Trump’s China policies ‘contradictory’
US President Donald Trump’s policies against China can be best described as “contradictory,” says an American political analyst.
Speaking to Press TV on Sunday, New York-based radio host Don DeBar said the announcement of new US patrols in the South China Sea only exposes the contradictions in Washington over this and other similar issues.
On Sunday, the US Navy said one of its aircraft carrier strike groups, led by Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, had began patrolling operations in the South China Sea on Saturday.
China claims most of the strategic waterway, through which $5 trillion in trade passes annually. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims with Beijing.
US Navy officials announced a week ago that they were considering sailing more warships near China’s man-made islands in the contested waters.
Tensions between the US and China over trade and territory have increased since Trump took office, raising concerns that the tense South China Sea could become a flashpoint.
Responding to reports of more US naval patrols, China's Foreign Ministry warned Washington on Wednesday against any military activities in the area.
“It is difficult to get a read on what it really is, because there are so many contradictions that are at work,” DeBar said. “Some of the contradictions are imputed to individual officials inside the Trump administration.”
Citing US Defense Secretary James Mattis as an example, DeBar said there are many people in Trump’s cabinet who hold different views on relations with China or Russia.
The analyst said Trump had sent generally “positive” signals with regards to China before the announcement of the patrols, indicating a willingness to solve differences “at the conference table rather than on the battlefield.”
“I’m thinking on the one hand Trump is doing this because he has to placate some of the interests that prefer the aggressive policy of the Obama administration towards China,” he argued.
Trump got off to a rocky start with China when, during his election campaign, he repeatedly slamming Beijing for its economic policies, which he said were to the detriment of the US.
Once he was elected as president, he took the controversial step of indicating he did not recognize Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan by taking a phone call from Taiwan’s leader.
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