One of the policy changes expected under the new administration of US President Donald Trump will be a scaling back of the Pentagon’s ambitious military exchange program with China.
Trump said during his inaugural address Jan. 20 that for decades the United States has “subsidized the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military.”
The president did not specify what nations’ militaries gained from US subsidies.
The reference likely referred to NATO allies. But the same holds true for China, a nation that has exploited close trade relations to carry out industrial and defense cyber espionage on a large scale, with little or no response from the US government.
Documents made public from the National Security Agency two years ago revealed that Chinese military hackers stole “many terabytes” of US data including secrets on the F-35 and F-22 jets, the B-2 bomber, and space-based lasers, among other systems.
Trump on Monday stated on Twitter that this first week in office will include a “heavy focus” on jobs and national security. Increased cyber security measures are expected to be a key priority for the new administration.
The United States’ relationship with China has been dominated by conciliatory policies of past administrations that sought to subordinate differences to business trade ties. That is expected to be sharply changed.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on Monday trade relations with China “are not a two-way street” and that trade policies toward China will be reviewed.
China hawks
Several key advisers to the new president are known to be hawks on China and reflect a determination by Trump to scale back unfavorable aspects of relations with China. California Professor Peter Navarro, a China trade hawk, was recently named to a key trade policy post in the White House.
On the security front, new policies are expected to include scaled back military exchanges with the People’s Liberation Army — based on officials who have been or are expected to be named to key policy-making posts at the White House, Pentagon and State Department.
Under former President Barack Obama, the Pentagon engaged in an extensive program of military exchanges involving high-level military visits by senior US and Chinese generals and admirals, along with port visits by US and Chinese warships.
Three Chinese warships visited San Diego, Calif. last month in a visit marked by US-China tensions following the phone call between Trump and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
The ship visits and officer exchanges are being carried out under what of US policymakers have said is a plan to develop trust and cooperation between the two militaries.
However, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) remains an army beholden not to the nation but to the Communist Party of China – a party that increasingly has viewed the United States as its main enemy and a state in decline whose diminution must be managed.
Critics of the military exchange program have argued that the engagement is being used by Chinese military intelligence to gain valuable war fighting information.
By contrast, in China most US military exchanges have been used for disinformation and influence purposes – mainly efforts by the PLA to show some of its more outdated and obsolete weapons and facilities.
Limiting exchanges
Congress limited military exchanges with China in 2000 over concerns the Chinese was learning valuable information on US forces that could be used in a future conflict.
But under Obama exchanges were stepped up in a bid to develop cooperation.
The effort has not led to improved relations and China has continued to conduct provocative maritime and aerial maneuvers aimed at forcing the US military to halt reconnaissance flights and ship transits.
In 2015, under pressure from Congress, the Pentagon put on hold new military exchanges until the two militaries could work out rules of aerial encounters for aircraft.
“We think if you are going to do military-to-military exchanges, you should have strategic goals for why we are doing it,” said former Rep. Randy Forbes, a leading China hawk who is in line to be Navy secretary in the new administration.
The White House National Security Council staff director for Asia is former Wall Street Journal reporter Matt Pottinger who spent years in China battling Chinese censors and police before joining the Marines and becoming an intelligence analyst.
Pottinger, along with National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will be in charge of implementing Trump’s economic nationalist America First policies.
They also will adopt a companion policy based on the Ronald Reagan-era notion of Peace Through Strength that will involve a large-scale military buildup as a foundation for keeping the peace.
Another official likely to get a key post in the Trump administration is former Pentagon and State Department China hand Randy Schriver who in the past has called for cutting off military exchanges with China until the port calls and leadership exchanges produce more mutual benefits.
The incoming Secretary of State-designate, Rex Tillerson, issued the toughest note during his recent nomination hearing. Tillerson, former chief of ExxonMobil, said the Trump administration would demand an end to China’s militarization of newly created islands in the South China Sea. Significantly, Tillerson said the United States would take action to prevent China from gaining access to the islands.
China’s official Communist Party paper, People’s Daily, dismissed Tillerson’s comments as “word bombs” and a provocation. The newspaper said China would not be dissuaded from conducting military exercises in the sea.
“These provocations, pressure, fantasies and over-exaggerations will not prevent the normal drills of the Chinese military,” the paper said in a commentary.
“The meddling and disruption of countries from outside the region can only run counter to the consensus of common interests that accords with this region and the world.”
The Chinese also appointed a new PLA naval forces commander, Admiral Shen Jingling to replace outgoing leader Wu Shengli. Shen was commander of the South Sea Fleet – the naval force the Pentagon has blamed for aggressive and provocative military encounters with US warships and aircraft in the South China Sea region.
Other new political appointees in charge of China policy also are expected to be hardliners unwilling to continue the past policies of looking the other way on Chinese military activities that are undermining American security.
LOL. What military ties?
Did I miss something? Or did they just move the South CHINA Sea to the gulf of Mexico?
I am sure the PLA is just shaking in it´s boots worrying about what Tillerson and Trump have to say. Just more hot air from the biggest hot air balloon on the planet. China has nothing to worry about the US only attacks third world countries with no air forces, no navies and poorly equipped armies. Americans would never accept the 100,000s of body bags that would come home from an encounter with Russia and or China.
Seems like voice and words of an insane maniac or an ill-informed nationalist of Chinese origin. A horde of articles have been written as to how Chinese companies have stolen data in terabytes from employers in different countries.Hackers in China have repeatedly targetted companies across US, Israel, India, EU, Japan, Korea stealing data and sensitive information : sometimes with a view to understand as to how to outbid competing bids or counter cheap Chinese imports into their respective countries.
Some livid examples of this malicious drive have been :
Jan 16 : Two scientists of Chinese origin accused of stealing data from Glaxo Smith Kline.
May 14 : Five Chinese military officials accused of stealing data from six US companies , incl. US Steel, Alcoa, Westing House, Solar World. The data related to diverse technologies covering, solar and nuclear power, US business strategy, IPR etc.
Chinese conglomerates like Huawei, ZTE have been denied a couple of assignments due to such allegations. Chinese products may be cost effective but their efficacy on data safety can be quite dicey.
That would be WELCOME in China, I believe. The military engagement was initiated by US in the first place, in hope of gaining a means of assessing China’s shrouded military might and readiness, as well as a faint hope that the engagement may lead to recruitment of moles within the PLA, either through bribes or through blackmailing PLA officers who surrender dirty laundries while partying in the USA on exchange visits. China never had anything to gain from such engagements except to placate US suspicions. In recent past, whenever trouble brewed, China was always the one to suspend such engagements.
Like everything else, the US always spins a relationship as one in which the US is doing the world a favor. Military bases in Asia is USA’s wish to nudge close to its perceived adversaries (China and Russia) and extend its strategic space, but is now vouched in narratives as though USA is protecting those poor weaklins’ freedom and survival, leading to the demand of getting paid for it. Trade is to help maintain low costs of living in the US, but is now described as a self-sacrifice to help other nations to develop. LOL!
The chosen people sure know how to spin, lie, and kill. Saving Iraq, Libya, Syria et al from ‘dictators’ resulted in millions killed and tens of millions homeless in lands with infrastructures destroyed. Bringing freedom to Ukraine (freedom from what?) resulted in a failed state for generations to come. And it tried to goat Philippine, Malaysia, Vietnam, Korea, et al to become cannon fodders against China on USA’s behalf. Now that the brashest of the chosen people is in office, the world needs to brace itself.
Regardless of what other may think of him, the mad Kim dude knows the importance of a nuclear cover against US regime change blackmail. But to regime change the Xi dude will require a totally different ball game.
The only tie that binds the two is Tsai’s smelly pussy for the highest bidder for a deal.