The
Coming War on China
Journalist John Pilger on how the world's
greatest military power, the US, may well be
on the road to war with China.
By John Pilger
A major United States military build-up is
under way in Asia and the Pacific with the
purpose of confronting China, according to
award-winning journalist John Pilger.
Nuclear war is no longer unthinkable.
In his film, The Coming War on China, Pilger
warns that the world's greatest military
power, the US, and the world's second
economic power, China, may well be on the
road.
The Coming War on China from John Pilger on Vimeo.
The rise of China is viewed in Washington as
a threat to American dominance. To counter
this, President Barack Obama announced a
"pivot to Asia", meaning that almost
two-thirds of all US naval forces would be
transferred to Asia and the Pacific, their
weapons aimed at China.
"If you stood on the tallest building in
Beijing and looked out on the Pacific Ocean,
you'd see American warships, you'd see Guam
is about to sink because there are so many
missiles pointed at China. You'd look up at
Korea and see American armaments pointing at
China, you'd see Japan which is basically a
glove over the American fist," says James
Bradley, author of The China Mirage.
The policy has been taken up by Obama's
successor, Donald Trump, who, during his
election campaign, said: "We can't continue
to allow China to rape our country and
that's what they're doing."
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Filmed on five possible front lines across
Asia and the Pacific over the course of two
years, the story is told in chapters that
connect a secret and forgotten past to the
rapacious actions of great power today, and
to a resistance of which little is known in
the West.
John Pilger Q&A: 'US missiles are pointed at
China'
Al Jazeera spoke to the award-winning
journalist about what inspired him to make
the film. And what has changed since Donald
Trump took office.
Al Jazeera: What inspired you to make The Coming War on China?
John Pilger: I have reported from Asia for many years. In 2009, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that the South China Sea was a "security interest" of the United States.
China and the Philippines were then negotiating a dispute over the Spratly Islands - which was near to resolution. Clinton urged Manila to take the issue to an international tribunal.
In
2011, President Obama announced the "pivot
to Asia" - which meant that two-thirds of US
naval and air forces would concentrate in
the Asia-Pacific, the biggest build-up of
military forces since World War II. This was
aimed, clearly, at China.
Why did you call it the Coming war
"on" China, not "with" China?
Pilger: China is surrounded by 400 US military bases; US naval forces are on the doorstep of China. US missiles are pointed at China from Okinawa and southern Korea.
There are no Chinese naval ships and no Chinese bases off California; there is no demonstrable Chinese military threat to the US, though China has made significant defensive preparations since Obama's "pivot".
Pilger: Trump has
continued Obama's "pivot to Asia"
policy. During the election campaign,
Trump made threats to impose tariffs on
Chinese imports but has not followed
through. The one significant change is
the standoff over North Korea - which is
very dangerous. The Trump administration
has dismissed the proposal, agreed
between China and North Korea and backed
by Russia, that North Korea is prepared
to negotiate if the US and South Korea
withdraw their fleets from North Korean
waters.
With Pyongyang launching
missiles, should the world be concerned
about North Korea?
Pilger: Yes, of course,
the world should be concerned about
North Korea. But as international polls
show, the world is more concerned about
the US. Understanding why Pyongyang
behaves the way it does is important. It
wants a peace treaty that would finally
end the Korean War of more than 60 years
ago and de-militarise the peninsula.
That would lift the threat of a US
attack - as North Korea sees it. It
would almost certainly ease its state of
siege. In the 1990s, Pyongyang and
Washington agreed what was known as a
Framework Accord that opened previously
shut doors and windows. George W. Bush
abandoned this.
Are economic factors creating
more tension or could they prevent these
two powers from going to war?
Pilger: The rise of
China's economy in a generation is
phenomenal and barely understood in the
West. The US elite - that is, those who
have assumed power with the post 9/11
ascendancy of the Pentagon and the
national security monoliths - regard
American "dominance" of world affairs,
especially Asia, as threatened by
China's economic rise.
Do you think war between the US
and China is inevitable?
Pilger: Nothing is inevitable; but provocation can lead to miscalculation, mistake or accident, especially when "first strike" safeguards have been removed from the deployment of nuclear weapons. My film is a warning.
This article was originally published by Al Jazeera -
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China Hints That It May Back North Korea in the Event of a War; “The timing of this high-profile announcement by the [People’s Liberation Army] is also a warning to Washington and Seoul not to provoke Pyongyang any further,”
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