Wen Yang: 2012 Rim of the Pacific Military Exercise: The United States said everything it wanted to say

Wen Yang: 2012 Rim of the Pacific Military Exercise: The United States said everything it wanted to say. It included the participation of more than 25,000 naval personnel from 22 countries...

Wen Yang: 2012 Rim of the Pacific Military Exercise: the United States said everything it wanted to say. The "Rim of the Pacific" military exercise, which includes the participation of more than 25,000 naval personnel from 22 countries, is currently being carried out in the waters around Hawaii. Such a "naval party" has nothing to do with China, and it is not even an observer. Frankly speaking, we do not think this is such a big thing and it is not worth making a fuss about. "That's right. The "Pacific Rim" military exercise is indeed nothing new. It is a routine military exercise that has been held every two years for more than 40 years. It can be said that it is an old routine. Inviting navies from multiple countries to participate is not new. In 1971, the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand were the five English-speaking countries. Later, Japan, South Korea, France, Thailand, Singapore and other "friendly countries" successively joined. In 2008, the number increased to 10 countries, in 2010 it was 14 countries, and this year it is 22 countries. But I would rather believe that no matter what China says, the United States must treat this military exercise as a major event, even a very important event. If this major event has a name, it is called the implementation of the "Return to the Asia-Pacific" strategy from slogans to actions, and the core connotation of this strategy is clearly and accurately declared, leaving no room for ambiguity. First, the reason why this year’s military exercise was expanded into the “largest” and “world-class” military exercise in history is because the United States wanted to express that the United States’ “return to the Asia-Pacific” is not a regional strategic shift, and deploying 60% of its naval forces to the Pacific is not a general move. It is a cross-theater defense adjustment, but a global strategic focus adjustment. In other words, the future actions of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region will not be local, but must be global, because the opponent this strategic adjustment must deal with will be a global power! Second, the reason why the Russian Navy, which was once the main imaginary enemy, was invited to participate for the first time is because the United States wants to point out that the "return to the Asia-Pacific" strategy does not mean a return to the Cold War. Russia, its old rival at the time, may also participate as a "friendly force." In other words, the "return to the Asia-Pacific" strategy is not mainly aimed at Russia, but another emerging major imaginary enemy with a threat level comparable to Russia's back then! Third, the reason why certain "Pacific Rim" powers are very deliberately and obviously excluded is because the United States wants to let the world know that the "Return to Asia-Pacific" strategy is not for maritime security in the general sense, and the Rim-Pacific military exercise does not intend to engage in maritime search and rescue. It is a real military strategy. It is impossible not to have imaginary enemies. It is impossible to invite everyone in. Although it is not said that all the uninvited people are imaginary enemies, everyone knows that imaginary enemies are one of them! Fourth, the reason why it brings in as many small and medium-sized countries in the Asia-Pacific region as possible is because the United States wants to use this unprecedented scale military exercise to once and for all opportunists who have doubts about the determination and capabilities of the United States and are still thinking about whether to choose a side to build confidence in the United States, so that they can clearly understand who is "us" and who is "them" in the Pacific. They must understand politics and not be confused! For this military exercise, in order to build momentum, the U.S. Navy did not hesitate to make it the largest in history, and endured pressure from the budget; in order to get closer to actual combat, it insisted on sinking scrapped warships, and endured pressure from environmental groups; in order to pursue effects, it dragged more than 20 national students together, and endured pressure from many aspects such as diplomacy and commerce; if it was not to do big things, strategic things, why would it be spending so much effort? In my opinion, China deliberately downplayed the RIM-Pacific military exercises and responded with "not worth making a fuss about". As a diplomatic strategy, it is correct and even wise. It has the legacy of Kong Ming who laughed at the enemy. However, in terms of military strategy, if it continues to misjudge the situation and still has illusions about where the US "pivot to the Asia-Pacific" strategy is, and fails to formulate a correct strategic response in time, it will lead to a big mistake on July 1, 2012.