Opinion | Which country ever dares to leave U.S. president waiting by the phone

By Augustus K. Yeung

Even though this is the 21st century, a modern time when democracy is believed to be a norm of the day. But the Americans can still unilaterally dictate and direct the leader of a European country to fight the Russians, a neighbor – and wage a proxy war. Ukraine is a case in point.

(By all means, the U.S. could have diplomatically diffused the Russia-Ukraine war by offering to settle the NATO-inspired issue – threatening the national security of Rusia, which felt that NATO's forever eastward expansion plan was an existential threat. Instead, the Biden administration lured the Ukrainian leader to reject Russia's demand for a peaceful settlement.)

The spirit of "Monroe doctrine" is alive, though not well-received by the global south, and a righteous China.

Below, readers will find a live-incident – illustrating the same point, involving China and implicating the U.S.

Please read the following article by the Post's popular journalist, Alex Lo, "Biden left waiting by the phone as China refuses to play anymore."

"With no real desire to reach out, those at the White House are like aliens from sci-fi comedy 'Mars Attacks!' who come in peace - but want to kill," was the subheading.

President Joe Biden says a "thaw" in U.S. relations with China is coming.

He clearly expects Beijing to be a cheap date and just waits by the phone. Unsurprisingly, the Chinese decline to play along.

At issue is a rejected meeting requested by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet his Chinese counterpart, General Li Shangfu, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The problem is that Li, who was in charge of weapon procurements as part of the Chinese army modernization – before his promotion, has been sanctioned since 2018 by the previous U.S. administration of Donald Trump.

His crime? The purchase of Su-35 combats aircraft and S-400 missile system equipment –

From Russia. How is that any of America's business? Because such arms transfers are prohibited under U.S. sanctions laws. They are of the unilateral kind that say, "We do it because we can."

The Chinese side has made it known that any such top military meeting rests on the United States lifting the sanctions against Li. The U.S. State Department responded by saying "Sanctions do not necessarily prohibit sanctioned persons from meeting with U.S. government officials".

This was followed by another State Department that confirmed it would not lift the sanctions against Li. So, Beijing got a bit annoyed – and predictably rejected a meeting with Austin.

The Pentagon then joined the Washington chorus. As quoted by the Voice of America, a spokesman said "While General Li remains blocked from any U.S. property interest, financial transfers, payments … under U.S. jurisdiction due to current sanctions, President Joe Biden's administration continues to seek open lines of communication with PRC military leaders to ensure competition does not spill into conflict'.

In effect, the Pentagon spokesman is saying that the Chinese are being small-minded and endangering world peace over some trifle sanctions. The two sides have not had a top-level tete-a-tete for more than six months and accidents can happen, what with so much U.S. military hardware encircling the Chinese coastlines and flying outside its airspace.

Suppose we reverse the situation. According to data compiled by the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, the U.S. sold weapons to a whopping 142 countries, of which at least 48 were classified as autocratic. So much for Biden's declaration that the world is locked in an existential struggle between autocracies and democracies led by the U.S.

But I must digress. With so many U.S. arms sales and transfers, Beijing could easily have found an excuse – to sanction someone like Austin. How might the Americans respond to such an act of hostility?

But the real problem goes beyond sanctions against Li. It is the consistent pattern of the Biden administration to say one thing and then do the opposite.

It says it wants to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait – but then keeps poking at Beijing's redline. It says it is fine with China's economic rise – but then rallies allies to disrupt its economy, especially in the hi-tech sector with the so-called chip war.

Almost in the same breath, Biden declared an imminent thaw – and then turned the official Group of Seven communique into a full-frontal attack on a full range of issues, from Beijing's supposed "coercive behavior", which the G7 countries also engage in – to criticizing its stance on Ukraine, to which they have been supplying all the weapons.

The mainstream media then followed the Biden party line which typically portrays the U.S. as being open to diplomacy – and faults China for being recalcitrant.

There is no commitment from the U.S. to reach out – but more like playing a public relations game in which the punchline is always, "The ball is in your court". After a few rounds, the Chinese have caught on – and don't want to play anymore.

Biden and his lieutenants are starting to look like those aliens in the sci-fi comedy Mars Attacks! in which their leader declares they "come in peace" and then proceeds to obliterate everyone. (Source: SCMP)

So, which country ever dares to leave the U.S. President waiting by the phone?

China. It's because there was no point talking to the Americans when, for example, Lloyd Austin was routinely being belligerent. As the U.S. army chief, he only exercises brute power, encouraging his boys to intrude into the Taiwan Strait airspace, violating China's sovereign right.

In response, the patriotic PLA fighter jet pilots were enraged, often flying head-on – into the U.S. and ally planes "recklessly", according to Western media.

Fortunately, then came Biden's phone call, pleading with the Chinese leader to maintain a constant line of communication, which made sense to Xi.

Ultimately, it was these two great leaders that brought back the world's two great economies from the brink of war.

 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

To contact the writer, please direct email: AugustusKYeung@ymail.com

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