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the articles for length and clarity. Inquiry: (8610) 65367563EDITORIAL
14
Wednesday August 7, 2019
By Yan YunmingUS Defense Secretary Mark Esper on
Saturday revealed his plan to place
ground-based intermediate-range
missiles in Asia. It is widely believed
that US allies in Asia-Pacifi c, includ-
ing Japan, South Korea and Australia,
would be the country’s fi rst option for
missile deployment.
But only two days after the sec-
retary’s statement, US fantasy was
smashed by Australia. On Monday,
Australian Prime Minister Scott Mor-
rison ruled out the possibility of US
missile construction in his country by
saying, “It’s not been asked of us, not
being considered, not been put to us.
I think I can rule a line under that.”
Even if this was not Canberra’s
formal decision, Morrison’s words
proved that countries in this region
have the right and ability to say no
to Washington’s overbearing Indo-
Pacifi c Strategy. It seems the region’s
strategic structure is growing increas-
ingly out of US control.
The Asia-Pacifi c has nurtured sig-
nifi cant world actors and witnessed
the rise of emerging powers. In spite
of a few occasional disputes among
regional members, cooperation and
exchanges have always been the re-
gion’s theme, creating vitality and
promoting prosperity for not only the
region but also the world. And China,
an important rising power in the re-gion, has brought benefi ts and oppor-
tunities to many regional members
and contributed greatly to regional
development.
The US, however, always plays
spoiler, daydreaming about dominat-
ing the region. Its plan to deploy the
missiles exposes such intention. It’s
a bid not only to deal with China and
Russia, but also to strengthen and
consolidate its strategic dominance
in the Asia-Pacifi c region.
But Washington should wake up
to reality and fi nd out if any country
is willing to play its dangerous game.
Countries in the region will under-
stand that blindly following the US
Indo-Pacifi c Strategy will not only
lead to regional chaos, but also cause
losses to their own national interests.
As a US ally, Australia is consid-
ered a key regional player to contain
China. But over the years, it has to
some extent depended on and ben-
efi ted from China’s development.
Washington’s attempts to contain
Beijing will eventually divide the re-
gion, and Canberra can by no means
be immune to the impact.
When Canberra is forced to make
a choice, it has to weigh things. It
appears that Australia clearly under-
stands the US plan to strengthencontrol over the Asia-Pacifi c, and has
realized that following the US would
only harm itself. As what prominent
Australian security analyst Hugh
White had pointed out, Canberra
should not follow Washington into a
confrontation with Beijing which the
former might lose.
The missiles, if deployed, will be a
military threat to Russia, China and
other regional powers, and would de-
stroy the existing security balance in
the region. Morrison’s decision has
responded to other regional powers’
concerns, such as those of Indonesia.
The current pattern in Asia-Pacifi c
where some countries rely on the US
militarily and on China economically
is unstable. All regional members
should work together to build a secu-
rity and trust system without chaos
brought about by the US.
Security and stability are prereq-
uisites for a region’s development.
If a region becomes a military arena
where every state is at risk, how can
it achieve development and prosper-
ity? This is a fact everyone with rea-
son can understand. Other military
allies of the US should think seri-
ously about it. Refusing the US mis-
sile plan should be a consensus of all
Asia-Pacifi c countries.Voices
“We hope the US will exercise
prudence and refrain from
escalating tensions or
undermining international
and regional peace,”
Hua Chunying, Chinese foreign ministry
spokesperson,
saying the US will severely undermine international and
regional security by insisting on deploying intermediate-
range missiles in Asia-Pacifi c during a press briefi ng on
Monday.
“Peace with Iran is the
mother of all peace, war
with Iran is the mother of all
wars,”
Hassan Rouhani, Iranian president,
saying that the US must lift all sanctions on Iran before
taking to talk tables and that Iran must be allowed to
export oil, quoted by Reuters on Tuesday.
US Indo-Pacifi c Strategy will lead to chaos
O
BSERVER
Page Editor:
[email protected]Illustrations: Peter C. Espina/GTCurrency manipulator label of US absurd
T
he US Treasury Department on
Monday designated China a cur-
rency manipulator in response
to the drop in the renminbi’s value to
under 7 per US dollar. It’s ridiculous
that the US has taken China’s step in-
tended to appease the market by using
the country’s ability to prevent a sharp
exchange rate fall as proof of the al-
leged manipulation.
The White House had long desired
to label China as a currency manipula-
tor. The US Treasury Department lays
down three criteria for identifying ma-
nipulation. It couldn’t designate China
because the country only meets one of
the criteria – it has a signifi cant trade
surplus with the US. The unexpected
decision on Monday is totally political.
It is aimed at showing US wrath for
China.
Except for the small policy circle inWashington, is there anyone who be-
lieves China is manipulating its curren-
cy? Most Chinese people don’t think so,
because although a fall in the exchange
rate is good for exports, it won’t help
inspire the society at the moment. It’s
widely believed as bringing more harm
than good to China. An indisputable
fact is that pressure of devaluation has
been there for a while, and China’s fi -
nancial policy is to keep the currency
stable rather than indulging in seeing
it drop.
When China was widely believed to
have taken measures to keep the ex-
change rate against US dollar above 7,
the US didn’t frown at it. But when Chi-
na allows market forces to determine
the renminbi exchange rate, Washing-
ton accuses it of manipulation. This is
absurd.
Exchange rate is an issue of sover-eignty. The US has frequently accused
other countries of currency manipula-
tion. Many of the countries that have
been blacklisted or put on the watch
list are US allies. However, the politi-
cal signifi cance of blacklisting China
is particularly obvious. Some radical
Americans regard it as a sign of a tough
stance against China.
After listing China as a “currency
manipulator,” the US will engage with
the International Monetary Fund to
substantiate the accusation. If it was
two years ago, the Chinese may have
worried about US retaliation because
such an accusation may lead to Wash-
ington imposing tariff s on China’s ex-
ports to the US.
But now, since the US tariff s on
Chinese products have already been
implemented on a large scale, the label
of “currency manipulator” is only bluffand bluster.
China does not want a trade war, but
we will fi ght to the end. The US only
has itself to blame. It started an unjus-
tifi ed trade war with a wrong opponent
at a wrong time. The US needs to learn
from bitter experience that it is not in-
vincible. Necessary restraint can pre-
vent Washington from getting trapped
in a dilemma.
Every time the US repudiated trade
talks, the trade war escalated. Now a vi-
cious circle has formed.
But China has two things that the
US lacks. First, China has a powerful
political system and the Chinese peo-
ple’s unity. Second, China has a rapidly
expanding domestic market and huge
development potential. Which country
has room for maneuver, and which
country is facing a political cliff? We
will let time prove.