China’s recent disputes with the United States ”” over climate change, Iran, cyberattacks, currency values, Taiwan and the Dalai Lama ”” involve just about every agency of the U.S. administration.
But just one, the Pentagon, has been singled out for punishment.
It’s a familiar pattern.
“When relations have been good between the U.S. and China, the military relationship has been the last to come along,” notes David Finkelstein, a China expert at the Center for Naval Analyses. “When relations have been bad, it’s been the first to be thrown overboard.”
In the latest example, the Chinese government announced it was suspending contacts between the U.S. and Chinese militaries to protest the Obama administration’s announcement last month of new arms sales to Taiwan, which China regards as a province.
Read or listen to it all.
As U.S.-China Tensions Rise, Military Ties Suffer
China’s recent disputes with the United States ”” over climate change, Iran, cyberattacks, currency values, Taiwan and the Dalai Lama ”” involve just about every agency of the U.S. administration.
But just one, the Pentagon, has been singled out for punishment.
It’s a familiar pattern.
“When relations have been good between the U.S. and China, the military relationship has been the last to come along,” notes David Finkelstein, a China expert at the Center for Naval Analyses. “When relations have been bad, it’s been the first to be thrown overboard.”
In the latest example, the Chinese government announced it was suspending contacts between the U.S. and Chinese militaries to protest the Obama administration’s announcement last month of new arms sales to Taiwan, which China regards as a province.
Read or listen to it all.