Upon
arrival at Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of
State Antony Blinken wasted no time throwing mud at China.
This
time, he called Beijing's engagement in the region "problematic
behavior" and Chinese investment "predatory" that would hurt the local
economy.
Behind the China-bashing cliche, Blinken, the first U.S.
state secretary to visit Tonga, was actually asking the island nation
to take sides and making the region a new arena of rivalry, but he
should understand that smearing others' normal cooperation is a real
problematic behavior. His accusation is not only an attack on China, but
also unwise questioning of Tonga's judgment on choosing partners as a
sovereign country.
At a joint press conference after his meeting with Blinken on Wednesday, Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni told the U.S. guest that his country had no concerns about its relationship with China.
When
Tonga was faced with multiple challenges, including volcanic eruptions,
tsunamis, and the COVID-19 pandemic, China often rushed to its
assistance. As facts have proven, China's friendship has always been
based on deeds rather than words, Tongan King Tupou VI has said.
In
the broader Pacific islands, China has carried out a large number of
assistance projects that meet the actual needs of the countries it tries
to help. These projects have strongly promoted local economic
development and improved people's livelihood. While offering help, China
always fully respects the sovereignty and independence, as well as the
will and the cultural traditions of the countries assisted.
Based
on its own development experience, China has conducted mutually
beneficial cooperation with other developing countries by upholding
justice and pursuing shared interests, and provided assistance without
attaching any political strings.
Such cooperation has greatly
promoted economic and social development as well as people's livelihood
in relevant countries. The Mombasa-Nairobi Railway financed and built by
China has created nearly 50,000 jobs for Kenya. By the end of 2022, the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has brought 25.4 billion U.S. dollars
in direct investment to Pakistan and created 236,000 jobs. The list goes
on.
If the U.S. really cares about the development of the Pacific islands, Washington should first apologize and fully compensate for the damage caused by its over 60 nuclear tests in the region,
address the islands' pressing challenges of climate change with
concrete actions, and focus on the real needs of local people, rather
than sending senior officials to stage a runway-show-like diplomatic
campaign.
And if the United States is truly committed to a better
future and the well-being of the people in other parts of the world, it
should stop slinging mud at China, and instead join hands with China to
help countries in need.
A country that offers very little help,
but tries very hard to obstruct other countries' helping hands, and even
pursues its own interests at the expense of others', does not measure
up to the image of a respectable major power.
Anonymous
1 comment:
The USA is overdoing its demonisation of China and countries in the Global South are getting really sick and tired of it. Everywhere they go, every alliance they form, every opportunity that presents itself, it is about countering threats from China. Why drag Tonga into their warmongering ideology and not let it enjoy its path to progress?
The USA seems unable to confront China by itself and needs rounding up all the allies and forming all the alliances just to compete with China economically, militarily and humanistically. This probably stems from the stark realisation that even dealing with Russia over the Ukraine War, complete with full support from Nato, is still not within its grasp and even failing, and is a confidence sapping realisation.
The USA is behaving today unbecoming of a unipolar superpower, just crying foul and waiting for sympathy and help from allies and friends alike. The irony is that they do not know how to garner support using diplomacy which, over the decades have been corrupted to such an extent that they have forgotten how it used to work, and instead using veiled threats and arm twisting to get what they wanted, like a big bully that everyone hates. That is not going to work in the long run.
Just as we have seen throughout the Ukraine War, support from allies is actually waning, while former friendly countries are not supportive and even turning away, just like the Africans. Even allies are doing that, all because coercion and using threats does not work like before. The Middle Eastern oil producers used to be in bed with the USA, but are now no longer towing the USA line. The USA still thinks that everyone has to follow its dictates, not realising that the backbone of the US$ hegemony lies with oil, and the Middle Eastern countries hold the key. Control of the key to the US$ hegemony is no longer in the hands of the USA.
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