US has only itself to blame for blocking military trade – Opinion

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An American flag flies outside the dome of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 15, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]

Washington has complained about Beijing’s nonchalance over its request for a meeting between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu at the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore from June 2-4.

The latest push came on Thursday when Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for “Indo-Pacific” security affairs, pointed out in Washington that Beijing had still not given a formal response to the US request for a meeting.

“Secretary Austin and the Department of Defense put out a request to meet with General Li, and that request was not answered one way or another,” Ratner said. “The ball is in their court at this point.”

By saying this, the US side intends to blame Beijing for the current difficulties in promoting military exchanges between the two sides. This is not the case.

For starters, Li Shangfu, who took over as China’s defense minister in March, has been under U.S. sanctions over China’s purchase of foreign arms since 2018, when he headed China’s development department. Chinese army equipment.

When asked earlier this month whether Washington intended to lift the sanctions, which is essentially a long-arm jurisdiction and has no legal basis in international law, the US State Department gave a clear negative answer. He said the sanctions against Li do not prevent him from holding official meetings with his American counterparts, nor should the sanctions be obstacles to military talks between Washington and Beijing.

The farce is a stark example of the hypocrisy of US sanctions and their understanding of basic norms of international relations, such as mutual respect and equality.

Meanwhile, the US side has never stopped crossing Beijing’s red line on the Taiwan issue through various means, showing no concern for China’s core interests and also spoiling the atmosphere of exchanges between the two defense ministers.

The real China has also sanctioned some US entities and individuals to counter US hegemonic actions. But not only are the numbers much lower, but also the causes are invariably solidly substantiated by substantial evidence showing the long-term threats of those under sanctions to China’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and core interests. More importantly, the list is compiled with due caution to avoid affecting the overall development of China-US relations.

If the US side regards its coercion, intimidation and repression against China as leverage in any dialogue, its request for dialogue will always be met coldly.

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