Contextually, when the United States is not geopolitically or strategically beleaguered either by Russia's invasion of Ukraine or the Hamas-Israel War on Gaza, or, even by China's continued predatory moves in South China Sea, it would be the height of United States strategic naivety to succumb to China's overtures to re-establish military relations.
China is currently engaged in such overtures holding out the carrot of an Xi-Biden Meet on the sidelines of the forthcoming APEC Meet in San Francisco.
US President Biden unexpectedly opted for even a more strident 'Hard Line' policies on China than his predecessor President Trump and put China on notice that strong bi-partisan support exists within United States against China for constantly undermining US national security interests.
It was on the strength of strong bipartisan support within United States on Hard-Line policies on China that encouraged Indo Pacific nations to team-up with United States against a commonly perceived China Threat.
Then what is prompting the United States to lose the 'Perceptional War' against China by seemingly cozying-up to China when it is China that is more beleaguered geopolitically arising from its unconditional support of Russia over Ukraine?
In 2023, a larger part of the world except Islamic countries are lined up in support of the United States than behind Russia or China.
The United States would be utterly strategically naive if its policy establishment assesses that by restoring military relations with China, the United States may be able to wean China away from its Russian embrace.
The United States must recognize that in terms of United States long-term national security interests it is 'strategically wise' for United States to wean away Russia from China's strategic embrace than persisting in US flawed policy-aims of weaning away China from Russia.
The United States must seriously debate the perceptional strategic losses that would accrue to United States on QUAD and other nations in Indo Pacific of any perceptional shifts to "rehabilitate" China in its policy formulations at this stage.
Pointed out repeatedly in my writings on US-China relations for two decades was a singular warning that United States cannot adopt a 'two-level' China-policy, At the first level raising the scepter of a China Threat amongst Indo Pacific countries to join the US-led posse against China and concurrently at the second level cozying-up to China because of its misperceived and flawed Russia-policy.
For Indo Pacific nations, it is China that is a more live and potent threat than Russia. This applies more significantly to Japan and India.
The United States has to strategically choose between 'respecting the strategic sensitivities' of the main pillars of its Indo Pacific Security Edifice or succumbing in strategic naivety to Chinese overtures whose end-aim is to drive wedges between United States and Japan and India.
China is a 'sworn enemy 'of the United States as much as it is of Japan and India. The United States in 2023 or beyond has no strategic bandwidth to re-indulge in China Hedging policies of yester years.
America 'take your pick'!!
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