The US's portrayal of "Chinese bullying" has been questioned by netizens for "taking the wrong script"? Jin Yinan: Evil people report first! Americans | Countries | Netizens
The 20th Shangri La Dialogue recently concluded in Singapore.However, just the day before Minister Li Shangfu's speech, the US destroyer "Zhong Yun" and the Canadian frigate "Montreal" crossed the Taiwan Strait and publicly hyped up the "dangerous interception" of Chinese warships. This incident also became an off stage "interlude" of the "Incense Society" and received much attention.
So, how do you view and interpret Minister Li Shangfu's speech at this "incense ceremony"? How should we respond to the behavior of the US provoking while the villains report first? Stay tuned for the Southern Military Forum on National Defense Time and Space.
Li Yue:
At this year's incense ceremony, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu opened his first speech at the Shangri La Dialogue with a military salute. By elaborating on China's new security initiative, Li Shangfu clarified China's position, responded to concerns from all parties, and conveyed China's voice of peace and cooperation. His speech also received widespread praise from the attending guests. Beth Acononilo from Papua New Guinea believes that "Minister Li mentioned in his speech the active promotion of dialogue and communication to solve the crisis. As he said, it is very important to work together in the form of cooperation.". Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, Dino Padi Jalal, also stated that Minister Li's statement is well founded and helps all parties understand how China views military development plans, geopolitical relations, as well as its views on issues such as China US relations and international order. Professor Yinan, how do you feel after listening to Minister Li's speech this time?
The core content is to build and maintain a peaceful and stable Asia Pacific region, and to issue a stern warning against military alliances that form cliques, form small circles, and engage in factional confrontation. Because some countries, when dealing with conflicts and contradictions, often do not resolve them through negotiation, but constantly stir up and incite confrontation. Countries around the world have a very clear understanding of China's peace proposals and security initiatives. So Minister Li Shangfu's speech has gained recognition and resonance from many Asia Pacific countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and even the Philippines. Because everyone hopes to create a peaceful, stable, developing, and cooperative Asia Pacific, rather than engaging in confrontation and preparing for a major war. Undoubtedly, this will disappoint those who attempt to use the "Incense Society" to besiege China.
At present, the world is undergoing unprecedented changes and accelerating evolution, and we must see the overall trend of global development. In the 19th century, the world's economic center was in Europe. In the 20th century, the world's economic center was in North America. Now in the 21st century, the world's economic center has shifted to the Asia Pacific region. At present, the total economic output of the entire Asia Pacific region has accounted for more than 60% of the world's total, with trade accounting for nearly half, far exceeding the economic output of North America, while Europe's share is even lower. The entire Asia Pacific region, especially the Western Pacific region, is now the engine of global economic development. This engine must not be destroyed by some malicious individuals, thereby affecting the peace and development of the entire world. This is the content repeatedly elaborated by Minister Li Shangfu in his speech, which is what kind of Asia Pacific we want to build, what kind of international relations we want to build, and how we can create an environment for regional peace, security, and development. This should be said to have left a deep impression on everyone.
On June 3rd local time, US Secretary of Defense Austin delivered a speech at the Shangri La Dialogue
Li Yue:
In sharp contrast to the Chinese Defense Secretary's advocacy of a "common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security concept" in his speech, US Defense Secretary Austin has designated the topic of his speech as "US leadership in the Indo Pacific region.". In his speech, Austin mentioned "bullying" three times and "coercion" five times, indirectly or directly pointing the finger at China. Many American media even took Austin's statement "Washington will not back down in the face of China's bullying and coercion" as a headline for key coverage. In response, many netizens have expressed that the US Defense Minister may have taken the wrong speech script, and swapping the positions of "Washington" and "China" here is clearly more in line with the facts. Some netizens even said that Washington politicians have some misunderstandings about the terms "bullying" and "coercion". Isn't this a typical case of thieves shouting to catch thieves? Professor Yinan, what is your evaluation of Austin's speech?
Jin Yinan: The United States claims that the People's Liberation Army of China has "bullied" the United States, but where is the position he is referring to? If you hang a map and mark this point, it can explain the problem very well. This place is not in the Gulf of Mexico or the Bering Strait of Alaska, but in the Taiwan Strait, in the East or South China Sea of China. Minister Li also asked in response to questions from reporters, "Why do the things you mentioned always happen near China's airspace and territorial waters, rather than near the airspace and territorial waters of other countries?" Of course, Minister Li did not say a word, but his meaning may have been understood by everyone. Why does this always happen? It's because American military planes and ships constantly come to people's doorsteps to scout and peep. You've been blocking everyone's doorstep, but you just bite back and say they're bullying you? Is there anyone who bullies like this?
This reminds me of a very impressive thing. In 2009, we attended the China US Ministry of Defense Work Meeting in Beijing, and Americans had this kind of tone at that time. The Americans say, "If you build a yard, it cannot be said that the road in front of it is also yours. This road belongs to everyone, and everyone can pass through from here.". We refuted him at the time, saying, "What you said has some truth, but the thing we're talking about is not the same as the metaphor you're talking about. The United States has not signed the International Convention on the Law of the Sea and does not recognize a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone. You can pass through exclusive economic zones outside of our country's territorial waters, but there must be a prerequisite, which is innocent passage.". But now, the United States is not innocent passage at all. It is peeking through the cracks of our doors, and of course we need to stop your peeping. But this was called "bullying" by Americans!
There is one more thing, Americans always say that China's maintenance of national security has affected the security of the US military. We Chinese people say "security" is just one word, while Americans have two words for "security": safety, which refers to personal and personal safety, and security, which refers to national security. Nowadays, Americans say that "Chinese warships and planes are too close to us, which affects my safety and my personal safety.". But we say that American warships are peeking at us maliciously near our territorial waters and within our exclusive economic zone, and we must carry out displacement. This is to maintain our national security, which is what Americans call security.
On June 6th, a screenshot of Hua Chunying's tweet
Li Yue:
In response, Hua Chunying, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, tweeted two times on the evening of June 6. She first used a picture to show that the United States is 8300 miles away from the South China Sea, and then asked, "If a fully armed person has been spying around your house, even came to your door with a gun, if this happens in the United States, what do you think the owner of the house would do? The Chinese army has kept restraint". Many netizens have made sharp comments about this, saying that the United States has changed its concepts and upgraded its language, putting aside its own notorious practices of bullying and coercion, but in turn, it has labeled China as a "bully" or "coercer". What do you think about this?
Jin Yinan: American military planes and ships are conducting close reconnaissance on our country, and they are forcing us to provoke us at our doorstep. Everyone is very clear about this. So what areas of work should we strengthen next? Americans often accuse evil people first, and even though they are unreasonable, they spread rumors everywhere saying, "I have been bullied, I have been squeezed by the Chinese.". In the past, China always said "take action later", let the other party speak first, and then we refute. At this point, we must adjust our strategies and thoughts, be proactive, and be good at fully expressing our own reasoning, so that the whole world knows that we are the rational side.
At the same time, it should be pointed out that if such situations occur again in the future, we can promptly release the location of the US ship. Otherwise, many countries do not even know that the US aircraft is so close to China, and do not understand why China has to expel them. I think that in the future, we must be good at struggle. On the one hand, we must explain to the outside world the logic of American bandits, their hegemonic, bullying, and hegemonic behavior; On the other hand, we must also learn to engage in public opinion struggles with Western countries in the United States. I believe that as the number of struggles increases, our experience in struggle will also become richer.
