International Herald Tribune, France

[Click Here for More Cartoons]

'Ignorant' Romney Policies Will Result in 'Direct Confrontation' (China Daily, People's Republic of China)

Is Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney out of his depth when it comes to foreign policy? According to this editorial from China's state-controlled China Daily, if Romney's China plans were implemented, they would result in a mutually-destructive 'confrontations' between the United States and the People's Republic of China.

EDITORIAL

August 27, 2012

Peoples Republic of China - China Daily  Original Article (English)

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice delivers the Romney-Ryan foreign policy critique of the Obama Administration, at the Republican National Convention, Aug. 29, 00:18:46. C-SPAN NEWS VIDEO: Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asserts 'Mitt Romney knows leadership', Apr. 29, 00:18:46

By any standard, the China policy of U.S. Republican candidate Mitt Romney, as outlined on his official campaign website, is an outdated manifestation of Cold War thinking.

Romney endorses the "China threat" theory and focuses on containing China's rise in the Asia-Pacific through bolstering America's robust military presence in the region.

And by stating that the United States "should be coordinating with Taiwan to determine its military needs and supplying them with adequate aircraft and other military platforms," the Republican challenger has gone so far as to provoke China in terms of its sovereignty over the island.

Of course, politicians tend to go back on their word after being elected, and playing the China card has become commonplace for U.S. politicians during election years. But Romney's China stance is still worrying, as it could poison the friendly development of Sino-U.S. relations.

Setting aside his remedies for U.S. problems domestically and whether or not they would be effective, if his China policy were implemented, it would cause a retrogression in relations and turn the region into a venue for open China-U.S. confrontation.

Romney's recommendations are EVEN more pugnacious than Obama's "strategic pivot." He insists that the U.S. and its allies "must maintain appropriate military capabilities to discourage any aggressive or coercive behavior by China against its neighbors."