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Updated November 20th, 2021 at 13:44 IST

US working with India, AUKUS & QUAD causing 'heartburn' to China, says WH official

“We're of view that Chinese military buildup is destabilizing, much has been done in a non-transparent way and behind the scenes, Campbell said.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
White House
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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China has been engaged in a “dramatic” military buildup and many in Asia are concerned about this substantial set of military investments, said US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser for the Indo-Pacific, Kurt Campbell. Addressing the US Peace Institute forum virtually on Friday, Nov. 19 in presence of USIP Asia experts, Biden’s Asian Czar hurtled caution and alarm as he said that India’s neighbour China’s recent military build-up is its response to the US bolstering ties with Indo-Pacific allies and partners, several new US diplomatic initiatives and the intensifying geopolitical competition. 

Partially, the three-way security pact “AUKUS” signed by the United States, Britain, and Australia has also given rise to the cold war era sentiments, deputy assistant to the president and coordinator of the National Security Council for the Indo-Pacific on Friday said. Campbell’s remarks came just a few days after US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a three-hour virtual summit to discuss a range of issues. 

“Since the beginning of about 1996,” said Campbell, “What we have seen is one of the largest military accumulations in any sector – shipbuilding, nuclear. [and] a number of technologies related to China in modern times, this massive military investment and new capabilities ”.

He further said, “We are of the view that part of this is destabilising, much has been done in a non-transparent way and I think that, behind the scenes, many in Asia are concerned about this substantial and dramatic set of military investments.”

“In fact, some of these steps have led to other countries responding and I would say AUKUS is one of those responses.”

US fostering a 'new Cold War dynamic', Xi Jinping believes 

While the US President Joe Biden has clarified that Washington intends to avoid Cold War-style stance and escalation with China, the Chinese President Xi Jinping thinks from a Chinese perspective, that the US has been fostering a new Cold War dynamic by strengthening ties with Indo-Pacific allies and represent, what Xi would describe, a “Cold War thinking.” Campbell also stated that the defense alliance between the US, Australia, and the UK that opened the door to sharing sensitive defense technologies has caused “a heartburn” for China. 

“I think it would be fair to say at the virtual meeting, President Xi made it very clear that a number of things the United States is doing are causing China a heartburn,” Biden’s national security adviser for the Indo-Pacific, Kurt Campbell, said. 

“And I think at the top of that list is our bilateral, strengthening and revitalizing our bilateral security alliances with Japan, with South Korea, with Australia, the Philippines and Thailand – new partners like Vietnam, QUAD, working constructively with India and AUKUS. And frankly, talking to Europeans in a more dynamic way about areas of cooperation in technology and the like,” he further continued. 

Such defense pacts and agreements, despite that they aggravate China and push the communist regime to bolster its military might, are significant to counter Chinese threats in the region. Campbell warned that China has been largely “non-transparent” in its military build-up over the last quarter-century, adding that many in Asia are concerned about this substantial and dramatic set of military investments. 

“We are of the view that this is destabilising since much [military build-up] has been done in a non-transparent way,” the White House official stressed. “In fact, some of these steps have led to other countries responding and I would say AUKUS is one of those responses,” said Campbell. 

China’s 'ever-expanding' nuclear arsenal will outcompete United States: US Air Force Lieutenant General

China’s ever-expanding nuclear weapons arsenal has sparked serious concerns among the US military officials, claims Campbell. A Pentagon report had earlier warned that China’s “rapidly growing nuclear arsenal” is expanding at a much faster pace than it was estimated just a year ago. The communist nation will be in possession of close to 700 deliverable nuclear warheads by 2027, but Beijing’s intended goal is to obtain at least 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030. The Chinese military modernisation could lead to “more credible military operations in Taiwan,” Pentagon’s annual “China Military Power” report to Congress warned, adding that United States’ nuclear arsenal, with an estimated 3,800 active warheads will not be able to counter China. 

A US Air Force Lieutenant General S. Clinton Hinote had also shockingly agreed that China’s military advances continue to exceed US military capabilities. Hinote told the Washington Times earlier this month that “Neither the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War nor any other country in recent history has so consistently surpassed the projections of the Pentagon and the intelligence community.” 

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Published November 20th, 2021 at 13:44 IST

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