DAILY TRIFECTA: The Superpower That Wouldn't Come In From The Cold ... War
Americans love sequels
TITLE: Philippines seeking US clarification on anti-vax propaganda operation
https://www.asiaone.com/asia/philippines-seeking-us-clarification-anti-vax-propaganda-operation
EXCERPT: The Philippines is still seeking clarification from the Pentagon about a secret US propaganda operation that aimed to cast doubt among Filipinos about Chinese vaccines at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, a foreign ministry official said on June 25.
A Reuters investigation on June 14 detailed how the Pentagon ran a clandestine influence campaign in 2020 and 2021 to denigrate the Sinovac vaccine and other pandemic aid from China across the developing world.
The effort was intended to counter what Washington then saw as China's growing geopolitical sway around the globe, including in South-east Asia. It began under former President Donald Trump and ended months after President Joseph Biden took office.
"We have not received an official and formal response yet on any confirmation, denial or anything. We are waiting on that. We continue to monitor and ask for information," Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is investigating the US information campaign.
As soon as the Reuters article came out, Chan-Gonzaga said the foreign ministry had contacted the US embassy in Manila through "our regular consultations mechanism" but had been referred to the US Defence Department.
Contacted for further comment on June 25, the US embassy also referred Reuters to the US Defence Department.
A senior Defence Department official cited by Reuters in the June 14 report acknowledged that the US military had engaged in secret propaganda to disparage China's vaccine in the developing world, but declined to provide details.
Senator Imee Marcos, who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, described the US military campaign as "evil, wicked, dangerous, unethical."
Marcos, who is the sister of Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, said the number of Filipinos who had fallen ill and died from Covid-19 was "shocking".
Nearly 67,000 Filipinos have died of Covid-19 to date, while the number of infections has reached more than 4.1 million, World Health Organisation data showed, making the Philippines among the hardest hit by the pandemic in South-east Asia.
TITLE: Pentagon’s disinformation war against China undermines health and alliances in Southeast Asia
https://www.thinkchina.sg/politics/pentagons-disinformation-war-against-china-undermines-health-and-alliances-southeast-asia
EXCERPT: In the Philippines, the backlash has been swift and severe, with multiple agencies calling for immediate investigations and accountability. For example, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Representative France Castro has urged the House of Representatives to conduct an inquiry into the extent of the damage caused by the Pentagon’s secret campaign.
Similarly, Pilipinong Nagkakaisa para sa Soberanya (P1NAS) spokesman Antonio Tinio demanded that Malacañang summon the US ambassador to Manila to explain this “outrageous conduct” and hold the US accountable for endangering Filipino lives. Tinio criticised Washington’s hypocrisy, noting how the US usually condemns propaganda from Russia and China.
Ultimately, beyond the immediate toll on public health, the US’s disinformation scheme risks long-term damage to America’s credibility and moral standing in Southeast Asia. It is the kind of shadowy meddling in the region’s internal affairs that Washington routinely accuses Beijing of perpetrating. This stark hypocrisy provides ammunition to those claiming that the US has double standards, engaging in the same underhanded tactics it denounces.
In weaponising a global health emergency that demanded solidarity and cooperation, the Pentagon crossed a dangerous line.
In a region already anxious about growing Sino-US tensions, these revelations will deepen concerns that Southeast Asian nations are becoming pawns in a new Cold War. Countries will worry they can no longer take America’s word or motives at face value. Trust, once lost, is not easily regained. Clumsy US attempts to counter Chinese influence could end up repelling regional partners.
The anti-vaccine propaganda also represents an alarming escalation in the expanding disinformation battleground between the US and China. In weaponising a global health emergency that demanded solidarity and cooperation, the Pentagon crossed a dangerous line. It demonstrated a callous willingness to put innocent lives at risk in service of information warfare. This sets a frightening precedent in an era when pandemics and other transnational threats necessitate collaboration, not zero-sum competition.
If Covid-19 vaccines become fair targets for covert sabotage, what’s to stop future disinformation campaigns against efforts to combat climate change, prevent future pandemics, or provide humanitarian relief? The stability and welfare of Southeast Asia cannot withstand a psychological arms race with no limits.
The US government must provide a full accounting of this programme, take steps to repair the damage, and commit to higher standards going forward. Continuing to fight disinformation with disinformation will only plant more chaos and confusion, ultimately undermining US interests in the region.
America’s greatest asset has long been the power of its example and ideals. Subverting that with manipulative propaganda is self-defeating. To truly support the health and well-being of Southeast Asian societies, the US should focus on being a responsible, reliable and transparent partner. Competing with China cannot come at the cost of America’s own values and the trust of its allies.
TITLE: How to manage and de-risk an emerging Cold War II with China
https://thebulletin.org/2024/06/how-to-manage-and-de-risk-an-emerging-cold-war-ii-with-china/
EXCERPT: In the early phase of this rivalry, neither Biden nor Xi shows any sign of reconsidering his nation’s goals, strategies, assessments of the other, or desire to shape global norms. Both powers want to avoid war, but not at the cost of questioning their interests or values. Each is determined to neither fight nor lose.
The only strategy open to them, therefore, is to build a framework for peaceful rivalry. The first steps will be hard, as each country believes it has the upper hand, and each rejects the other’s key concepts for international order.
The difficulty is compounded by disparate historical premises. America’s 20th century narrative cast the United States as a global savior in two world wars and the first cold war. This legacy of righteous victory, founded on wealth and love of freedom, justifies Washington’s continued assertion of global leadership in the United States and beyond.
China’s experience during the same period was of victimhood—famine, warlordism, the Japanese invasion, civil and class warfare—followed by the largest, fastest economic rise in human history. This triumphant story of a benighted nation that rose to rival the resident superpower underlies China’s campaign to win deference in the Western Pacific and lead the Global South.
True, China and the United States fought as allies in World War II, but their interpretations of that conflict varied at the time and in retrospect. Most aspects of the Western war, including the formative trauma of the West’s 20th century, the Holocaust, meant little to China. (There is still no word for Holocaust in common use in Mandarin.) For Westerners, hallmarks of modern Chinese history like the Xinhai and Cultural Revolutions and Deng Xiaoping’s 1992 Nanxun have little meaning.
Not only have the United States and China embarked on a new Cold War with disparate histories, they have begun a new arms race with incompatible nuclear doctrines and military/strategic cultures.
SEE ALSO:
Taiwan Question: China firmly opposes new U.S. arms sales to Taiwan
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-06-26/VHJhbnNjcmlwdDc5NDcx/index.html
US approves new $360 million arms sale to Taiwan for drones, related equipment
https://apnews.com/article/us-taiwan-china-arms-5eb7e3b35775e813c525a019228ee1a4
China is trying to buy 49% of a Brazilian MLRS missile maker
https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2024/06/25/china-is-trying-to-buy-49-of-a-brazilian-mlrs-missile-maker/
China Modernizes AWACS ‘Flying Radars’ To Counter US Military; Draws Critical Lessons From Ukraine Conflict
https://www.eurasiantimes.com/header-china-modernizing-its-flying-rada/
Stolen Secrets: How China's J-20 Stealth Fighter Took Shape from U.S. Designs
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/stolen-secrets-how-chinas-j-20-stealth-fighter-took-shape-us-designs-209480
Chinese scientists detect ‘spy balloon’ as small as F-35 on radar
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3267512/chinese-scientists-detect-spy-balloon-small-f-35-stealth-fighter-radar
China intercepts submarine probe dropped from U.S. aircraft in South China Sea, state media says
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-intercepts-submarine-probe-dropped-us-aircraft-south-china-sea-state-media-2024-06-26/
Philippines warns of region-wide conflict over South China Sea reef dispute
https://www.ft.com/content/b159b5a6-ba06-401c-8585-bc71ad73a69f
Philippines Says it Wants ‘Dialogue’ With China Following Maritime Clash
https://thediplomat.com/2024/06/philippines-says-it-wants-dialogue-with-china-following-maritime-clash/
China Rejects U.S. Ambassador’s Accusation That Beijing Is Undermining Diplomacy
https://www.wsj.com/world/china/china-rejects-u-s-ambassadors-accusation-that-beijing-is-undermining-diplomacy-537c6e32?mod=world_lead_story
US lawmakers meet with Dalai Lama in India’s Dharamshala, sparking anger from China
https://apnews.com/article/dalai-lama-tibet-us-china-dharamshala-xizang-ecbc93ba881182fbcff22989f73caa5f