Beijing, June 14 (ChinaMil) --In the recent meeting held at the Annenberg Estate, Xi Jinping, president of the People's Republic of China (PRC), and Barack Obama, U.S. president, reached the consensus to establish the China-U.S. new relations of big countries, the essence of which is to break down the traditional logic in history concerning the confrontation and conflict between big countries, and push forward the "Cross-Pacific Cooperation". The most important content of it is to establish a new-type military relationship based on equality, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.
In retrospect, the basic characteristics of the development of the post-cold-war China-U.S. military relationship were poor strategic mutual trust, low levels of contacts, and intermittent relationship. The "security dilemma" between China and the U.S. in recent years has undergone intensified momentum. The United States believes that the goal of China's military modernization is to challenge the U.S.'s dominant position. On the other hand, the U.S.'s continuous strengthening of its relations with Asia-Pacific allies has also reinforced the belief of many Chinese people that the U.S. is stepping up its containing measures on China.
Under this circumstance, a major breakthrough in the China-U.S. relations will bear immeasurable significance.
On the one hand, it will transform the "shortcoming" in the military relationship between the two countries into a new point for growth, and inject a new impetus into the long-term stable development of the relationship between the two countries.
The China-U.S. military relationship has been going on and off over the past 20 years. There were no exchanges in military technology, weaponry and equipment, nor were there any exchanges in cadets of military academies or hardly any joint military trainings and exercises, which pose such a wide divergence from the in-depth fusion of the China-U.S. economic relationship. The establishment of China-U.S. new-type military relationship can serve to prevent the relationship of the two countries, based on the keynote of economic interdependence and cooperative win-win situation, from being corroded by the increased conflicts between the two countries in the security field, and to avoid the formation of the U.S.-USSR-style "Cold War" in the Asia-Pacific region.
On the other hand, it will help cool down the hot issues in Eastern Asia, and help create a favorable security environment for China's sustained development.
In recent years, hot issues in the surrounding region of China continues to heat up, which has much to do with the long period of the lukewarm military relationship between China and the U.S. The establishment of China-U.S. new-type military relationship and the promotion of China-U.S. strategic mutual trust will not only reduce the risk of conflict between the two countries caused by third-party factors, but also help to cool down hot issues in the surrounding region of China.
President Xi Jinping recently opened up a "new historical starting point" for China-U.S. relationship during his "Sunshine Tour" at the Annenberg Estate. It has also created a new historic opportunity for the establishment of China-U.S. new-type military relationship. The militaries of both China and the U.S. should take this opportunity to deepen understandings, accumulate mutual trust, ensure greater commonalities than conflicts in the interests of both countries, reduce the hostility and vulnerability in the military relationship, and enhance cooperation as well as controllability.
First of all, break through the zero-sum way of thinking, so as to create needed preconditions for the establishment of China-U.S. new-type military relationship. With the development of globalization and interrelated interests among countries, peace will make for benefits on both sides, while conflict will damage both parties. As long as the U.S. can get rid of the zero-sum way of thinking and establish a view of cooperative security in the era of globalization, a substantial stride will be made in the establishment of China-U.S. new-type military relationship.
Secondly, manage and control sensitive issues, so as to eliminate the obstacles for the establishment of China-U.S. new-type military relationship. The greatest test on the establishment of China-U.S. new-type military relationship depends on whether both sides can properly handle sensitive issues. An important reason for why China-U.S. military relationship has been stumbling for so many years has always been the "three major barriers" that hinder the development of the military relationship between the two countries: the U.S.'s sale of arms to Taiwan, the large-scale implementation of high-intensity reconnaissance by U.S. warships and aircraft in the coastal waters of China, and some of U.S. laws posing restrictions on exports of high technology to China as well as the field of military exchanges. The U.S. must pay sincere respect to China's core interests so as to achieve a "healthy, reliable, stable and sustainable" military relationship that it advocates. Otherwise, the efforts made by both sides to enhance mutual trust and resolve doubts for so many years is likely to be destroyed by U.S.'s one sale of arms to Taiwan.
Thirdly, construct necessary mechanisms, so as to build up system protection for the establishment of China-U.S. new-type military relationship. So far, China and the U.S. have established a series of mechanisms such as national defense consultation and work meetings for national defense departments, maritime security consultations, military environmental protection, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and so forth. A mechanism for strategic security dialogue has also been established under the China-U.S. strategic and economic dialogue mechanism. These mechanisms have promoted the development of the relationship between the two militaries. Nevertheless, more closely-linked mechanisms are still needed for the establishment of China-U.S. new-type military relationship.
Last, deepen pragmatic cooperation in order to accumulate positive energy for the establishment of the China-U.S. new-type military relationship. Deepened cooperation should be continued in such non-traditional security fields as anti-terrorism, anti-piracy, rescue and relief operation, peacekeeping operations, search and rescue of missing people, overseas evacuation of non-combat personnel, and the like, with joint drills in a certain scale and depth being organized and launched. Meanwhile, inherent potential for cooperation between the two militaries must be actively explored; plans must be drafted to strengthen military personnel exchanges; and further promotion should be done on the high-level military reciprocal visits, reciprocal ship visits, communication between military colleges and academies, officer exchanges, and so on. In addition, cooperation in those highly-sensitive fields between the two militaries should be increased in timely manner. The U.S. military's invitation of Chinese military to join the 2014 "Pacific Rim" multinational joint exercise is a very good attempt at this.
By Zhao Xiaozhuo with the China-U.S. Defense Relations Research Center of the Academy of Military Sciences (AMS) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)
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