Western World Is Not Rushing To Join War on China, but China Is Preparing Should Military Conflict Arise

July 30, 2020 (EIRNS)—The headline on the editorial posted last night by Global Times sums up its current assessment of the global strategic alignment China faces: “U.S., Australia Cannot Drive a New Cold War Forward.” The editorial explains why, despite Australia’s announcement in Washington, D.C. that it is joining the campaign to contain China, it will not be easy to line up the world against China:

“Washington has been mobilizing the Western world to launch the new cold war against China. But the general response from its allies is to cope with the call coldly and dodging it.... The U.S. appears to have suffered a setback.... Turning the Five Eyes alliance, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and ASEAN into an anti-China structure may be even more difficult than the Trump Administration’s three-term reelection....

“Under such a situation, the most important thing for China is not to make mistakes. China should avoid providing any chance that can be used by the U.S. in its anti-China mobilization campaign in the West. As long as China responds properly to the U.S.’ provocations, keeps in mind its strategic goals, and doesn’t allow the U.S. to dominate the interaction between the two sides, U.S. efforts will be in vain.

“There is much room for China to encourage Western countries to continue their passive attitude in following the U.S.’ anti-China campaign. It’s quite difficult for the U.S. to persuade those countries to confront China at the cost of their own interests, like Australia has done.”

China is well-aware that it has cards to play in this situation. A commentary, “Australia Likely To Face Unbearable Consequences,” written by two Global Times writers, reports on discussion among Chinese civilian and military policymakers, civilian and military, on measures to take in response to Australia (and others, should there be others) which do join the Cold War alliance. “Although China would prefer not to use trade exchanges as leverage,” they assert, it may come to that. Given Australia’s economic dependence on the Chinese market, the consequences of that could become “unbearable.”

But China is prepared to act, if the Cold War turns hot. “Observers, both Chinese and foreign, believe that military conflict between China and the U.S. has now become increasingly possible,” the authors write.

“In case a military conflict between China and the U.S. takes place, and Australia, as well as other countries like India and Japan, play a role in it, they will immediately also become targets of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), as the PLA will take resolute countermeasures to safeguard China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, other military experts reached by the Global Times pointed out.”