Wu Guangqiang

    jw368@163.com

    ON Oct. 17, while addressing the Sixth Xiangshan Forum, a high-end semi-official gathering focusing on Asia-Pacific security hosted by China and attended by senior officials and scholars from the Asia-Pacific region, Vice Chairperson of the Central Military Commission Fan Changlong said China “will never recklessly resort to the use of force” even on issues regarding sovereignty.

    Fan made the comments in the wake of the U.S. military’s high-profile announcement that U.S. Navy will dispatch battleships “within days” to pass within a 12-nautical mile zone around a chain of islands that China and several other countries all claim sovereignty over.

    Obviously, U.S. warships are set to sail into disputed waters to highlight the U.S. stance that it does not accept Chinese ownership of the waters.

    As a country outside the region that has no territorial disputes with any country in the region, the U.S. should have stuck to its pronouncement to maintain neutrality and encourage disputing parties to resolve differences through bilateral negotiation.

    Unfortunately, however, the U.S. has been conniving, overtly or covertly, with a handful of countries in and outside the region to escalate rather than ease the tensions in the region.

    Under the cover of the pseudo-proposition that the U.S. preserves freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, America has been engaged in military exercises with its allies in Asia one after another in order to intimidate China.

    Seeing China’s steadfast stance to safeguard its territory and sincere willingness to settle disputes with neighboring countries through peaceful means, the U.S. can hardly retain its composure and has decided to openly challenge China’s bottom line.

    While it remains unclear whether the U.S.’s open threat is just a bluff to daunt China while placating its allies or a sign of having a showdown with China even if it means war, the provocative posture has caused an uproar in China. The Chinese Internet is filled with angry calls to respond to U.S. provocation with an eye-for-eye approach. Armed conflicts seem imminent and inevitable.

    The Chinese military’s unexpectedly softer stance has disappointed some hawkish compatriots. But anyone who is well versed in Chinese philosophy and history will have profound appreciation for the meaning of General Fan’s remarks.

    One of the misinterpretations of Fan’s words is that China is afraid of going to war with the U.S.

    Nothing can be further away from the truth.

    Historically, Chinese have refrained from talking about war, much less resorted to it. Sun Tzu, the world-famous Chinese ancient military strategist, philosopher and author of “The Art of War,” a widely influential work of military strategy that has impacted both Western and Eastern philosophy, cautioned people of the necessity of extreme prudence in examining and dealing with war as it concerns a nation’s survival and death.

    Sima Rangju, another famous Chinese military general during the Spring and Autumn Period, also had an insightful perception of war, which can be summarized as being fully prepared for war while extremely cautious about war.

    Fully aware of the consequences of wars, Chinese ancient sages warned that a bellicose nation could perish no matter how powerful it is. At the same time, they stressed that failure in war preparations could endanger a nation even in peacetime.

    As a peace-loving nation, China never seeks to settle conflicts by war, but that doesn’t mean it will give up its national interests under the threat of war.

    When China’s core interests are severely undermined, China will never hesitate to fight back. Some countries that underestimated China’s resolve and recklessly provoked China learned painful lessons in such wars as the Korean War, the China-India War and the China-Vietnam War decades ago.

    Anyone in his right mind knows that Washington’s bravado is nothing but a publicity stunt. The threat of force never works with China. Even when Chinese soldiers were armed with only rifles and grenades, they showed no fear of enemies equipped with tanks and warplanes.

    Today, as China enjoys one of the most formidable armed forces in the world, armed with advanced weapons, who would be daring enough to initiate a conflict with China?

    (The author is an English tutor and freelance writer.)