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Sunday, July 23, 2023

Largest ever Australia-US joint military exercise a ‘paper tiger,’ experts say

 

Artillery is fired during joint military drills at a firing range in northern Australia as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre, the largest combined training activity between Australia and the US, in Shoalwater Bay, Australia, on July 22, 2023. Photo:AFP

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The largest ever ongoing Australia-US joint military exercise, which involves 13 countries, has been deemed as a "paper tiger" by Chinese experts. Though impressive on paper, the exercise cannot really persuade all participants to serve the US' purpose, experts said.

The two-week-long military exercise, known as Talisman Sabre 2023, officially commenced on Friday. It is the largest since 2005, with more than 30,000 military personnel from 13 countries participating, according to media reports. Reuters described it as a "show of force and unity at a time when China has emerged as an increasingly assertive power in the Indo-Pacific."

"The most important message that China can take from this exercise and anything that our allies and partners do together, is that we are extremely tied by the core values that exist amongst our many nations," US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro was quoted as saying by Reuters during an opening ceremony in Sydney.

The US' purpose of roping in countries such as Australia and other allies in its Indo-Pacific military encirclement of China, as well as preparing for future military adventures, is evident through the "unprecedented" military exercise, Chen Hong, executive director at the Asia Pacific Studies Center of East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Saturday.

Chen criticized the US for continuously exacerbating regional tensions and insecurity.

The military exercise also coincides with the upcoming visit of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to visit Papua New Guinea and Australia next week, during which Austin plans to join US Secretary of State Blinken to attend Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) and observe military exercises.

However, the military excise that has been labeled by the West as "the largest in the 18-year history of the exercise" that is intended to send a clear message to China was more of a "paper tiger," Chen noted.

US officials often brag about the "core values" shared by their allies and partners. However, Chinese military expert Song Zhongping told the Global Times that the US has been trying to coerce these countries in the name of "defending their security and democratic values" and kidnap them by hyping up threats involving China, Russia and North Korea.

By playing word games, the US is only aiming to maintain its own global hegemony and participating countries also have their own petty calculations, Song noted.

Though impressive on paper, the exercise cannot really persuade all participants to serve the US' purpose, even Australia has certain reluctance, not to mention the rest, the two experts noted.

Media reports claimed this year is the first time that Germany has participated in the exercise, sending 210 paratroopers and marines. Chinese experts said since Merkel left office, Germany's diplomatic independence has been undermined, but they questioned whether Germany would really take more actions to back the US military adventure and the symbolic significance of Germany's participation in the exercise far outweighs the substantive significance.

For Australia, Chen said located in the South Pacific region where is safe and peaceful, Australia can be hardly challenged in terms of security, but unfortunately, it has been growingly pushed into a blind alley by the manipulation of the US and has become a pawn in the US' chess game. Australia will be equipped with nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS deal and has become more aggressive militarily by investing more in the development of military equipment, the expert noted.

Chen reminded Australia to maintain its strategic independence in order to protect its national interests. Excessive military adventurism will only put Australia on a more insecure position and hinder its own development, Chen warned.

Japan's Self Defense Force is scheduled to conduct a live fire demonstration of its Type 12 Surface-to-Ship missile (SSM) at a weapons range at Jervis Bay, south of Sydney on Friday, according to ABC.

South Korea has brought two warships and self-propelled howitzers as well as a multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) known as Chunmoo to the exercise. It will showcase its rocket technology during the Talisman Sabre, the ABC report said.

Song told the Global Times that both Japan and South Korea have their own intentions in developing their military industries by attending the Talisman Sabre. Testing equipment in Australia is taken as a way to prove their equipment can well adapt to different climates and be utilized across the globe, which will boost their arms exports.

Chinese experts also slammed Western hype surrounding the sailing of a Chinese ship off the coast of Australia that labeled it as a spy ship.

Rebuking commentators from the US and Australia who described China's act of sending ships to regional waters as "aggressive," Chen said such claims are baseless and unfounded, and that the US and Australia should respect the right of other countries to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight in international seas and airspace,

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Washington reacts with ‘sour grapes’ mentality to Kissinger’s China tour, urged to be rational and refrain from confrontation

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, July 20, 2023. Photo:Xinhua

 

While China gave its "old friend" Henry Kissinger 100-year-old former secretary of state and national security advisor a warm and grand reception in Beijing, a positive sign showing its sincerity to engage and stabilize relations, the White House said it "regrets" that the 100-year-old former secretary of state and national security advisor still had better access to Chinese officials than some incumbent US officials.

Although China has expressed expectations of mutual respect and meeting each other halfway to protect the "fragile thawing" in ties, US politicians have not stopped smearing and suppressing China, ranging from hyping "Chinese hackers" breaching email accounts of top US diplomats and investigations into US firms' investments in Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor companies to conniving Taiwan secessionist deputy regional leader's possible transit through the US.

Chinese experts said that the US incumbent officials have "sour grapes" mentality over Kissinger's visit to China, and is unable to treat it with an objective and rational attitude. Meanwhile, the US elites' China strategy is not based on the reality that the two sides enjoy a profound foundation of common interests and the general expectations of the international community, but blindly pursues an absolute advantage of strength, with a sense of so-called moral and cultural superiority.

Although analysts expect that under China's efforts, interactions between China and the US are expected to strengthen in the second half of 2023, and even face-to-face exchanges between two heads of state cannot be ruled out, if the US continues to blindly pursue confrontation in its China policy, the atmosphere and conditions for the meeting of the heads of state will disappear.

China US Illustration: Liu Rui China US Illustration: Liu Rui

'Sour grapes' reaction

In a meeting with Kissinger on Thursday in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed him as an "old friend" whom the Chinese people will never forget for his historic contributions to promoting China-US ties. Xi also expressed hope that Kissinger and other people of foresight in the US will continue to play a constructive role in restoring China-US ties to the right track.

China also prepared a banquet for Kissinger with cuisine and decorations filled with cultural significance. Dishes included a longevity peach cake, crane and pine ornamentation that traditionally symbolizes a long and healthy life for the elderly, as well as decorations of lush mountains and rivers, representing the enduring friendship and conveying hopes for peace and prosperity between China and the US.

In the US, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Kissinger went to China "under his own volition, not acting on behalf of the US government." White House National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said, "It's unfortunate that a private citizen can meet with the defense minister and have a communication and the US can't."

The Biden administration "looks forward to hearing from Secretary Kissinger when he returns, to hear what he heard, what he learned, what he saw," Kirby added.

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times that the White House had "sour grapes" mentality over the high-level reception Kissinger received during his visit to China, but it had to acknowledge his role as an irreplaceable channel for communication at a time of bilateral tensions.

There is a real need for bilateral cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, climate change and combating drugs, Li said, "Rational policymakers and observers should be happy to see the lines of communication open and smooth."

The White House's emphasis of Kissinger's civilian identity shows its abnormal polarization in domestic politics, said Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University, "They are worried that the Republicans will use this matter for a political attack as the 2024 election approaches."

"The current situation in China-US relations cannot be solved by Henry Kissinger alone. Kissinger's China tour reflects China's positive attitude and sincerity in maintaining China-US relations. This kind of sincerity is not because it fears the US, nor to gain leverage over the US," Shen said, "It's different from some American politicians' confrontational mindset."

The US government should learn from Kissinger's diplomatic acumen, and also exert sufficient political control at home, Diao Daming, an associate professor at the Renmin University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times on Friday.

Confrontation or communication

As for Kirby's veiled displeasure with the inability to hold a China-US defense chiefs meeting in his comments on Kissinger's meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, experts said this is completely caused by Washington's unilaterally wrong and extreme approach toward China, as Li is still under US sanctions.

It is completely hegemonic logic if the US believes that China-US military dialogue can be carried out under such conditions… If the US does not reflect on itself, it won't be conducive to mending bilateral ties, Diao said.

In addition, the US has never stopped undermining bilateral relations.

Citing unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal smeared China amid Kissinger's China tour, saying that "China-linked hackers" breached the email account of US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, as well as the email account of Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant Secretary of State for East Asia.

Interestingly, Kritenbrink said at a Thursday hearing on China policy, "We are committed to managing this competition responsibly and to maintaining open lines of communication," without mentioning the "China-linked hackers."

Analysts said Kissinger's ideas can still shed light on the current muddled US policy toward China, as he believes that managing international relations requires common ground while reserving differences.

"It would be disastrous if Washington's policymakers' brains are full of ideology and value superiority," Li said.

Earlier on Wednesday, a US House committee launched an investigation into investments by four US venture capital firms into Chinese artificial intelligence and semiconductor companies, according to a Reuters report.

The common interests accumulated between China and the US over the past century are too large to be destroyed by some politicians' will. Therefore, the US' China policy should be based on objective reality, and Kissinger is a unique and living witness to the accumulation of common interests between China and the US over the past 50 years, Li said.

Kissinger, who has visited China more than 100 times, once again illustrated the importance of US-China exchanges at the age of 100.

The more frequent the exchanges between China and the US, the more it will help both sides, especially the US, stay rational and pragmatic in handling relations with China. If there is no communication, rumors will be used as weapons for some extreme US politicians who deliberately undermine China-US relations, Li said.

Chinese experts said that the interaction between China and the US may show a trend of strengthening in the second half of 2023 after Kissinger's visit, and there will likely be face-to-face exchanges between the two heads of state on occasions such as the G20 and APEC summits. However, if the US continues to pursue confrontation and provocation in its China policy, the atmosphere for the meeting of the heads of state will disappear.

For example, attention should be paid to the US' move on the Taiwan question, China's core interest and red line.

Regarding a possible transit visit of Taiwan secessionist Lai Ching-te through the US, Xie Feng, the Chinese Ambassador to the US, said at the Aspen Security Forum on Wednesday, "The Taiwan question is the most important and sensitive matter in China-US relations."

The pressing issue at hand is to resolutely block  Lai's transit through the US, which is akin to a "grey rhino" charging toward us, Xie said. 

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Thursday, July 20, 2023

How will US weaponize AI for its technological hegemony?

 AI Photo:VCG

https://youtu.be/DoHnSqZb86Y

The UN Security Council on Tuesday for the first time held a session on the risks that artificial intelligence (AI) poses to the world, the latest evidence that regulating the development of AI has become a universal concern. While discussions of AI development norms are necessary, whether for the international community or any country, it is still disturbing to see the inclination of AI weaponization in some discussions among US lawmakers.

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who introduced AI legislation last month, said in a recent speech that "If we don't program these algorithms to align with our values, they could be used to undermine our democratic foundations ... The Chinese Communist Party ... could leap ahead of us and set the rules of the game for AI. Democracy could enter an era of steep decline."

Experience has made it clear that whenever US politicians associate some issues with values, it is always in a way that is distorted and adheres to a zero-sum game, bringing chaos and uncertainty to all concerned. Unfortunately, AI may have just become a new front in Washington's tech war against China. In fact, the US attempt to take control of AI is still fixated on keeping global markets and capital firmly in American hands.

In addition to the Congressional legislation efforts, the Biden administration is also reportedly preparing to restrict Chinese companies' access to US cloud-computing services, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month. The move may curb Chinese customers' ability to use AI-related services from US companies.

Apparently, AI won't be exempted from the US technological competition with and crackdown on China. The US wants to maintain its dominance in almost all high-tech fields and is willing to contain China's technological development by means of suppression, just like it has been doing in the chip war.

Such hostility in technological competition is an obvious cause for worry, especially when governments around the world are facing challenges as to how to use and regulate AI as well as balance its development and security risks.

Just look at what Washington has been doing in terms of chip suppression related to China, and it is not hard to imagine what norms and rules the Biden administration could be plotting in a political environment where AI is seen as an important weapon in ensuring US technological hegemony.

If the US abuses AI rule-making as a weapon against China, it will be a disaster for global AI development. There is much unknown about the specific trends and paths of AI development. Under such circumstances, if the US insists on introducing geopolitical factors, then future AI development will certainly face a split, which means two systems and development directions, bringing more confusion and jeopardizing AI global governance.

Another implication of the US maintaining its scientific and technological dominance and hegemony is that the high-tech development of developing countries will be under US control and bullying.

In high-tech fields like AI, if some countries maliciously obstruct the technological development of other countries, and artificially create technological barriers, they are actually undermining the rights and interests of developing countries to seek open cooperation. To prevent such a scenario, the rules of global AI governance must first ensure fairness for the development of developing countries.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, proposed at the Tuesday Security Council meeting that five principles must be adhered to when it comes to guiding principles for AI governance - putting ethics first, adhering to safety and controllability, fairness and inclusiveness, openness and cooperativeness, and committed to peaceful utilization.

In stark contrast to what US politicians have emphasized in AI governance, these principles deserve the attention of the international community. 

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