China Global Times, a newspaper under the purview of the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily, published an editorial today (23 Aug) after US Vice President Kamala Harris touched down in Singapore yesterday (22 Aug) for an official visit to the country.
“The US has made Southeast Asia the focal area in its competition with China,” Global Times noted. “And Singapore and Vietnam have become the key targets that the US expects to cozy up to.”
The editorial further observed that after US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin paid a visit to Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines last month, “in the blink of an eye”, US Vice President Harris followed. Harris will be flying off to visit Vietnam tomorrow (24 Aug).
Global Times said that the agenda of Harris’ visits is to “attempt to urge Singapore and Vietnam to clash with China”.
It opined that Harris’ visits is also to shore up the trustworthiness of US in view of its “escape-style withdrawal” from Afghanistan which has impacted Washington’s international reputation. “It is not the first time that the US military abandoned its allies and that the US is a habitual offender in this regard,” said Global Times.
Global Times thinks that Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines and other countries will be less confident to lean towards the US than they were when the Obama administration was engaging in the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region.
“These countries are quietly moving toward a diplomacy of a more balanced relationship between the US and China. It is a result of the change of power and influence of China and the US in the region. Neither Austin nor Harris’ rhetoric can make a difference,” added Global Times.
“No major power will accept its neighboring countries forging alliances with other major powers and play the role of the latter’s tool to contain itself. It is believed that Southeast Asian countries are well aware of this truth. As China grows stronger, their behavior will more and more accord with the principle. This is not because China is overbearing, but because of the basic logic of international relations.”
In regard to the South China Sea issue, Global Times said that China is making great efforts to advocate the claimant countries to resolve their disputes through negotiation and that progress has been made in the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.
“The US should drop the illusion to make any Southeast Asian country an enemy of China. The more tense Beijing-Washington ties get, the more sensitive countries such as Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines will become,” Global Times believes.
“In the end, regional countries will keep an obvious distance with the US. China is the largest trading partner of almost all countries in Southeast Asia. No country is so stupid to turn the huge benefit into tension with China and a role as US cannon fodder.”
“As China becomes stronger, ties between China and Southeast Asian countries will become closer and closer. This is an unstoppable trend. Any US presence in the region will have to conform with this trend, or at least not resist the trend in order to avoid an overly embarrassing scenario. Otherwise, the US will only become an annoying spoiler,” it added.
“Therefore, when Harris comes to Singapore and Vietnam this time, she needs to explore how to rectify the role of the US in Southeast Asia. Only with humility can she avoid doing or saying stupid things. We hope Harris can view China objectively from the perspective of Southeast Asia, rather than the No.1 strategic competitor of the US.”
