U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shake hands after a news conference following meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, May 16, 2015.
Richard Fontaine, National Interest: Diplomacy by Force: China's Quest for Military Partners
China’s search for military partners exposes both Beijing’s ambitions and its constraints.
China’s new defense white paper, issued amid growing concern about Beijing’s activities in the South China Sea, made headlines for its emphasis on projecting naval power well beyond its coastal waters. That’s for good reason—China’s expansive claims, rising assertiveness, and land reclamation have together prompted worries in the region and beyond. Yet the final chapter of the white paper, which addresses Beijing’s efforts to deepen its security cooperation, has attracted decidedly less attention. That’s unfortunate, because in its efforts to boost foreign military ties, China reveals both its ambitions and its constraints.
WNU Editor: Building political and military alliances is new territory for China. In the past .... China primarily dealt with the Soviet Union/Russia and a few neighboring states like Mongolia, North Korea, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Pakistan. Today .... its ambitions extend to every Asian country and beyond. The problem that China has is that the Chinese only develop friendships based on long term trust and personal relationships, but for many of these countries the foreign/military offices are just revolving doors for government officials and personalities .... they are there one day, and then gone the next. For the Chinese .... culturally speaking .... this is a difficult way to forge a "partnership" .... doubly so when it comes to foreign affairs and national security issues. And while I do expect China to eventually master the art of diplomacy and forging military alliances .... it is going to take time.
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