Translated "Avante!"article by Luís Carapinha, Member of the International Department

China and Russia are a “ central challenge” for the Pentagon, according to the released overview, from the new USA National Defence Strategy, the first update, since 2008. The “strategic competition among states other than terrorism is currently the major concern” and competition “ long-term competition with China and Russia” is the “main priority”, as stated. Beijing is accused of “ at mid-term, seeking for regional hegemony within the Indo-Pacific region, in order to achieve a global pre-eminence, in the future”, whilst Moscow “pursues the veto power over periphery nations”, opposing NATO and intends to “change the economic and security structure” in Europe and the Middle East.

The document’s integral program content is under secret, but the released elements confirm both the traditional cynicism of this type of documents, as the USA militarist commitment, imposing a new global run to armaments, before what is recognized as an “erosion” of its absolute military supremacy. “ Obviously, 1999 is far back”, one of the Pentagon leaders stated, recalling the year of the NATO attack against Yugoslavia ( at default of the UN Security Council and by violating its Charter – a war during which the Chinese Embassy was intentionally bombed, in Belgrade). A reality, that holds in its essence, the structural stagnation dilemmas along with the economic unaffordable unbalance, that devastate the world capitalist motor.

The USA new Defence strategy, confirming the nature of another document, released in December – a new National Security Strategy-, carries on considering China and Russia as “revisionist powers”, that threat the “open and free international order”, created by the USA and its allies. The absurd and delirious insolence , both when Trump’s administration insists in affirming a unilateral and protectionist posture, and that has brought so much concern to many of its sympathizers, although the new doctrine reaffirms that both NATO’s role and article 5, do not minor the dangerous bellicose purposes that encourage the USA’s leader class. Trump wants to spend a billion dollars in smaller and versatile nuclear new weapons. The Nuclear Posture Revision, to be presented in a short time, holds the purpose of diminishing the USA nuclear weapons use edge, foreseeing the use of nuclear weapons against weapon non-holder countries and in response to non-nuclear attacks. All, in parallel with the strategic embezzlement, concerning world peace, as result of the ABM Treaty unilateral resolve, signed with the USSR, along with the USA anti-missile global shield project’ implantation. Strategic update, that confirms the cosmic space (and cyberspace) such as theatres of war, by refusing to sign down the Treaty, that contains the objective of impeding the cosmos militarization.

Before the imperialist haughty expression, China’s ministry of Defence exhorted the USA to “abandon/drop the cold-war mentality”. From Russia, Lavrov deplored the USA insistence in pursuing the “confrontation” and “ Russia phobic” behaviour, at its highest records. But more explicit is the China military attaché, in Russia, who highlighted the need of the two countries to “react conjointly against the USA and its allies global threats and challenges”.