By Dingding Chen
Because cooperation is better than confrontation at this tenuous moment of U.S.-China relations.
A hot debate is unfolding in the United States right now whether the U.S. should extend an invitation to China to participate in RIMPAC, the largest multilateral naval exercise in the world. China, for the first time, participated in RIMPAC in 2014. 2016 would mark the second time that China’s participates in this significant naval exercise.
The main argument against re-inviting China to RIMPAC is that Beijing should not be rewarded for its “bad behavior” in recent years, and, indeed, that China should be punished for its assertiveness – particularly in the South China Sea. This argument is based on the assumption that a non-invitation would impose real costs on China’s behavior and forcing it to stop its assertive actions. While this assumption might appear reasonable from the United States’ point of view, in reality, it is a flawed one for 3 reasons.
Read the full story at The Diplomat