Unbelievably, a four-star general leading the US Air Force’s Mobility Command has ordered his troops to prepare for “the next fight” — war against China in 2025. This was not taken from the 1974 novel The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth or from the movie of the same name. It is real.
History shows that war is inbred in the US. Hardly a day goes by when US troops are not involved in some form of conflict somewhere in the world. And the costs are enormous.
On Jan 27, General Michael A.“Mike” Minihan issued an official memo to his officers commanding 110,000 troops, directing a monthly progression in readiness. His assumption of war was based on “gut feeling” only and not facts. He says he drew his conclusions from Taiwan’s islandwide elections running parallel to the US presidential elections in 2024. Perhaps he was guessing the two new leaders will be warmongers. Who knows what was in his head?
This could have been passed off as a moment of madness, had it not been for a statement from the Pentagon’s press secretary, Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, that “China is the pacing challenge for the Department of Defense and our focus remains on working alongside allies and partners to preserve a peaceful, free, and open Indo-Pacific”. And the former chief of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Philip Davidson, had said earlier that the Chinese mainland may attack Taiwan in 2027.
His words were echoed on Feb 2 by CIA Director William Burns when he said that the US knew “as a matter of intelligence” that President Xi Jinping of China had ordered the country’s military to be ready to take Taiwan by force by 2027.
The US is speaking with the same forked tongue, ratcheting up nonstop provocation of war.
The rhetoric from the US is worrying. It is nothing short of incitement and provocation. China has no intention of launching any form of invasion anywhere in Asia, whether of Taiwan or elsewhere in the South China Sea. Any form of aggression on the China side has been in direct response to US provocation, while China has merely been protecting its own turf. Imagine, for example, if China were to send battleships to linger off the coast of Guam, Hawaii, or California; there would be worldwide condemnation. But no, China respects other territorial waters and does not venture where it is not wanted. It is not an agent provocateur, nor a warmonger.
The US’ quest for containment of China has been building momentum for years, with the US establishing bases in South Korea, Japan, the Pacific islands, and, more recently, the Philippines to cover the entire eastern coastline of China. It has also heavily armed Taiwan, only about 160 kilometers off the Chinese mainland. The blockade is a fortress of aircraft carriers, destroyers, fighter aircraft, missiles, and boots on the ground.
The US suffers from an inferiority complex and operates only with the assistance of others. In its proxy war in Ukraine, it has called on NATO for backup. In the Asia-Pacific region, it calls on the Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) partnership. All of these so-called “international” groups have been formed at the behest of the US in the same manner as it established the so-called “median line” in the Taiwan Straits and the “Taiwan aircraft identification zone”, extending well into the Chinese mainland.
With its sights on China, the US is soliciting support from neighboring Asian countries.
With the help of others, the US controls the world and will not let anyone knock it off its mantle.
Its control is maintained by a massive, multibillion-dollar propaganda machine. The CIA has long used media assets, both foreign and domestic, for its covert operations and, at one stage, had at least 30 agents working as journalists abroad. The number could be higher today. Essential to the US propaganda machine is the notorious Five-Eyes network of spies (US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and UK). It has convinced its member nationals that the US is good and China is bad, so much so that about 10 percent of Australians believe they will be invaded by China.
The US’ top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, appears to spend most of his time traveling abroad trying to convince targets that China is bad. And drumming up business simultaneously in the Asia-Pacific region is Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III. All are talking the same language — “Don’t trust China”. They have been well-briefed based on misinformation supplied by their own intelligence agencies who will tell their masters what they want to hear. It is reminiscent of another Hollywood blockbuster, Wag The Dog, in which a war plot is fabricated to cover up a presidential scandal and results in whipping up patriotic frenzy.
The author is a former chief information officer of the Hong Kong government, a PR and media consultant, and a veteran journalist.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.