By Zachary Keck
China’s actions in the region are causing problems, anti-China rhetoric is merely the response to them.
Over at The Editor’s blog last week, Erin Zimmerman wrote a much discussed piece arguing that the “anti-China rhetoric” of regional actors in forums like the Shangri-La Dialogue was forcing Beijing to lash out more aggressively in the region to appease nationalistic sentiment at home. As a result, she argued that the best way to reduce regional tensions and encourage China to act more constructively in the region is to stop “highlighting political grievances” at these forums. Instead, the region should move to more firmly entrench China into Asia’s existing multilateral institutions, thereby “incentivizing Beijing to demonstrate its positive influence in the region.”
Her argument seems to have touched on a nerve of many judging from the comments on the website and made to this author personally on Twitter and email. In some rather extreme examples, many were derisive of the fact that The Diplomat would even publish the article.
I disagree. Zimmerman makes a strong and coherent argument expressing a viewpoint that is held by many in the region including but not limited to China and its government. As such, it is an integral part of the regional debate, and I am proud of the fact that Zimmerman was kind enough to submit it to The Diplomat and we were able to feature it on the site.
Which is not to say that I agreed with the article’s arguments, and I don’t appear to be alone in dissenting. Thus, with the spirit of a healthy debate in mind, I felt it worthwhile to outline where I disagree with the piece.
Read the full story at The Diplomat