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In July 2023, Admiral Samuel Paparo, the current commander of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, was nominated by Biden as commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and this nomination still needs to be approved by the U.S. Senate. In November of the same year, Campbell, the coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs of the White House Committee on the U.S. "Indo-Pacific Strategy", was nominated by Biden to serve as deputy secretary of state, becoming the No. 2 diplomat of the United States. In less than half a year, Biden** has promoted high-level officials closely related to the "Indo-Pacific" in the diplomatic and military systems, what are the key signals?
On February 1, local time, Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, who was nominated by U.S. Biden to take over as commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, attended a Senate hearing in the U.S. Congress and accepted routine questioning of relevant personnel nominations. During this period, his statements on the so-called "expansion of China's power" and the conflict in the "Indo-Pacific" region became a hot spot.
In his opening statement, Paparo said that for the United States, "China is the only competitor that has the ability and the intention to change the international order." He believes that although there is still a big gap between China's strength in the "Indo-Pacific" region and that of the United States, the development trend of China's navy over the past 25 years is indeed "worrying". He also unwarrantedly said that at present, China's "aggressive" posture in the "Indo-Pacific" region has become the "biggest challenge" in the region.
At the hearing, Reid, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also asked Paparo whether he supported a re-examination of the "strategic ambiguity" policy that the United States has long pursued in China's Taiwan region. In this regard, Paparo claimed that the mission of the US military is very clear, that is, to "curb the military ambitions of Chinese mainland" and try to prevent conflicts in the "Indo-Pacific" region. In particular, we will be ready to make all preparations at any time to "assist in the defense" of Taiwan.
He also threatened that one of the most important things the United States can do to promote peace in the "Indo-Pacific" region is to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia, and that the United States must continue to replenish aid funds to Ukraine to prevent Russia from achieving its military goals in Ukraine, and also send a signal to China that China will not also use military means when dealing with the Taiwan issue.
In this regard, Zhang Yao, deputy director of the Institute of International Strategy and Security Studies of the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, told Zhixin that the current actions of the US military in the entire western Pacific region are desperately building or cobbling together a military alliance, and it is obvious that it is aimed at China.
Zhang Yao, deputy director of the Institute of International Strategy and Security at the Shanghai Institute of International Studies.
This trend is very obvious, the United States is learning the lessons of the so-called Ukraine, which does not mean that the United States is ready to go into battle in person, but it shows that it is ready to use the so-called allies as consumables and form the trap of the so-called "** human war" in the 'first island chain', and I think all the policies of the United States are doing around this. Zhang Yao emphasized.
Hardliners on China may take over the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
According to public information, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, formerly known as the U.S. Pacific Command, is the oldest and largest combat command of the U.S. military, with activities covering 36 countries and a total of 380,000 officers and soldiers from all branches of the military, responsible for all U.S. military activities in the "Indo-Pacific" region.
According to US media reports, the 69-year-old Paparo is a Navy pilot, has served for 37 years, has more than 6,000 flight hours, and has about 1,100 takeoffs and landings on aircraft carriers. He is also Biden's nominee for Admiral John Aquilino, the current commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Commandaquilino). When he was the commander of the Pacific Fleet, he repeatedly made strong statements on China-related topics.
In an exclusive interview with CBS last year, Paparo said that China's sea vessels have grown to more than 350, and he is trying to come up with new strategies and technologies every day, seeking ways to continue to develop ways to "compete" with them.
According to the procedure, any person nominated for an important office must be questioned by the relevant Senate committee before the nomination is voted on by all senators. The reason why the hearing process on Paparo dragged on for half a year was that some senators were dissatisfied with the relevant regulations of the US Department of Defense and initiated a "boycott", and these actions did not stop until the end of last year.
According to US media reports, it is not yet clear when the Senate will vote on Paparo's nomination. But lawmakers from both parties who participated in the hearing generally expressed support for it, saying that if the nomination is confirmed, Paparo will take over the important position of commander of the Indo-Pacific Command at a critical moment in history.
Consolidate the "Indo-Pacific Strategy".
It is worth noting that shortly after Paparo was nominated, Biden officially announced in November of the same year that he would nominate Campbell, the White House coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the White House Committee, as deputy secretary of state, making Campbell the second-in-command of the United States after Secretary of State Blinken. On December 7 of that year, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a nomination hearing for him, and Campbell easily passed the meeting at the meeting.
As we all know, Campbell, known as the "Indo-Pacific Tsar", is considered the designer and hand of the United States' "Indo-Pacific Strategy" and has participated in almost all of Biden's work on Asia policy. It has been observed that Biden has successively promoted high-level officials closely related to the "Indo-Pacific" in the diplomatic and military systems, and his intention is very obvious.
Chen Zheng, a lecturer at the Institute for Advanced Study of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing University of Foreign Chinese Studies and a researcher at Taihe Think Tank, said that Campbell can be called the main contributor to Biden's so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy" thinking today, and his nomination shows that Biden intends to further consolidate the so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy" at the operational level.
The real factor that causes disharmony and insecurity in the Indo-Pacific region is that the United States has enhanced its deterrence capability in the Indo-Pacific region, which may induce an arms race between China and the United States, but on the contrary, it will really affect peace in the Indo-Pacific region. So, I think there's a mismatch between the purpose of U.S. policy and the actual results it can achieve. Chen Zheng said.
Sullivan: The United States and China need to find a way to coexist.
Straight News has noticed that while focusing on competition with China, the United States is also trying to "correct" its policies.
On January 30, local time, U.S. affairs assistant Jake Sullivan delivered a speech and answered questions on "the future of China-US relations" at an event of the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. Sullivan said that the United States has realized that China has not been able to change China in the past few decades, whether overtly or covertly, and that China will become an important player on the world stage, and the United States and China must find a way to coexist.
I think we can quote an old Chinese poem here, 'Helpless flowers fall'," Zhang Yao, deputy director of the Institute of International Strategy and Security Studies at the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, told Zhixin, "because we know that for decades, the United States has tried to use various political, economic, and cultural contacts to have a great purpose, or the fundamental purpose, is to force China to change and engage in peaceful evolution." Then now it is the official recognition of the United States itself that this form is invalid, and the United States has no ability to change China. ”
Regarding Sullivan's remarks, Zhang Yao pointed out that on the one hand, it shows that the United States has a sober understanding of the current Sino-US relations to a certain extent, and on the other hand, it also reflects the ambivalence of the United States that wants to coexist and "build a wall". "But the United States itself realizes that the United States cannot do this. He stressed.
Author丨Di Jing, editor-in-chief of Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News.
Editor丨Chen Miaosong, editor-in-chief of Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News.