MANILA, Philippines – China is presenting Asian countries with a “false” choice between itself and the United States and is trying to make them believe the balance of power has shifted in its favor with Washington on the decline, according to US Sen. John McCain.
McCain, chairman of the US Senate Committee on Armed Services, voiced his observation at a lecture before the Heritage Foundation, an American think tank based in Washington.
If China is truly committed to a “peaceful rise,” he said it should be a vital partner in upholding the rules-based international order and not use its growing power and position to disrupt it.
China, McCain said, has maneuvered toward a policy of intimidation and coercion in support of its objective, especially under the leadership of President Xi Jinping.
When the Permanent Court of Arbitration took up the case against China’s vast claims in the South China Sea, the senator said China operated as a bully and demanded the silence of other countries.
Beijing threatened with harsh consequences those that supported the international ruling, which invalidated China’s nine-dash line claim, McCain said.
When China didn’t get its way, it dismissed the ruling – issued in July – as a US-led conspiracy and vowed defiance, he added.
China’s leaders view the last two centuries as aberrations of history, he said, as they seek to reclaim China’s status as the dominant power in the Asia-Pacific.
“In other words, China’s leaders want to dictate the economic and security rules of the road for Asia. But they view the United States as the primary obstacle to achieving this goal,” McCain said.
The senator said China has used trade as a weapon in disputes with its neighbors as well as cyber technology to steal intellectual property from foreign businesses.
China harassed fisherman from the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, stepped up armed incursions around the Senkaku Islands administered by Japan in the East China Sea and conducted dangerous intercepts of military aircraft flying in international airspace, McCain said.
“So, China has presented the nations of Asia with a false choice: are you with us, or are you with the United States? And those that fail to make the right choice in China’s eyes must prepare for the consequences,” he pointed out.
“There is no doubt China’s hysterical threats and heavy-handed diplomacy have produced backlash. But that is not to say such pressure cannot be effective,” he added.
“China will likely persist in pressuring the nations of Asia to fall in line with its challenge to the rules-based order. It appears to believe the balance of power has shifted, that America is in decline, and that now is the right time to right what it views as historic wrongs,” McCain stressed.
“I believe this judgment is wrong. But the true danger is if other nations in Asia reach the same conclusion,” he added.
While the US cannot choose for Asia whether to uphold and defend the rules-based order, McCain said the US can make the choice an easier one as he urged the new administration of president-elect Donald Trump to “demonstrate renewed US leadership in the Asia-Pacific, by choosing to remain actively engaged in the world as an indispensable economic and security partner.”
“We chose to play a leadership role in the world, not to abandon our allies and partners, and to bear the costs of doing so,” McCain said. “That choice has, at times, been unpopular. But it was, and still is, the right choice. And that is the choice we must be prepared to make today.”