base of the North
China Sea Fleet at Qingdao. Soya Strait and Miyako Strait are two of
several channels along the First Island Chain.
China didn’t waste any time bragging about it. In an interview with
China Daily during the 86th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army
(PLA), Du Wenlong, a senior researcher at the PLA’s Academy of Military
Science, said, “The Chinese navy has the capability to cut the first
island chain into several pieces. Now the chain is fragmented.” He added
that “the repeated passages show that the PLA navy is now capable of
sending and supporting its warships to navigate and fight in channels
far from the continent.”
Recently, China sent an observation drone over the Senkaku islands.
Reacting to the intrusion into Japanese airspace, Japan immediately
passed a law authorizing the military to shoot down Chinese drones
intruding into her territory. Needless to say, China was infuriated. A
Chinese spokesman warned that an attack against a Chinese drone would be
an act of war and would “certainly attract return fire from fighters of
PLA Air Force and Navy Air Force.”
In reaction, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned China against
“forcibly changing the regional balance of power.” Consequently, Japan
announced that her Self-Defense Forces (SDF) would deploy a
surface-to-ship missile unit on Miyako Island, which would put all the
waters between Okinawa and Miyako Island within its range.
It is interesting to note that during the summit meeting between
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama in
California last June, Xi told the media that he and Obama were meeting “to chart the future of China-US relations and draw a blueprint for this relationship.” Then he added: “The vast Pacific Ocean has enough space for two large countries like the United States and China.”
Second Island Chain
If China succeeds in controlling the Miyako Strait and the Soya
Strait, she would achieve her goal of breaking the First Island Chain
and move on to the next step, which is to control the Second Island
Chain, which stretches from Japan all the way to Papua New Guinea by way
of the U.S. territories of Guam and Saipan. That would put China’s navy
at America’s threshold.
In an article titled, “China to take Second Island Chain by 2020,” published several months ago in the Want China Times, it said: “In
1982, Admiral Liu Huaqing, the former commander of the PLA Navy and the
mastermind of China’s modern naval strategy, said that it would be
necessary for China to control the First and Second Island Chains by
2010 and 2020. The PLA Navy must be ready to challenge US domination
over the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean in 2040. If China is able
to dominate the Second Island Chain seven years from now, the East China
Sea will become the backyard of the PLA Navy.”
Pax Sinica
Last October 31, 2013, China’s state-run Global Times
published an article, saying that escalating tensions between China and
Japan over territorial claims to the Senkaku Islands could ignite a war.
It said that Beijing was preparing for a “worst-case” scenario of
military conflict over the disputed islands.
It seems that China’s “worst-case” scenario is a deliberate attempt
to fulfill Xi’s “Chinese Dream,” which is the revival of imperial China —
or Pax Sinica (Chinese Peace) – that had maintained Chinese
hegemony in Asia during the reign of the Ming dynasty. “The great
revival of the Chinese nation is the greatest Chinese Dream,” Xi said
before taking office in November 2012.
Pax Americana
Surmise it to say, China’s carefully orchestrated actions in the past
two years are leading to war against Japan… and ultimately against the
United States, with the goal of ending American hegemony – Pax Americana — in the Pacific.
The question is: Is China ready to go to war against the U.S.?
In a Want China Times article last November 2, 2013, Chinese
Rear Admiral Yang Yi reportedly said that China needs at least 20
nuclear-powered submarines to defend its maritime interests. Yang said
that the United States is now the only maritime superpower with both
aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines. He said that with 14
Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, the U.S. has “the capability to
wipe out a medium-size nation with 100 UGM-133 Trident D-5 missiles.”
Indeed, the only thing that’s stopping China from pursuing her
imperialistic ambitions is America’s Trident II D-5 missile. There are
24 of these missiles with a range of 4,000 nautical miles in each
Ohio-class submarine. It is estimated that 540 of these missiles will be
built at the end of 2013.
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