Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Reality is that there is a very limited retreat of the vehicles, with the occupation forces providing cover undeer fire up to Salah al-Din Street
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Claims that the Israeli occupation has withdrawn from areas in the neighborhoods of al-Zaytoun, al-Tuffah, and al-Shujaiya are false
Hamas: The two delegations stressed that any negotiations must lead to the achievement of our people's goals and aspirations, foremost among which is ending the war and the complete withdrawal of enemy forces
Hamas: A delegation from the Hamas leadership, led by the head of the leadership council, Mohammad Darwish, met with an Islamic Jihad delegation, headed by its Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah

US long history of waging wars casts doubt about intent to reduce risk of South China Sea miscalculation

  • Azhar Azam Azhar Azam
  • Source: Al Mayadeen English
  • 28 Jul 2023 16:06
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

While the US claims to be open to talks with China to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation, its actions on the ground and its long history of hostilities say otherwise.

  • x
  • US long history of waging wars casts doubt about intent to reduce risk of South China Sea miscalculation

During their trips to China, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reassured Beijing that Washington did not want to contain it economically and that there was “ample room” for engagement with China in trade, investment, and other critical issues, urging closer communication to address disagreements through dialogue.

Around the same time Yellen was ensuring her Chinese counterparts of protecting the critical relationship, the US Assistant Secretary for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink stressed on working with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries to “push back on behavior…including the many irresponsible acts…carried out by China” in the South China Sea (SCS).

The Chinese foreign ministry said that on the sidelines of a series of ASEAN meetings in Jakarta, Blinken and China's foreign policy chief Wang Yi agreed to maintain communication. The US State Department readout noted the meeting was part of the efforts “to responsibly manage competition by reducing the risk of misperception and miscalculation.”

But America’s accusations of China’s routine harassment of claimant state vessels, promotion of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” and freedom of navigation of operations and military drills in the SCS and around the Taiwan Strait are a persistent threat to the US commitment to prevent any miscalculation and put a floor to the bilateral relationship.

In the past, senior US officials and military officers have vowed to “fight tonight” if needed to defend the country’s interests across Asia-Pacific, referring to Chinese claims in the SCS as “preposterous”. Washington's continuous support of the SCS Arbitral Tribunal ruling, which Beijing says violates the principle of state consent, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and international law, heightens such risks.

Related News

Concentration camps and the road to exile: Gaza as a laboratory of privatized genocide

Understanding Yemen 2/2: Ansar Allah values

The militarization of the region could at any time make matters worse with either of the sides twisting the knife; alliances such as the AUKUS and the Quad as well as NATO's expansion to East Asia, in an attempt to blockade China militarily, may cultivate a conflict (leading into a nuclear war), something ASEAN is seriously concerned about.

China's worries about US defense engagement in the region aren't inordinate completely and account for some historical factors. Unfortunately, the US has an extensive history of initiating and bankrolling wars and conflicts. According to the Congressional Research Service, there were hundreds of instances in which America had deployed its military abroad to fuel military conflicts and promote its interests including imposing 11 declared and several undeclared wars on East and Southeast Asian and European countries such as Japan, Korea, Vietnam, France, Germany, Italy and the Great Britain. 

The US has also been involved in a number of unauthorized hostilities, more than the Pentagon disclosed to Congress, through armed intervention, proxy forces and airstrikes, as per Brennan Center for Justice. Quite a few countries in the Global South didn't condemn the Russian military operation in Ukraine for they thought the US-led NATO's expansion to Eastern Europe had triggered this chaos that is affecting nearly every person living on the planet.

According to various studies, the US has more than 171,000 troops deployed overseas with about 750 bases in at least 80 countries. Japan and South Korea have the first- and third-largest US military footprints in East Asia; America’s four new military bases in the Philippines, to gain greater access to the SCS and Taiwan, in addition to an estimated 313 bases in East Asia revalidate China's concerns about its containment as well as underline why the US is chanting the mantra of maintaining "open lines of communication" with China.

In a "quite unusual" meeting, the Chinese ambassador to the US Xie Feng visited the Pentagon to hold talks with the top US defense official for Asia, Ely Ratner, in an effort to bring the bilateral and military relations back on track. This signals Beijing's willingness to revive mil-to-mil hotlines and urges Washington to do more to reduce the risk of miscalculation around the SCS.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Mayadeen’s editorial stance.
  • United States
  • Beijing
  • South China Sea
  • Washington
  • US
  • China
Azhar Azam

Azhar Azam

Writer.

Most Read

All
How is it that the Western regimes, which claimed to support the fake revolutions of Lebanon, Libya, and Syria, waged constant war against the actual Ansar Allah-led revolution in Yemen? (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Understanding Yemen 1/2: The Revolution

  • Opinion
  • 30 Jun 2025
Why Netanyahu is on the ropes

Why Netanyahu is on the ropes

  • Analysis
  • 4 Jul 2025
Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

Ukraine’s Corporate Carve-Up Collapses?

  • Analysis
  • 11 Jul 2025
Africa’s top university’s ‘Gaza Resolutions’ outrages pro-'Israel' lobby

Africa’s top university’s ‘Gaza Resolutions’ outrages pro-'Israel' lobby

  • Analysis
  • 4 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
War on Iran

More from this writer

All
The United States of Coercion is disenfranchising billions of their fundamental right to live

The United States of Coercion is disenfranchising billions of their fundamental right to live

Is China’s development juggernaut gasping for breath?

Is China’s development juggernaut gasping for breath?

A multipolar world order is in the making and that’s good for international peace

A multipolar world order is in the making and that’s good for international peace

By shelving the ideological approach and backing peace efforts, the US could still make a positive contribution to safeguard international stability and resolve a conflict threatening to shape into a "mother of all forever wars" for Americans.

Why is America lagging behind on key international diplomatic initiatives?

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS