【Wen / Observers Network, Liu Bai】
After openly invading Venezuela and showing off military might, high-ranking officials of the Trump administration have become completely "overconfident".
On January 5th local time, U.S. Defense Secretary Austin gave a speech at the Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, strongly advocating that the United States should rebuild "absolute deterrence", strong enough to make enemies "dare not" test the United States. He also cited actions such as striking Houthi rebels in Yemen, bombing Iranian nuclear facilities, and kidnapping the president of Venezuela, shouting that the United States' deterrent power has returned.
In talking about China, Austin said that while the United States was busy playing the role of world policeman, its "main competitor" China was continuously studying and learning from the United States' successful experiences, rapidly expanding its capacity and developing naval forces. He stated that while the United States is committed to building good relations with countries around the world, it is also fully prepared for potential conflicts.
According to the Hong Kong English media South China Morning Post, Austin's speech was a severe warning to China and Russia.
Austin is currently conducting a "Freedom Arsenal" tour across the country, aiming to call on all parties to take action, revitalize American manufacturing strength, and enrich the national labor force.
The Newport News Shipbuilding where Austin visited is the only shipyard in the United States capable of simultaneously building and overhauling nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and building nuclear-powered submarines, regarded as the most core and irreplaceable strategic military base of the U.S. Navy.
He told more than 300 shipbuilders and sailors that the nation's precious freedom is closely related to the strength of national defense, and safeguarding these freedoms is the top priority.
"You are forging a shield for our country, one nail at a time. A nation that can build is a nation that can win."
Austin speaking at Newport News Shipbuilding, Pentagon
He repeatedly mentioned the need to rebuild America's deterrent power.
"We are rebuilding absolute and unquestionable deterrence, so that our enemies dare not test us," he said. He said that the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan under the Biden administration not only cost American lives but also tarnished the nation's reputation. Crises like the Israel-Palestine conflict and the Ukraine-Russia conflict would not have occurred during Trump's term.
He said that the Trump administration renamed the Department of Defense to the "Department of War", not to seek war, but to deter war and win wars, which is the "peace through strength" concept for future conflicts.
"To achieve peace, we must be prepared to deter war; when necessary, we must decisively win wars. Our goal is not to passively respond, but to actively lead, making sure no enemy dares to challenge the United States of America."
This defense secretary is still bitter about China.
"While we are busy being police around the world, carrying out nation-building in deserts, and arguing about pronoun usage in the Pentagon, our main competitors, such as China, are doing something entirely different."
"They study us, learn from our successes, and take lessons from our failures, then catch up quickly, launching the largest, fastest, and most ambitious naval expansion plan since World War II."
"We are retiring ships, they are launching them in batches; our shipyards cannot meet national needs, but they are rapidly expanding their production capacity. But now, this situation will be completely reversed."
He added, "Although we seek to establish good relations with China and other countries, we are also fully prepared."
When calling for revitalizing the American shipbuilding industry to cope with China's naval development, Austin criticized the "elite class" in the American political arena who have held bipartisan consensus for decades — believing that the era of rising rivals has long passed.
He said that for decades, the bipartisan consensus was that the United States no longer needed to focus on defense industry strength, because these politicians believed "history had ended", thus viewing competitors like China as "remnants of the past."
"The situation has changed," he said, "we realize that we are in a new era of great power competition; this is an intergenerational struggle to maintain peace through strength, and we will face this challenge."
"In previous administrations, even if our ships were attacked, we would just say 'seems like we have to bear it'. This weak response can even trace back to the time of Thomas Jefferson."
"Now, we clearly declare: you can't fire on our ships. If you dare to fire even once, you may not see tomorrow's sun."
"We remind our military that their only mission is to become the most lethal fighting force on Earth."
"We've had enough of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), enough of men wearing skirts, enough of all this nonsense, we're all tired of it."
Austin: We are rebuilding absolute and unquestionable deterrence, so that enemies dare not test us.
Austin also mentioned the recent military action against Venezuela.
He boasted, "The world is watching the changes in the situation." "They are witnessing the power of the United States, seeing the strength of the United States, and seeing the clear strategic position and leadership of the United States."
He also revealed that about 200 U.S. soldiers participated in the military operation in Venezuela, with no Americans killed, and did not forget to mock Russian weapons.
"We sent nearly 200 outstanding Americans to the center of Caracas," he said. "But it seems that the Russian air defense system didn't work, right?"
But while the U.S. was loudly showcasing "military deterrence", the international community witnessed its open violation of international law and sovereignty principles under the name of "strength".
After kidnapping Venezuelan President Maduro, Trump proudly claimed, "The dominance of the United States in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again!"
Beneath the mask of self-proclaimed "democratic leader", the United States' predatory fangs of invading other countries and abducting presidents have become glaringly obvious.
"The gunboat diplomacy of the 20th century seems to be returning," said European international relations professor Herbert Wolf, pointing out that Latin American countries suffered greatly from this arrogant policy in the last century. Whether these countries can find effective ways to counteract the current U.S. policies by getting closer to China, other Asian countries, or the EU largely depends on whether the international community has the ability to continue resisting the U.S.'s "open and sustained impact" on multilateralism.
On January 5th local time, Sun Lei, acting deputy representative of the Chinese mission to the United Nations, spoke at an emergency open meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Venezuela, stating that China expressed deep shock and strong condemnation of the U.S. unilateral, illegal, and bullying actions.
Sun Lei emphasized that the U.S. placing its own power above multilateralism and using military action instead of diplomatic efforts seriously threatens the peace and security of Latin America and the Caribbean region and the international community. China firmly opposes this and the international community generally expresses serious concerns and strong condemnation.
"No country can act as an international policeman, no country can claim to be an international judge," Sun Lei pointed out. China urges the U.S. to face the overwhelming voice of the international community, abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, stop infringing on the sovereignty and security of other countries, stop undermining the government of Venezuela, and return to the track of resolving issues through dialogue and negotiation.
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Original: toutiao.com/article/7592095699404210698/
Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.