September 26, 2014
Should the U.S. Cooperate with China on Terrorism?
The question of U.S.-China counterterrorism cooperation is particularly salient in the context of National Security Advisor Susan Rice’s recent trip to Beijing, during which she reportedly urged China to join the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. This came on the heels of President Obama’s comments to The New York Times a month prior that the Chinese have been “free riders for the last 30 years.” Referring to instability in the Middle East, he added with a mixture of derision and envy that: “Nobody ever seems to expect them to do anything when this stuff comes up.”
However unappreciated in Beijing, these comments reflect the commonly heard sentiment that China, given its decades of remarkable economic growth and robust military modernization, is surely at the point now where it could make more substantive contributions to the international community. And while Beijing is quick to highlight its economic and humanitarian assistance to the Middle East, these are obviously no substitute for participating in more costly, risky and difficult overseas military operations.
There’s some logic to the notion that counterterrorism might just be the area for China to step up and cooperate with the United States. After all, Beijing is now struggling with a burgeoning domestic terrorism problem characterized both by a recent spate of attacks at home and the reported arrest of ISIS-inspired Chinese nationals traveling to the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
More from CNAS
-
AUKUS weighs expanding security pact with Japan to deter China
Podcast
Australia and the United States have deepened their commitment to countering China's growing aggression in the Indo Pacific by bringing Japan into the fold. The allies announc...
By Richard Fontaine
-
Lisa Curtis on U.S. and Japan's Security Alliance
Video
Lisa Curtis talked about Japanese Prime Minister’s trip to the U.S. and the security alliance between the two countries amid threats from China. Watch the full video and more ...
By Lisa Curtis
-
Stock Buybacks in Defense: What Drives Them, and How That Can Change?
Commentary
Lack of capital is not a problem hindering investment at the largest defense primes. The issue revolves around the capital allocation decision....
By Mikhail Grinberg, Jerry McGinn & Lloyd Everhart
-
Japan will probably be a member of AUKUS Pillar 2 'before too long,' Richard Fontaine says
Video
Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for New American Security, discusses Japan's relation to AUKUS, the Indo-Pacific security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom...
By Richard Fontaine
