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geopolitics. Glaser writes: Really, the U.S. should just mind its own business instead of trying to dictate Chinas behavior in a desperate attempt to hold on to world hegemony. Micah Zenko, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, provides the following anecdote to sum up the hypcritical U.S. position on China: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel declared at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore earlier this year, The United States stands firmly against any coercive attempts to alter the status quo. Similarly, Hagels deputy, Ashton Carter, noted in reference to the AsiaPacific, We oppose provocation. We oppose coercion. We oppose the use of force, adding a U.S. preference for peaceful resolution of disputes in a manner consistent with international law. Of course, resorting to coercion and the use of force to change the status quo are defining characteristics of U.S. foreign policy, and as the reactions to Syria demonstrate they are widely embraced among pundits and officials. The defining questions of East Asian relations in the coming decades is whether China emulates the U.S. military by embracing coercion, or follows U.S. guidelines as to how local disputes should be resolved. Do as we see, not as we do. Follow our orders, or prepare for aggression. Not exactly a constructive approach. Glaser also points to a new piece by John Reed at Foreign Policy, entitled New U.S. Drone Base is Americas Latest Move to Contain China, which argues that the bottom line is that the U.S. is prepositioning forces around China. As Reed points out: The latest news out of Japan comes several months after the top U.S. Air Force general in the Pacific revealed that American fighters, bombers and tankers will constantly deploy to a string of bases in the Pacific and Indian ocean regions. These facilities aren't slated for permanent occupation by American aircraft -- or at least that's what American commanders say. Instead, these sites will see a steady stream of U.S. units visiting on a regular basis. These temporary American bases range from Tinian and Saipan to Australia, Singapore, Thailand, India and possibly sites in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. American jets permanently stationed at dozens of U.S. bases in the Pacific -- as well as bases in the U.S. -- will rotate in an out of these airfields under a concept that harkens back to the Cold War. The U.S. has used drones in Japan in the past, but this will be the first time that drones would be housed on a U.S. base in the country, expanding their surveillance capabilities in the region, The Associated Press reports.
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The agreement also involves shifting a portion of U.S. troops from the controversial U.S. base in Okinawa, which has spawned tensions in the past over the U.S. military's land and air space use as well as numerous crimes committed by service members in the area. About 9,000 of the Marines stationed on Okinawa will be moved out, with 5,000 going to Guam. _______________________ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License
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