An American writer and academic has stated that the United States is risking the lives of its soldiers and draining its high-tech and costly ammunition to aid its most fierce geopolitical enemy, China. This comes as a result of the U.S. intensifying its military airstrikes against the Ansar Allah group, commonly known as the Houthis, in Yemen.
Minxin Pei—who is a columnist for Bloomberg and a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College in California—argues that it is natural for the U.S. to undertake this mission to protect the free movement of global transportation through the Red Sea and to keep the waterways open.
However, China will undoubtedly be the biggest beneficiary if the American and British forces manage to quell Houthi attacks, especially since 60% of its exports pass through the Red Sea, as noted by Pei in his article.
The writer asserts that the Chinese Navy has not sent a single warship to the region despite having a force engaged in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean, not far from the Red Sea.
Two Unequal Factors
This does not prove Uncle Sam’s “foolishness,” but rather is just an example of the unequal nature of competition between the United States and China. In reality, this contest is characterized by two disproportionate factors: The first one is that the United States possesses reasons for power—particularly in military capabilities, technology, and the establishment of alliances—which enables it to significantly outperform China, according to Bloomberg.
Moreover, as the sole superpower in the world—according to a Bloomberg article—the United States carries the greater security burden, necessitating the allocation of immense resources to fulfill the requirements of this responsibility.
In contrast, China is a great regional power with East Asia at the core of its security interests. While the United States has about 170,000 troops and approximately 750 military bases in at least 80 countries around the globe, China maintains only one military outpost in Djibouti since 2017 to support anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
The second factor distinguishing the nature of competition between the two countries clearly favors China, believes Pei, adding that America’s commitments to global security constantly obligate it to divert attention and resources towards crises occurring far from China’s vicinity.
The writer—a Chinese-American—continues that despite Beijing’s global economic imprint, it sees itself as a great power primarily in East Asia and thus resists carrying security commitments far from its backyard.
