Five reasons for China and US to go to war

There remain five major reasons for the United States to go to war with China, according to Evan N Resnick in a Jan. 13 article written for the New Strait Times, an English-language newspaper based in Malaysia.

Resnick led by saying that China's economic ascent since the start of Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms in 1978 is a major concern for the US. He said that China, currently the world's second-largest economy, is about to surpass the United States in its GDP on the basis of purchasing power parity within the next decade. In addition, China has more money to modernize its People's Liberation Army.

Resnick said that China's military budget rose at an average annual rate of 10.3% between 2001 and 2011. By 2012, the country's military budget exceeded US$100 billion for the first time. As a rising great power, Resnick argued that China will seek to maximize its security by expanding its influence and control in neighboring regions. He stressed that China's adoption of expansive sovereignty claims and its increasingly brazen efforts to bully its local rivals should be understood, he says, in this context.

Second, Resnick stated that President Barack Obama's Asia Pivot or rebalancing strategy could eventually lead to rising tensions and a potential war between China and the United States in East Asia. "The White House has not only ramped up military deployments to Australia, South Korea, the Philippines and Singapore," said Resnick, "but also sought enhanced defence relations with a host of regional partners, including India, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and even Myanmar."

Thirdly, US security commitments to its regional allies in Asia have encouraged those allies to harden their bargaining positions towards China. "Even in the absence of the rebalance, it is almost certain that China would have still exhibited considerable insecurity," said Resnick, "Rising to great power status in a region that is not only militarily dominated by the US, but is also replete with US allies and strategic partners."

Rensnick said that the fourth reason is that most nations in Asia-Pacific rely on the military protection of the United States while relying on China for economic development. "The various diplomatic and territorial quarrels roiling East Asia are of much greater salience and concern to China than to the US, as their outcomes more profoundly affect the national security of the much closer China than the more distant US," said Resnick.

Lastly, Resnick blamed both Beijing and Washington for not establishing a set of rules that can moderate their geopolitical competition. To avoid a third world war, Resnick said that decision makers in Beijing must realize that the regional balance of military power remains strongly tilted against China. They must understand that China will suffer disproportionately from any war that it starts against the United States or other regional powers.

Resnick also suggested US leaders to accept China's position as a growing power in the region. "At the same time, US decision makers must accept that China's growing power and acute insecurities necessitate a more circumspect and less heavy-handed US approach to the region that reflects a more refined conception of America's vital interests there," he said, adding that what China and the United States need is mutual understanding to maintain regional security.

Credit to China Times