Japan Institute for National Fundamentals
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Speaking out

Fumio Ota

【#309】Perceptions of China Changing in Western Hemisphere

Fumio Ota ／ 2015.06.24 (Wed)


June 22, 2015

　　　　　At a U.S. National Defense University (NDU) Alumni Seminar in Colombia from 9 to 12 June, I was asked to deliver a speech on China's influences on the Western Hemisphere. Foreign students at the NDU are mostly colonels or captains. There are many among graduates who serve as service commanders in their home countries. The seminar began with a keynote address by the Commander of U.S. Southern Command General John F. Kelly, U.S. Marine Corps who graduated from the NDU one year after I did. He made a statement at the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in March this year that just as we have ‘pivoted’ to the Pacific, China has pivoted to the Western Hemisphere.

Nicaragua Canal construction feared to destroy environment
　　　　　During his South American tour in May, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang offered investment in giant projects including the construction of a trans-South America railway from Brazil to Peru. In Central America, Chinese capital started the construction of the Nicaragua Canal as a second Panama Canal late last year.
　　　　　But a Peruvian official showed concern that Chinese have taken over banks and telecommunications infrastructure with the advancement of Chinese capital and that environmental pollution has spread in Chinese communities while Chinese mafia members are committing crimes frequently.
　　　　　A senior El Salvador naval officer was worried that the Nicaragua Canal construction would destroy the environment for Lake Nicaragua that provides precious fresh water to Central American countries and that increasing Chinese workers and the presence of groups to protect them would have negative impacts on the regional security.
　　　　　When I showed a picture of a Chinese satellite control facility under construction in Neuquen Province, western Argentina, Argentine military officials complained that the construction started before a local congress's approval and that the problem is that agreements with China include secret provisions that remain undisclosed.
　　　　　A Chilean naval official said Chinese are very arrogant and easily violate a fishing agreement with Chile.
　　　　　A senior Uruguayan military official, who has ever been sent to Africa for U.N. peacekeeping operations, said while Chinese companies vowed to create jobs in Africa, Chinese workers were depriving Africans of their jobs and using the Yuan or renminbi to exploit local natural resources. The official was concerned that China could spread such neo-colonialism in Latin America.

Growing vigilance against China
　　　　　In February in the United States, China watcher Michael Pillsbury authored "The Hundred Year Marathon" subtitled "China's Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower." In March, the Council on Foreign Relations, a leading U.S. think tank, released a special report titled "Revising U.S. Grand Strategy Toward China." Calls are growing for the United States to dramatically change its strategy on China. A U.S. scholar present at the Columbia seminar noted that China's cyber attacks, its challenge to the post-World War II international order and its expansion into the South and East China Seas have led the rest of the world to grow vigilant against China.
　　　　　I felt that the Western Hemisphere is getting leery of China in parallel to her expansion into the hemisphere. A future focus of attention is how the White House would reflect such trend change in policies.

Fumio Ota is a JINF Planning Committee Member and retired Vice Admiral of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force.