China Joins Russia: Warns vs.
Obama Drive for World War
by Mike Billington
April 2—While President Barack Obama was in Seoul, South Korea for the Nuclear Security Summit in late March, he announced through the Defense Department that the U.S. intended to construct an anti-ballistic-missile (ABM) defense shield across Asia, creating a ring around China—exactly like the provocative ABM system he plans to construct along the Russian border in Europe.
Over the past months, EIR has reported extensively on the blunt warnings from the Russian political and military leadership, that the Obama Administration's deployment of these ABM systems constitutes a direct threat to the security of the Russian state, degrading Russia's capacity to defend against attack through a second-strike response, and thus requiring a significant upgrading of the Russian strategic capacities. This shift is already underway in Russia.
With Obama's new announcement, China has begun to respond in the same way.
With Obama threatening to go to war against Syria and Iran, countries with which both China and Russia share important strategic and economic interests, the encirclement of these great powers with ABM systems must be recognized as further confirmation of Lyndon LaRouche's warning that Obama and his British sponsors are preparing to unleash global thermonuclear war. While London may prefer that Russia and China capitulate to the dark age economic policies and colonial "regime change" methods being implemented on behalf of the British-centered financial empire, it is increasingly evident that neither of these great powers will submit, and the Empire is thus marching the world into Hell.
The announcement of a U.S. ABM system for Asia came from Madelyn Creedon, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs, speaking at a conference in Seoul. Creeden said that the U.S. plan included two sets of trilateral talks—one with Japan and Australia, another with Japan and South Korea.
China's response was immediate—and as blunt and unambiguous as that of the Russians. On March 29, the Global Times, an official paper of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, directed at foreign readership, published an editorial (see accompanying box) which stated that China's Asian neighbors "must seriously ponder the consequences" of their participation in the new ABM structure. "North Korea and Iran are named by Washington as the targets of the missile defense system," the editorial stated, "though it is clear the real targets are China and Russia."
The editorial says that China will have no choice but to "balance out the system's impact," which, it says, could include improving China's nuclear weapons "in both quantity and quality," and the development of "offensive nuclear-powered submarines."
The editorial also suggests that China may need to give up its "no first strike" pledge, noting that it is the only nuclear power to have made such a pledge: "Installing a missile defense system in Asia disrespects China's nuclear policy. The U.S. is seeking to shift the regional balance. A strong response from China should be expected. An overarching missile defense system would force China to change its long-held nuclear policy."
Obama's 'Pivot' to Confrontation
The policy to confront China militarily was officially launched during Obama's November 2011 tour of Asia.[1] The Obama plan to militarily encircle China was further elaborated in the past week, when it was announced that Australia will become essentially a U.S. military base, with multiple sites for military aircraft, warships, and troops: Darwin in the North, Brisbane in the East, and Perth in the West, as well as a drone base on Australia's Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean—all out of reach of Chinese missiles.
Also, Philippines Defense Minister Albert del Rosario announced this week that his country welcomes the U.S.'s establishment of bases at five Philippine airfields, utilization of Philippine ports, and expansion of existing U.S. troop presence. This adds a significant U.S. military presence on China's periphery, with U.S. bases already in Japan and South Korea. The Philippine deployment comes in spite of the fact that its Constitution explicitly prohibits the basing of foreign military forces on its territory.[2]
North Korea's Satellite Launch
Obama's supposed justification for the addition of an enhanced ABM system across the region is the announcement by North Korea that it will attempt a satellite launch in mid-April, coinciding with the celebration of the 100th birthday of North Korea's former leader Kim Il-song. The Obama Administration is claiming that North Korea's pledge to postpone long-range missile tests as part of a U.S.-North Korea deal signed on Feb. 29, also precluded satellite launches, although that was not made explicit in the agreement. On those grounds, Obama cancelled the food shipment that had been scheduled as the U.S. side of the deal.
However, the fact is that the satellite launch was not unexpected. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il notified the world of the plan before his death last year, and Western intelligence has closely monitored the construction of the new satellite launching site on North Korea's west coast—designed so that the rocket would not pass over Japanese airspace, but head south over open water—the same path used in several failed South Korean space shots.
Experts also point out that there are clear differences between rockets intended for a space shot, and those designed as long-range ballistic missiles—differences which can be detected in satellite photographs. North Korea has invited space experts (including from NASA) to observe the launch to confirm that the effort is directed at space, not military targets, noting that the development of a space program is an indispensable right and necessity for all sovereign nations.
Nonetheless, China has also expressed its opposition to the North Korean satellite launch, repeatedly calling on Pyongyang to postpone the event in light of the great effort extended by China and others to bring about the agreement with the U.S., to move forward towards a peaceful settlement of the long-festering Korea problem—perhaps the last remaining "Cold War" hot spot, and one which the British imperial interests would gladly use as yet another potential spark to provoke a U.S. conflict with China and Russia.
Japan's Flight Forward
China's appeal to North Korea to postpone the satellite test in no way lessens the severity of China's warning against the war preparations underway by the U.S. and its Asian allies. Japan, in particular, has responded hysterically to the upcoming space shot, announcing this past week that it is preparing to shoot down the rocket, or any potential debris, if it passes over Japanese airspace. Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka announced on March 30 that Japan is deploying destroyers equipped with Aegis missile defense systems to the Pacific and the East China Sea, as well as defensive Patriot missile systems in Okinawa and Tokyo—as if North Korea were preparing to launch a war.
Even worse, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun leaked a report from the Defense Ministry that F-15 fighter jets were to be deployed to protect the destroyers—not from a North Korean threat, but from Russia and China, whose aircraft may get too close to the destroyers!
Again, China's response was immediate. The Global Times editorialized on March 31 regarding Japan's threat to shoot down North Korea's rocket: "There will be chaos if interception occurs and succeeds." The editorial repeats China's appeal to North Korea to postpone the event, "in consideration of the downsides to the launch," but warned Japan against being part of the Western war plans:
"Japan should not be disillusioned into believing it can benefit from chaos in Northeast Asia.... If North Korean leaders insist on proceeding with the launch, China would then expect the North's neighboring countries to show some constraint. Pyongyang's launch should not be put on par with a long-range ballistic missile launch."
China also makes the obvious point that North Korea, long demonized and threatened with "regime change" by Western powers, need only look at the treatment meted out to Iraq and Libya when they abandoned their nuclear weapons program. A March 30 editorial in Global Times noted that
"North Korea faces the worst security conditions in Northeast Asia. It is impossible for North Korea to make a strategic adjustment if South Korea, the U.S. and Japan continue their policies toward Pyongyang. The basis for enhanced security in Northeast Asia needs North Korea's security condition to be included."
Economic Warfare against China
Further proof that the British/Israeli/Obama push for war on Iran is actually aimed at Russia and China can be seen in the policy declaration by Obama that sanctions will be imposed on any country which buys oil and gas from Iran. In March, Obama announced that Japan and the European countries are exempted from these sanctions—but not China (nor India and others).
China responded to this economic warfare with the same urgency as it has to the strategic threats. Again speaking through a Global Times editorial, on March 22, the Chinese identified the economic attacks as having an immediate strategic intent:
"If the U.S. is determined to stop China from importing oil from Iran and will do so at any cost, what shall China do? Is it worth starting a larger-scale conflict with Washington, even running the risk of sparking serious clashes? We believe so. The significance of Iranian oil trade to China is comparable to that of blocking Hormuz to the U.S."
The parent newspaper of Global Times, People's Daily, characterized Obama's imperial antics as follows: "One stand-out feature of unilateralism is this: that one's own rules become the world's rules. Everyone must respect them, and if you don't, then you will be punished," adding that previous unilateralism by the United States had led to the quagmires of Iraq and Afghanistan. The People's Daily commentary was published under the pen name "Zhong Sheng," meaning "Voice of China," which is often used to convey official views.
[1] See Mike Billington, "Obama's Asia Trip Had Only One Purpose: War on China," EIR, Nov. 25, 2011 (../../eiw/public/2011/eirv38n46-20111125/37-40_3846.pdf).
[2] See Mike Billington, "Obama's Plan for War on China Could Be Stymied in the Philippines," EIR, Feb. 24, 2012 (../../eiw/public/2012/2012_1-9/2012-08/2012-08/pdf/37-39_3908.pdf).
