According to an article in the New York Times, the US is looking to start a cooperative dialogue with China’s military. The U.S. Army chief of staff explained: “It really is about focusing on a long-term relationship and the importance of us conducting exchanges, conducting institutional visits.” The U.S. continues to be the dominant military power, but given China’s increasingly presiding military presence, economic influence, and geographic location, it is very strategic for the U.S. to build strong bonds with China and establish a predominant presence in Asia.
The U.S. seems to be concern about the engaging discrepancies of territorial claims in the Western Pacific between China and its surrounding countries including Japan, Philippines, and South Korea. However, there is definitely more to the U.S. agenda than simply taking the mediator role and ensuring the international laws are obeyed. Fostering a military relationship with China will keep the U.S. more informed about activities in Asia so as to be able to predict and prepare for unforeseeable events. Moreover, it will promote future security cooperation with one of the most prominent military forces in the world. However, the question that underlies this new cooperative agreement is whether there will be complete reciprocity concerning both parties.
As South Korean, I am not sure if there is any “engaging discrepancies of territorial claims” between China and South Korea. However, due to the presence of North Korea, South Korean military often works with the U.S. military (annually) and conduct military drill. This causes tension between these two countries with China. I really doubt that China will cooperate with the U.S. on the military issues regarding the two Koreas unless China gets some benefits, but it is also a key to keep the peace in the area.
Yes, the reciprocity of the agreement sure can be put under question, but there are many benefits to this agreement. As stated above China could provide a crucial foothold in Asia as its location provides easy access to some areas in the Middle East, Russia, Pakistan, and North Korea. This also may be an attempt by the US to crack open another one of China’s markets. For the most part China’s military is built upon Soviet tech. A Chinese arms market may be appealing to some officials.
I agree with Brian that the Chinese arms market has an appeal to U.S. weapons manufacturers, but I also think that these “institutional visits” provide an opportunity for our high ranking officials to assess and gauge the PLA. Every country in the world has been aware of China’s military buildup over the past few decades, but no one knows for sure just how large the PLA is or what they’re capable of. Creating closer ties with the Chinese military seems to be a preemptive move on the part of the U.S. Army, as China is poised to be one of the few countries to rival the United States in the 21st century.
I also feel that this could be an attempt to gain another foothold from which to oversee and monitor activity in the Middle East. I foresee continued and potentially escalating conflict in that area and with obvious interests in conflict there, the US will want to be in the best possible position to react.
This is most likely a public act to try to establish some sort of connection with the Chinese military. But even though they have a capitalist system, the country by no means is democratic and the government will do what they want. If they cooperate with the US government it will be to keep them off of their back. The Chinese military will do what they think is best for China and if that means going against the US, it won’t be because of some talks or treaty between the two, but because of the military repercussions.
The formal Pentagon position is to “pivot” towards Asia. Flashpoints that could spill over to affect the rest of the world lie there, not in Europe – Crimea is not that sort of issue, but a spat between China and one of its neighbors over Pacific Rim islands would disrupt shipping and otherwise cause havok. Maneuvering creates the potential for unintended clashes, if those at the operating level have no understanding of basic rules of engagement of the other side. And this isn’t just hypothetical – a US radar plane flying on the edge of Chinese airspace and a Chinese jet fighter collided some years back, with the US plane making an emergency landing in China. There have also been very close encounters of Chinese ships with those of other countries (and a collision between a Chinese fishing boat and a Japanese ship). Neither side wants such incidents to spill out of control.
Make sure to consider this in the historical context of a Korea-Japan feud dating back centuries, as opposed to the much more recent feud between China and Japan