US risks a nuclear war with China

The war of the roses revisited

Dr. Jassim Taqui

Having  turned the entire Middle East into chaos and anarchy, the Obama administration is now confronting China.  In a surprise move, the US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter warned China of “actions” if it continued construction on a South China islet on the plea that  it was claimed by the Philippines.  He went on to warn China of building a “ Great Wall of isolation.”

This shows that the Obama administration is building  a case to use military force and impose sanctions on China.

Ostensibly, Carter is building a case against a rising China in a bid to engage Beijing in a regional war that would hinder the economic progress of China and spread doom in the region.

It is a case study of how a nuclear superpower can risk a nuclear war by confronting another nuclear superpower. Seemingly, Carter has lost control of himself. No sane person would risk a nuclear war especially when the avenues of dialogue are open and plenty.

All credits to China, which responded calmly to the  American threat . China maintains that it has  indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and the adjacent waters, which is fully backed by historical and legal evidence. It has never acknowledged the so called “ status-quo” formed by other countries’ illegal occupation of Chinese territory.

One would hope that Carter should stop playing with fire and let China and ASEAN resolve the problem through peaceful means.