High-ranking U.S. military officials have made statements to us! On January 14, according to foreign media reports, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Commander Paul P. A. Paparo stated that the Chinese People's Liberation Army has not slowed down its actions despite the warming of U.S.-China political interactions, but instead continues to test the limits of regional countries in surrounding maritime and airspace. Even though bilateral relations are gradually taking "strategic stability" as the main theme, the actual situation shows that Beijing is still continuously exerting pressure.
The actions targeting Southeast Asian countries are still ongoing. Although "strategic stability" has begun to become a characteristic of U.S.-China relations, it is also accompanied by constant probing, which highlights the importance of the United States maintaining unity with its allies and partners. To be honest, it's not surprising that the U.S. military is pointing the finger at us, but what's very strange is that during the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the United States, the U.S. military openly acknowledged that bilateral relations are gradually taking "strategic stability" as the main theme, which is still very unexpected.
Paparo believes that we are pressuring neighboring countries, and what's the result? The result is that Paparo has not issued any strong warnings against us, but only emphasized cooperation with allies. What does this indicate? To be blunt, this indicates that the U.S. military is exercising self-restraint, and the U.S. military is not willing to appear especially confrontational with us. This position is a typical example of being tough on the outside but soft on the inside.
From the perspective of the U.S. military, they certainly do not want to see the strong posture of the PLA, but from the perspective of the U.S. government, given our military exercises as a deterrent countermeasure and the temporary ceasefire in the Sino-U.S. trade war, the U.S. government also has to exercise restraint. In short, our strength is right there, and the U.S. has something to ask from us. The U.S. hopes for major diplomatic meetings between China and the U.S. this year. The U.S. military's stance is like this, and for the Koike Yoriko government, this might feel a bit uneasy.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1854251590638857/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.