The Analysis Of The Obama Administration’s Security Strategy On China

The distributions of the global political, economic and military powers arebecoming more and more diffused on account of the rise of emerging powers and thedecline of U.S. hegemony. U.S. troop’s withdrawal from Iraq and the demise of Osamabin Laden implicate U.S. has won the victory in the wars of countering terrorism to acertain degree; it means though countering terrorism is still one of U.S. strategicpriorities it’s no longer the most urgent one as well. At the same time, the shock of theglobal financial crisis and the adverse effect of the Bush administration’s unilateralismalso urge the Obama administration to turn the core of its global strategy.By evaluating the change of global security environment and cognizing theinfluence of the rise of China, the Obama administration believes that China willbecome a challenger to U.S. East Asian hegemony, later may be to its global hegemony.The enhancement of China’s military powers has broken the traditional power-balancesbetween the continental powers and the oceanic powers in East Asia, weakening U.S.military advantages in the region as well as threatening the security of its forwarddeployment and its alliances. The U.S. considers China’s assertiveness in the SouthChina Sea and the Diaoyu Island as a potential threat to U.S. freedom of navigation andthinks it may cause regional conflicts as well. In order to safeguard U.S. strategicinterests and goals, the Obama administration has exploited all the strategic resourcesand imperatives in the region to contain China’s rise and its military modernization byencircling China strategically. As the only super-power in the world, U.S. formidablenational powers are the basic support for U.S. strategic deployment in East Asia;otherwise, its bilateral alliances and partners in the region are also the vigorousresources for U.S. to encircled China strategically. Through strengthening the relationships with the bilateral alliances and partners inEast Asia, U.S. has reasserted its strategic presence in East Asia that has had greatimpacts on the security pattern and the regional situation in East Asia. First, U.S.comprehensive engagement and its methods of smart power have shielded and sustainedU.S. hegemony in East Asia and promoted U.S. influence on regional issues. Secondly, U.S. hasconstructed China as a potential threat to strengthen the alliances for the purpose ofpreventing and containing China by the means of sensationalizing China Threat Theory,worsening the security environment around China and increasing the cost of China’srise. Lastly, it makes the regional situation more complicated and the tension moreaggravated for U.S. engagement in the East Asian hot topics.The change of the global environment and the existence of the naturalcontradictions between China and U.S., the rising power and the hegemonic power,have determined the Obama administration’s uncompromising stand to China in thefield of the traditional security. The Sino-U.S relationships has gone into a period ofdeveloping steadily and smoothly after a long term’s running-in, their cooperation in thenon-traditional security got to be closed as well; but the structural contradictions thatrestricting the development of their relationships, U.S. worries of China’s rise,vigilances on China’s military and differences of political systems and views of valuesbetween China and U.S., are still existing and even deepening. The suspicions andcollisions in the field of traditional security between China and U.S. will be increasinglyfierce in the future.