Are China And The U.S. Destined To Always Be In Conflict

Chinese Gen. Chen Bingde, Chief of the People's Liberation Army's General Staff, greets U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in Beijing, July 11, 2011. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

Are China And US Destined To Clash? -- Richard Weitz, The Diplomat

August 1 is Army Day in China. Recent improvements in Sino-US military ties are welcome, but conflicting interests mean tensions might still be inevitable.

In a recent piece in the New York Times, Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, stressed the importance of improving Sino-US military relations.

Mullen acknowledged that PLA-Pentagon ties have frequently been characterized by ‘misunderstanding and suspicion,’ and complained that Beijing continues to employ bilateral defence ties as ‘a sort of thermostat to communicate displeasure. When they don’t like something we do, they cut off ties. That can’t be the model anymore.’

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My Comment: The real tensions are between China and its neighbors. And if there should ever be a conflict between the U.S. and China, it will be because of U.S. treaty commitments to protect our Asian allies from nations like China.