Dealing With China

There is a clear power shift taking place in the world. China has been on the rise ever since they started their own industrialization. With the new economic power has given the ability to project themselves as a major player in the international theater.  But with this new found power a new potential threat to the United States rears its head. While conflict is not likely at the moment, it is important to take the necessary steps to mitigate and prepare for any potential conflict.

But the interesting question is; what is the most likely conflict to arise involving China? I personally think it will evolve out of the border disputes in the South China Sea and with Japan. China could easily become interested in gain a stronger hold on the south china see do to the economic resources it has. It is estimates that roughly $5.3 trillion dollar worth of trade passes through the South China Sea per year. Beyond this it holds 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Both the aspect of regulating trade and controlling natural resources make this territory very alluring. But other countries that the United States is allies with claim a number of the Islands in the South China Sea. So if conflict breaks out we would most likely be dragged into the mix.

So, now that we have decided what our conflict will look like how do we prevent or prepare for it. And what is being done right now is what I would do if it was my choice. The United States is currently shifting its military interest from the Middle East even with the trouble stirring up with ISIL, the military’s strategy wanders to a new theater. That theater is the Pacific. We are shifting our focus and looking to supporting our allies in the pacific such as, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. With an increased presence in the region we can deter China from becoming too bold and attempting to annex island and threaten the safety and stability of our allies and interests in the Pacific. While doing this we can focus on helping the already established Japanese, South Korean, and Philippine militaries to be prepared to take a forward position in dealing with any possible problems they might face as China continues to rise. By doing this we can lessen the brunt of the potential conflict on ourselves and quite possibly with proper strategic checks and balances we could avoid a conflict all together. 

The rise of the East

Why should the United States of America fear the rise of China? There are a few reasons. First, China’s economy has quadrupled in size since market reforms in the 1970’s. They also have become a major manufacturing center which consumes about a third of the global supply of iron, steel, and coal. Second, it is said that China’s military spending has increased 18% in the last few years. Not only do they pose as an economic threat, but now Americans are worried they can compete with our military.

            Both of these fears can be explained with a little bit of background knowledge. Of course China’s economy is going grow faster than the United States. They just started developing their markets 30 years ago; therefore, they are just catching up to our level. They are believed to have one of the largest economies because the country has a population of 1.35 billion, one fifth of the world’s population, compared to the U.S.’s fewer than 400 million. Also, China may be building up their military, but we should not automatically assume they are planning to destroy the U.S.. China is undergoing many domestic problems such as the growing discontent of rural farmers and migrants. Their leaders are putting more focus on that issue which explains why their military is growing.

            The United States should not feel threatened by China yet. We should invest our time and money into our countries education and industry so we remain more advanced. China would not benefit from attacking us if they depend on us to keep their industries flourishing. It makes me feel uneasy that they are now controlling and owning most of our industries, but that does not seem like a beginning of world domination. For example, on the back of every iPhone, it says “Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in China.” This proves we provide the brain power, and they provide the work power. I prefer brain power over cheap labor.

            What worries me the most is the amount of Chinese students enrolling in American colleges. Between 2009 and 2010, 57,000 Chinese students were enrolled in American colleges. It is true having exchange students creates good relations with foreign nations, but how do we expect to stay ahead if they are competing at the same level as our youth? They can take their knowledge back to China and become better innovators than we are. However, I firmly believe every American naturally has the drive and the passion to rise above their competitors.

            I’ll end off with a quotation I found in one of the articles I was reading: “Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite.” This means any form of government is going to exploit someone and we should not feel threatened by China’s growth based off of our different ideologies. 

The DPT (Dream-world Peace Theory)

The democratic peace theory (or DPT) is so tantalizing that criticizing its seemingly perfect world-view comes off as narcissistic and negative. However, the DPT is itself very far from perfect. Certainly, in an ideal world internal political revolutions would lead to less international conflict, but this is far from the case. The reality is that on a planet with 195 separate countries, governments, cultures, and ideologies, world peace may always be unattainable.

            Conversely, the DPT is not as hopeless as initially portrayed. Problems within the DPT are moderately simple but gravely entrenched, and the primary issue with this theory is the application of democracy globally. The American democracy is not just supported constitutionally, but culturally. Since its founding, the United States has upheld values of freedom, independence, and personal choice. These are not just words on a page, but deeply ingrained in the American psyche.

            A substantial problem with this democratic complex is that it does not seem to exist in non-democratic nations. Therefore, invading and militarily forcing democratic values on reluctant foreign nations may seem irrational. Logically, it is hard to justify expending time, money, resources, and American lives forcing others to adhere to our political ideology. It is somewhat ironic that this is not how a majority of presidents since Truman have felt. Beginning with the Truman Doctrine, American presidents have tended to believe that democratic nations are the safest, and intervened in a variety of places to ensure their ‘safety’. Scholars criticize a break in international affairs today and ideological goals of the future, but this is not the major problem at hand.

            Rather, the United States’ National Security Strategy needs to recognize that impressing its views on others is not the best way to approach the outside world. Cultures vary drastically from continent to continent, even across mere rivers, and it is virtually impossible to create a world in which everyone believes the same cookie cutter definition of democracy. Truly, there have been enough trial and errors to disprove this already. Continually, the American definition and structure of democracy hardly functions domestically, let alone applied to foreign nations. In our high tech age of instant communication, word processing, and around the clock access to politicians, we have had the most ‘do-nothing’ Congress in history. Few argue that our political system is healthy and functioning as planned, so attempting to apply this abroad seems shortsighted.

            In an ideal world with ideal workings, the democratic peace theory will eventually be achieved and function as best as possible. As stated by Jackson in the reading, the DPT has the most numerical and quantitative evidence backing it up. Hopefully numbers override history and cultural context and prove that world peace is possible; I would certainly love to be proven wrong.

How to combat China

I never really thought "how do we combat China?." I honestly don't find China as much of a threat to the United states. So in my opinion I don't think military action is needed at this time. If China were to do something to cross or attack the United states then I would say that military action is needed. China is behind the United states in many ways. They're behind us when it comes to military strength and technology. If the United states were to attack China it would be an easy win. In my opinion, the way to combat China is to start limiting trade with them and slowly reducing our interdependence on them. This reduces the leverage that China may have on the United States in the future. If they were to catch up to us or not. In the next 40 years there may be a chance of a big power shift so the government of the United states needs to prepare now. With more independence comes more power in the long run. If the United States is the most powerful country now, given how much we depend on other countries for a lot of our goods, then imagine how powerful we will be if we were almost 100% independent. I believe that this is by far the best way to combat a potential future shift in power to a country like China.