NFU Policy Rhetoric

By Erick San Juan

Over the weekend, the world has witnessed the meeting of the leaders of G2 – US and China in California. But the real crucial issues like the growing tensions in the South and East China Sea were not leaked to the public if both big powers talked about it.

China’s leader Xi Jinping 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.” (Translation- US wants to pivot in Asia through South China Sea. We can do better in the Pacific.)

This is how Xi views the region as a vast area that the G2 could divide between themselves and to hell with the other sovereign countries occupying the region. And, it seems that ‘big brother’ deliberately forgotten to discuss the nagging issue on ‘freedom of navigation’ in the SCS that covers Washington’s interest that is why they ‘returned’ to the Asia-Pacific region in a rebalancing act in the first place.

The mere fact that it was and will be Uncle Sam’s interest in the region that will prevail in the long run, allied countries should be wary in dealing with the big brother.

We never learned from history, our past leaders did everything to satisfy the whims of Uncle Sam and yet we were shortchanged in the process. Even to date, our war veterans are still in the wait and see mode as to when they will get their pensions as WW2 veterans.

Presently, the whole country is like a virtual US military base (doormat) in the region and with the growing tension in the SCS and the continuous ‘bullying’ of China, we are like a big magnet attracting the enemy of USA. When in fact it is Uncle Sam’s interest which is at stake here and not ours. So why do we have to kowtow every time to their whims up to the point that we are putting the whole populace in danger?

It is about time that the present leadership must rethink and re-assess our relationship with the US. We just cannot afford to be their cannon fodder anymore because the stakes and risks are getting high as the drums of war are getting louder in the region. The possibility of our country (or Vietnam) to be the epicenter of the regional conflict is not farfetched that is why we have to be always vigilant.

As Washington is being indirectly threatened and reminded by the release of China’s 8th defense white paper as what it stated – “More interesting, while also somewhat conventional, is the description of the external security environment. The white paper condemns “some country” that has strengthened its military alliances in the Asia Pacific region, “expanded its military presence in the region, and frequently makes the situation there tenser. The United States is not identified by name, but it is the only country that fits the bill. It is not clear which is more revealing of Chinese thinking: the description of U.S. policy or the reluctance to name Washington.” (Editorial – Window on China’s defense policy, The Japan Times online, May 21, 2013)

And with too much rhetoric (and doublespeak) that dominated the so-called G2 summit, the bottom line is still – the fear of countries in the Asia-Pacific region (and the world) which is the first strike nuclear policy that might be employed by either of the G2.

As if reading our mind, China’s white paper did not mention the “no first use” (NFU) of nuclear weapons, the mainstay of the country’s strategic policies.

In the discussion of the paper, foreign security specialists ask whether this omission signals a shift in Chinese policy; officialdom in Beijing adamantly denied any change, noting that the white paper is written thematically and the NFU policy did not fit this structure.

But there is a debate in China about nuclear doctrine. The white paper could do a long way toward its intended purpose by acknowledging that fact and identifying the contours of that discussion. That would shed light onto Chinese strategic thinking and provide the transparency that can then provide a foundation for discussions with other nations and build the mutual trust that China professes to cherish.” (Ibid)

Having this in mind, Uncle Sam will not allow any country that challenges its supremacy to be caught flat-footed when this thing happen. Washington always wants to be the first in everything even to the detriment of humanity. God forbid.