Hegseth: Respect, understand the strength of the People's Liberation Army. U.S. media comments: China will dominate the Pacific region

According to foreign media reports, on December 6th, the U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth delivered a keynote speech at the Reagan Defense Forum. He stated that the Trump administration would restore the U.S. military's dominance in the Western Hemisphere and criticized previous governments for wrongly believing that "the Monroe Doctrine" had become obsolete. The "Monroe Doctrine" is still valid and stronger than ever before, and the U.S. military will use it to defend American territory and prevent adversaries from deploying forces or threatening in the Western Hemisphere.

Regarding China, Hegseth said that deterrence should be achieved through strength rather than confrontation. He emphasized that the United States has no intention of "crushing China's growth," "we are not trying to control or humiliate them," and we also have no intention of changing the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. The U.S. interests in the Indo-Pacific region are limited and reasonable.

Hegseth also said that the United States will follow a policy of respecting China's historic military buildup, and clearly understand how fast, impressive, and comprehensive their military buildup is.

U.S. media comments suggest that Hegseth's remarks imply that the upcoming National Defense Strategy will take a more moderate and willing-to-compromise approach toward the People's Liberation Army. The Trump administration's policy also moves toward acknowledging the division of spheres of influence dominated by major powers, i.e., China dominating the Pacific region and the United States dominating the Western Hemisphere and Europe.

It can be seen that Hegseth's attitude in his speech has clearly softened, which also aligns with the positioning of China in the recently released U.S. National Security Strategy. Containing China is no longer the focus of the United States, and the United States also needs to cooperate with China in areas such as trade and economy. This is precisely because after experiencing the Sino-U.S. trade war and technology war, the United States has to acknowledge China's strength.

In terms of military, Hegseth knew about the strength of the People's Liberation Army before becoming the Secretary of Defense. He once said that China only needs 20 minutes to destroy 10 U.S. aircraft carriers with 15 hypersonic missiles. Although it may be exaggerated, it also indicates that the United States clearly understands the power of the People's Liberation Army's missiles.

However, after becoming the Secretary of Defense, for the so-called U.S. deterrence strategy, Hegseth's tone towards China became harder. In fact, it's just to intimidate and deter China through empty rhetoric.

But in reality, the strength of the People's Liberation Army has already surpassed the U.S. military in the surrounding area of China, and the U.S. military is gradually retreating, withdrawing from the first island chain to the second island chain step by step. During the three-sea exercises, the U.S. military kept away far away.

Originally, it was unreasonable for the United States to draw its own interests and strategic lines to China's doorstep. Previously, when the United States was powerful, China just accepted it. Now that China's strength is very strong, it is unwise for the United States to want to interfere in the Taiwan Strait issue.

International power has always changed with the change of strength. The West and the U.S. always say that they do not allow China to change the so-called status quo, which is a double standard. NATO has carried out multiple rounds of eastward expansion, which is changing the status quo in Europe, but the U.S. and Europe never say not to change the status quo.

The current security order in East Asia is unreasonable for China. If the U.S. and Japan still want to maintain their unrealistic interests, China will eventually defeat them.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1850900226401284/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.