Even if neither China nor the United States wants physical confrontation, it is still possible. Our Minister of Defense, Dr. Ng Eng Hen, urged the leaders of China and the United States to try to avoid misjudgment or inadvertently causing physical conflict. Because once the flames of war are ignited in Asia, it will have devastating effects and will affect the whole world.
Huang Yonghong said: “The environment we are in is uncomfortable. Although it has not reached the boiling point, the temperature is definitely rising. We must do our best to bring the temperature down.”
“There is no justification for war in Asia. It’s not worth the risk because the consequences would be disastrous and there are viable alternatives.”
Huang Yonghong, who went to Germany to attend the 59th annual Munich Security Conference, spoke at the Maritime Security Forum on Saturday (February 18) and talked about whether there will be “physical conflict” between China and the United States in the next 10 years, and the possible fuse.
Huang Yonghong: Some actions of China and the United States may be regarded as pre-deployment
Rhetorically, both U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have been careful, in different ways, to say that the two countries do not seek conflict. However, Huang Yonghong believes that some of the current actions of China and the United States may be regarded by the other side as preparations for possible conflicts that may occur next.
“I remember that when we gathered here last year, about 100,000 Russian troops had assembled on the Ukrainian border, and they attacked three days later. We didn’t see similar actions (from China and the United States), but we have seen other pre-deployments.”
For example, the United States organized the Quadruple Security Dialogue (QUAD) with Australia, India, and Japan; the United States established a trilateral security partnership (AUKUS) with Australia and the United Kingdom; the Philippines agreed to open four more military bases for the use of the US military; target’s counterattack capability.
China has increased military spending for seven consecutive years. Last year’s defense budget reached US$229.5 billion (about S$307.5 billion), an increase of about 7% year-on-year; a large-scale display of military equipment was held at the 70th anniversary of the National Day military parade to demonstrate China’s progress ; Enhance military presence in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, etc.
Huang Yonghong said that both countries are prepared to achieve a deterrent effect, but even so, the drums of war have not yet sounded.
The two fuses that exist between China and the United States are the Taiwan issue and the dispute over strategic resources.
Huang Yonghong said that the first argument regards Taiwan as the weathervane of the competition between autocracy and democracy. The second argument is the competition for strategic resources, just like how countries competed for spices and oil in the past, but now there are more of them-high-end chips produced in Taiwan.
He pointed out that promoting Taiwan independence will lead to conflict. If the status quo is changed, China will take or be forced to take action, because it will be seen as imposing unequal treaties on China again, which no Chinese leader can accept.
Against such a background, any accident may go wrong, such as the recent balloon incident. Huang Yonghong said that whether everyone likes it or not, some small incidents may lead to disastrous consequences.
Also participating in the forum were Foreign Minister Manalo of the Philippines, Fu Ying, vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress of China, and MEP Biticofay.
On the other hand, Huang Yonghong also attended the 14th Munich Youth Leaders Forum held in conjunction with the Munich Security Conference, and made a speech on the theme of “blazing a path to an ideal world”.
Huang Yonghong pointed out that what future leaders will inherit is a world that faces challenges such as climate change, great power competition and wealth inequality. These challenges are existential, and they generate forces capable of destroying the physical world, or existing socio-political institutions.
He then listed some ideal goals for the young leaders attending the meeting, and hoped to hear everyone’s ideas, including ending the oppression and marginalization of different groups; poverty alleviation, in addition to narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor, we must also pull out the bottom people; and protecting the basic rights of all citizens, such as good education, job skills, good wages, clean water, and the rule of law.
Source: Zaobao
