China Lashes U.S.-Australia 'Cold War' Thinking

January 21, 2013 • 10:56AM

China's ambassador to Australia, Chen Yuming, has called the stepped-up military cooperation between Australia and the United States "Cold War-style." The Australian Financial Review reported 15 January that the Ambassador said "there was too much emphasis on the strengthening of military alliances in the Asia-Pacific region and not enough on the pressing economic difficulties which meant countries like the U.S., China, Europe and Japan had to work closely together."

Asked about the deployment of 2,500 U.S. marines to Darwin, Ambassador Chen said, "We believe that it is not appropriate to place too much importance or place too much attention on further increasing military co-operation or military alliances between relevant countries. We do not believe it is appropriate to continue the Cold War style of military co-operation or even go for confrontation or a containment mentality. We believe such moves are not in keeping with the current trends of the times and they do not serve the interests of relevant countries and the common interests of all countries in the region." He urged all countries to avoid damaging "trust-building measures in the region," because collaborating to strengthen the global economy was too important: "In today's world the top priority of all countries is development; we face multiple challenges and it is important for all countries ... to focus on economic development and growth," he told AFR. "China and Australia need to address their own domestic problems in economic growth. The key word in today's world for all countries should be economy and it should be development."

Oxford-trained Australian defense analyst Hugh White — exposed as a leading warmonger in the Oct.-Dec. 2012 New Citizen newspaper, published by the LaRouche movement in Australia—was also quoted in the AFR. Though once again presenting an ostensible critique of Obama's "Asia Pivot" policy as destabilizing for the region, White labeled China's goals in precisely the same terms as Washington does. Said White, "No matter what the statements out of Canberra or Washington, the damage wrought by the U.S. pivot to the Pacific had already been done. The level of mistrust between Washington and Beijing has gone from bad to worse in the last 12 months and China views the pivot, Australia's role in it and the deployment of the marines, as part of a U.S.-led containment policy. It is designed to frustrate Beijing's efforts to redesign the order in the Asia Pacific to establish some room for itself. China is pushing back, and the problem is every move and counter move leads to escalation and increases the very real risk of a U.S.-China war." [Emphasis added.]

White was already exposed as a liar by Chinese Lieutenant General Ren Haiquan, who took White to task by name in an Oct. 31, 2012 speech during Gen. Ren's visit to Australia. "China has no intention to build a sphere of influence or create an exclusive regional order," Gen. Ren said. "We firmly persist in the principle of being a good neighbor and partner."