The former US Deputy National Security Adviser Matt Pottinger recently stated in London that Beijing is waging war against the West through proxies while maintaining strong trade relations with Europe and America. In response to this, it is crucial for Europe and America to unite.
According to a report by Central News Agency on the 18th, Pottinger pointed out that China (the CCP) is providing substantial support to Moscow and its war machine, as well as to the Iranian authorities and their terrorist proxies. With its economic power, China is able to do so. Europe and America, as China’s two most important markets, actually have the leverage to counterbalance China and weaken its ability to threaten the security and prosperity of Europe and America.
Considering the importance of economic and trade investments with Europe and America for China (the CCP), Pottinger stated that Europe and America indeed have the conditions to make China pay a price, preventing China from easily “growing strong like a parasite on the nourishment of the European and American markets,” or even supporting proxy wars.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has previously raised the issue of China’s “overcapacity,” stating that while China accounts for one-third of global production, it only represents one-tenth of global market demand, which is clearly disproportionate.
Pottinger recently engaged in a dialogue with Tom Tugendhat, the UK’s Deputy Home Secretary responsible for security affairs, at the London-based think tank “Policy Exchange,” promoting his new book “The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan.”
Pottinger emphasized that the Taiwan Strait, spanning over a hundred kilometers, serves as Taiwan’s moat, questioning how much Russia or Ukraine would be willing to pay to have a moat like this to ward off adversaries.
Recent escalations of “gray zone conflicts” and military intimidation by China in Taiwan’s outlying islands such as Kinmen and Matsu have raised concerns. If these islands were to come under Chinese military attack, would the US respond with military action? Pottinger believes that the US’s current stance on this issue is ambiguous.
Pottinger acknowledged that China’s military capabilities are sufficient to easily breach the defense of the outlying islands, but launching an offensive against them may not be a wise move. This is because Beijing may not achieve significant strategic gains, but it could trigger a joint response from the West and Japan, including providing an opportunity for the US military to be stationed on the main island of Taiwan.
Regarding the stability of Xi Jinping’s power, Pottinger believes that although Xi Jinping’s leadership is not entirely popular, there are currently no signs of discontented individuals organizing into an opposition force against him because “the risk of doing so is simply too high.”
(Source: Radio Free Asia)