2024-02-21 23:20:02
[The Epoch Times, February 22, 2024](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporter Zhang Ting) “In the international system, if you are not at the table, you will be on the menu.” US Secretary of State Blinken’s “Table Menu” The discussion angered Xinhua News Agency and the Global Times, the CCP’s mouthpieces.
On February 17, during a panel meeting at the Munich Security Conference, the moderator asked that tensions between the United States and China are leading to greater divisions, and the United States and China are also competing for allies around the world. In answering this question, Blinken first emphasized the importance of uniting allies.
“From the beginning of this administration, we have invested and reinvested in our alliances, partnerships and multilateral system,” he said.
“The reason is simple: because it is in our interest to do so. None of the challenges that we must face that are important to the interests of the American people can be effectively addressed by us alone,” Blinken said. “So we believe that our relative The advantage is having a strong network of voluntary alliances and voluntary partnerships.”
Blinken said there is no doubt that “strategic competition exists” between the United States and China. When that competition involves “other countries, the point is not to say to country Believing that we can do it, and that we have and will continue to do it – then I think the choice becomes obvious.”
The Secretary of State further explained why U.S. allies and partners voluntarily move closer to the United States, because everyone knows that “in the international system, if you are not on the table, you will be on the menu.”
Xinhua News Agency, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, published a commentary on February 21, accusing Blinken of making remarks to win over other countries. It also said that Blinken’s “dinner table theory” illustrates that the basic logic of U.S. politics and diplomacy is the “law of the jungle” in which the jungle prevails.
“Global Times” published an editorial saying that the US Secretary of State’s “dinner table theory” actually means “for a knife or a fish.” The editorial said that the United States wants other countries to “choose sides” between China and the United States, otherwise it will be on the menu.
“Global Times” also mentioned that Blinken also mentioned the “dining table menu theory” at a forum in January 2022, saying that when the United States and China compete, the United States needs to ensure that it is on the table, not on the menu.
Current affairs commentator Li Linyi believes that the CCP is distorting the meaning of the United States. What Blinken means is that if a country is not within the international order maintained by the United States (on the dining table), it will be within the new international order that the CCP wants (on the menu) and will be eaten by the CCP. As Blinken said, the United States is simply providing countries with a better choice. In the confrontation between the United States and China, it is inevitable to choose sides, but the United States does not force any country to make any choice.
In recent years, countries such as the Philippines and India have moved closer to the United States. In this regard, the CCP has always accused the United States of forcing other countries to choose sides, without explaining why these countries stay away from the CCP and seek protection from the United States.
Both the Philippines and India have frequent conflicts with the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP blocked the supply operations of Philippine ships in the South China Sea and attacked Philippine ships with water cannons. A “military-grade laser” was even targeted at a supply ship in the Philippines, causing the Filipino crew to be temporarily blinded. These clashes triggered strong protests in the Philippines. Philippine President Marcos has repeatedly made it clear to Beijing that the Philippines will not give up an inch of territory in the disputed areas of the South China Sea and will resolutely safeguard its national sovereignty. After Marcos took office, he actively strengthened relations with the United States, added four strategic bases for the US military in the Philippines, and strengthened joint military exercises with the US military.
India has had many border conflicts with China in recent years. A conflict in 2020 resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers. This has also allowed India to strengthen defense cooperation with the United States and seek to purchase MQ-9B armed drones from the United States to help the Indian army track the movements of the Chinese Communist Army in the disputed border areas between India and China.
Vietnam and China also have disputes in the South China Sea. In September 2023, U.S. President Biden visited Vietnam. Just a week before the visit, a Chinese coast guard ship fired water cannon at a Vietnamese fishing boat, triggering an intensification of the territorial dispute between China and Vietnam. During Biden’s visit, Vietnam elevated Vietnam-US relations to the highest level of “comprehensive strategic partnership.”
Editor in charge: Lin Yan#
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