China’s Military and Economic rise in East Asia

A credible threat for the USA in a hostile neighborhood

China was once a struggling state but it gained importance internationally in a short space of time, China grew its economic and military strength. Now China grows its economy and is converting it into military power. Already China is a major player in the region and it has a strong economy in the region.

China enhanced its economic potential rather than military, but the other side of the picture shows a cyclic process of how China is investing its economic rise in the enhancement of its military capabilities.  China’s spending on defence and military power is now greater than any state in the East Asian region. In 2019, China increased its defence budget 6.2 percent.

When we look at China as a rising power there is a cycle that interlinks the economy and the military with each other. China first grew strong in its economic condition and then invested in the military for strong defense and to maintain its deterrence in the region and the rest of the world as well. They used military power for diplomacy and cooperation for trade and to increase  foreign direct investment, as a result building the trust of foreign investors due to proper diplomatic moves by China.

The cyclic process continues, that started from investing  in defense along with trade and then  using that defense in diplomacy and repatriating the invested money from trade and FDI through diplomatic moves. Due to these methods, a state like China made it possible for the world to witness its remarkable escalation at the regional as well as global level.

The rise of China does depend on rapid and sustained Chinese financial development, but it also does involve a reshaping of China’s military influence, made conceivable through expanded abundance and further developed innovations. China is undoubtedly not a military superpower like the USA, but after a while of expanding its military spending plan and submitting today’s weapons framework, China is able to counter any type of threat that comes from adversaries, especially the USA.

China is a powerful stakeholder in the region. On the one hand China is an emerging economic power and major exporter in the world, and on the other hand China also investing in its military field and enhancing the defence of the country. The USA is the major stakeholder in the Asia Pacific region, and China is also an emerging power of this region. The USA is involved in the various conflicts in the world, whereas China focuses on economic growth and attaining more advanced technology and weapon systems. According to the statistics China will surpass the USA economically by 2030, and now the USA feels a serious threat from the rise of China in the Asia Pacific and globally as well. China adopted Sun Tzu’s policy of winning without actual fighting, and in this regard China maintains diplomatic relations with neighbours.

It is said that the economic and military rise of China has threatened the will of the USA in the Asia-Pacific region. Reports and statistics show the rapid increase in the growth of the Chinese economy, and in future China will be able to claim itself as  economic power. The same is the case with the  military development of China. It is investing to attain  the most advanced military technologies and equipment of any time in its history. So, the rapid rise of China is problematic for the USA as a global power and one still prominent in the Asia Pacific, where it has dominated in reshaping the dynamics of the region for a long time in history.

The military confrontation with China is riskier for the USA than before. In the 1990s, the USA facing theoretical threats against Chinese powers in the Western Pacific could hope to kill Chinese ships and planes before they approached to attack US units. In any case, at this point, a huge US fleet entering the area would be subject to Chinese missiles and torpedoes of the A2/AD system.

This gives China an extraordinary discouragement in the face of certain activities that Washington might consider. The transition from the negligible anticipated danger of a true human and material calamity to the extreme danger in the event of combat upsets the USA in peacetime and despite more prudent politics. American rulers are more likely to submit to hostile Chinese activities than to face them.

China is looking for a more determined international strategy. After its stereotype of striving not to compromise, President Xi Jinping clearly came to the conclusion that China is currently in a position to demand to win its big debates with its neighbours, although the region needs to be cautious about it. Under Xi’s administration, we have seen a military emergency that suggests that Japan is threatening to support China’s cause of accountability for Japan’s affected Senkaku Islands and a Chinese effort to force South Korea to launch equipment at North Korean missiles, while China opposes the involvement of the USA and South Korea in missile defense.

A more militarily anchored China exacerbates previous tensions between China and some of its neighbours. China has had military clashes with Russia, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam over the past century. Some other territorial states are generally concerned that China is trying to overwhelm them. The military advantage generally encourages China to deploy old retaliation measures. There is no doubt that China would adopt Sun Tzu’s “win without a fight” strategy. However, the relative military strength assures China that, amid the Chinese tensions, opponents will see no practical course other than to withdraw. Sometimes the Chinese discover enemies who are ready to fight.

China is a powerful stakeholder in the region. On the one hand China is an emerging economic power and major exporter in the world, and on the other hand China also investing in its military field and enhancing the defence of the country. The USA is the major stakeholder in the Asia Pacific region, and China is also an emerging power of this region. The USA is involved in the various conflicts in the world, whereas China focuses on economic growth and attaining more advanced technology and weapon systems. According to the statistics China will surpass the USA economically by 2030, and now the USA feels a serious threat from the rise of China in the Asia Pacific and globally as well. China adopted Sun Tzu’s policy of winning without actual fighting, and in this regard China maintains diplomatic relations with neighbours.

Jazib Ali
Jazib Ali
The writer is a freelance columnist

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