Present in Asia? With what?

Posted By Daniel Blumenthal Friday, July 15, 2011 - 5:11 PM Share

I know the U.S. is still recovering from the financial crisis.…Under such circumstances, it is still spending a lot of money on its military. Isn't that placing too much pressure on the taxpayers? If the U.S. could reduce its military spending a little and spend more on improving the livelihood of the American people and doing more good things for the world -- wouldn't that be a better scenario?"

This was the Chinese People's Liberation Army Chief of General Staff Gen. Chen Bingde's suggestion to Americans during the visit of his counterpart Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mullen. Well, we are obliging the Chinese general -- at least in part. We are cutting defense. General Chen would be especially happy to know that in particular we are foregoing investment in the types of systems that help keep us "present" in Asia -- though Admiral Mullen assured Asian audiences that we will be there for the long haul. Whether we are cutting defense in order to improve the livelihood of the American people is a separate, hotly debated question. Color me skeptical.

But on the first part of General Chen's suggestion, here is how we are heeding his advice. We are not properly resourcing: a) the submarines the Navy says it needs, or, for that matter, the number of ships in its own shipbuilding plan; b) stealthy tactical aircraft (by the Air Force's own account, they will face an 800-fighter shortfall later this decade); and c) a long-range bomber, now called "the long-range strike family of systems," particularly by those who think this system is silver bullet for our Asia posture.  We were supposed to be deploying new bombers by 2018. Not a chance. The program is estimated to cost $40-50 billion in total, and respected aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia predicts that we will not see a new bomber until well into the next decade. Yes, that's right, a new bomber somewhere in the 2020s.

So General Chen, no need to worry about our defense spending -- we will not have enough submarines or tactical aircraft, and there is no new bomber on the horizon. All are supposed to play a role in the much vaunted AirSea Battle strategy that is our answer to China's growing military power.

But Mullen insists, as did Secretary Gates and other top U.S. leaders, we will still be there for our friends and our allies.  Given the numbers, the next time a leading U.S. official insists that we are going to be "present" in Asia, journalists have a duty to ask, "With what?"

HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images

EXPLORE:SOUTHEAST ASIA, CHINA, MILITARY, SECURITY, U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
 

MARTY MARTEL

10:48 AM ET

July 16, 2011

Thank Reagan / Nixon

Americans should thank Ronald Reagan who preached the evils of government and tax cuts to starve the government while at the same time building ‘star wars space defense’ with the money he didn’t have that has finally led to Daniel Blumenthal’s America unable to build any more ‘new submarines, tactical aircraft or new bomber’ that he thinks America needs.

And Americans should thank the genius of Nixon/Kissinger for embracing China to counter Soviet Union in 1972 that has led to creditor China preaching debtor U. S. the evils of military spending.

Isn’t this ‘kick-in-the-butt’ from Communist China to Democratic U. S.?

If Democratic U. S. had an upper hand against Communist Soviet Union in the first cold war, then Communist China has an upper hand against Democratic U. S. in this second cold war.

Afterall China was a pariah country in the world just like today’s North Korea until Nixon’s 1972 visit. All the West European and East Asian countries stayed away from China following the US lead until 1972 and embraced China after Nixon’s visit. While US would not give MFN status to Soviet Union (remember Jackson-Vanik amendment?) unless Russia shed Communism, it had no problem giving it to China’s Communist dictators with a capitalist mask. Trade with China expanded by leaps and bounds during 12 years of Republican rule beginning in 1981. After campaigning against butchers of Beijing in 1992 elections, even Bill Clinton became enthusiastic supporter of trade with China once he took lessons in foreign policy from Nixon in early 1993 during a special Whitehouse-arranged meeting. US also promoted China to a super power status by accepting it as a permanent UNSC member.

Had it not been for that Nixon embrace in 1972, China’s rise to super power status would have been far more slower with all the US, West European and East Asian markets closed to cheap Chinese products. Had it not been for that Nixon embrace, China’s technological progress would have been far slower in the absence of West’s technology transfers. Had it not been for that Nixon embrace, China’s military progress would have been far slower in the absence of huge forex reserves that China accumulated from the massive exports of cheap Chinese products and China used those forex reserves to acquire latest military technology.

 

GRYUNC

4:06 AM ET

July 20, 2011

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CHERISH TURKASZ

8:45 AM ET

August 13, 2011

Present in Asia? With what?

Defense officials said that Bingde’s visit and his entourage lisa ann did not signify a change in Israeli policy regarding defense relations and exports to the Chinese military. Israel significantly downgraded its defense ties with China in recent years due to American pressure, and Israeli companies are forbidden to sell weaponry to the Chinese military.

Bingde’s visit comes after Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s visit to China in June, the first visit of a defense minister to the country in a decade. Bingde will visit Israel as part of a three-country tour that includes stops in Russia and Ukraine and will meet individually with Barak, Gantz and other members of the General Staff.

Senior defense officials said recently that all of Israel’s ties with China are under careful US scrutiny and in most cases are approved ahead of time by the Pentagon.

Israel attaches a great deal of importance to ties with China due to the role it plays on the United Nations Security Council. A recent UN report accused China of supplying Iran with missile technology and components from North Korea.

When Barak was prime minister in 2000, he gave into pressure from the United States and suspended the sale of four $250 million advanced early warning Phalcon aircraft to China as they were installed with American technology.

In 2005, Israeli-US defense ties hit a snag after Israel agreed to upgrade Israel Aerospace Industries drones that were sold to Beijing in the 1990s. As a result, the US downgraded Israel’s participation in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, which was reinstated several years later.

 

Shadow Government is a blog about U.S. foreign policy under the Obama administration, written by experienced policy makers from the loyal opposition and curated by Peter D. Feaver and William Inboden.

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