The Economist: US and China are one step away from military conflict
Photo: Tingshu Wang / Reuters
The US and China are in a state of open ideological competition and may soon face off in a war. The Economist writes about it.
In particular, crisis expert Zhang Tuoshen notes that the views of the United States and China on the issue of how to avoid accidents fundamentally diverge. While Washington defines security as calm behavior during the rapprochement of fighters, Beijing insists that the Americans stop approaching the borders of the PRC.
At the same time, the author of the material recalled the collision of the American EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft with the J-8II fighter of the PLA Air Force, which took place 20 years ago. The incident took place in the South China Sea in April 2001. After that, an American aircraft landed on Hainan Island without permission, and Chinese security forces detained 24 crew members for interrogation. Then, the author notes, in the interests of broader bilateral relations, both sides agreed to a compromise to resolve the conflict. The US Ambassador to Beijing, Joseph Prewer, who apologized to the Chinese authorities, and Secretary of State Colin Powell, who shielded the negotiators from Washington's policies, also played a significant role.
However, now, in the event of acute incidents, the American media and a partisan Congress are unlikely to allow the current authorities of the United States to make concessions. At the same time, since 2021, American and allied surveillance aircraft have recorded several dangerous incidents with aircraft of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA). At some point, this may lead to another clash, and it will be much more difficult to resolve the conflict, the material says.
Earlier, Foreign Policy journalists suggested that in 2022, in the Taiwan area in the South China Sea, there is a high risk of conflict between the United States and China, as tensions between the powers grow.
