Clash of the titans: US and China trade barbs at contentious Alaska meeting

US, CHINA COME OUT SWINGING: What was supposed to be a meeting to find common ground at the geographic halfway point between Washington and Beijing quickly devolved into a Festivus-style airing of grievances, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan sat down with their Chinese counterparts in Anchorage, Alaska, for two days of talks.

The usual perfunctory public pleasantries that precede the private discussions quickly turned contentious, as Blinken led off with a list of complaints about the Chinese regime, citing “deep concerns” about Hong Kong, Taiwan, cyberattacks, and economic coercion of U.S. allies.

“Each of these actions threaten the rules-based order that maintains global stability. That’s why they’re not merely internal matters and why we feel an obligation to raise these issues,” Blinken said. “The United States relationship with China will be competitive where it should be, collaborative where it can be, adversarial where it must be.”

WATCH YOUR TONE: Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi angrily pushed back, launching into an 18-minute lecture about the ills of American society and, at one point, rebuking Blinken for the condescending tone of his opening remarks.

“The Chinese side felt compelled to make this speech because of the tone of the U.S. side,” said Yang. “Isn’t this the intention of the United States … to speak to China in a condescending way from a position of strength? … the United States does not have the qualification to say that it wants to speak to China from a position of strength.”

“China certainly in the past has not and in the future will not accept the unwarranted accusations from the U.S. side,” Yang said. “To accuse China of coercion even before sharing the relevant views with China, is this the right act to do? Of course not … We don’t think one should be so testy as to accuse some other country of coercion. Who is coercing whom? I think history and the international community will come to their own conclusions.”

“On cyberattacks, let me say that whether it’s the ability to launch cyberattacks or the technologies that could be deployed, the United States is the champion in this regard,” he said. “You can’t blame this problem on somebody else.”

THE ‘RULES-BASED INTERNATIONAL ORDER’: Virtually every discussion of U.S.- China policy includes the U.S. invoking what it calls the rules-based international order, which it accuses China of trying to subvert.

“That system is not an abstraction. It helps countries resolve differences peacefully, coordinate multilateral efforts effectively, and participate in global commerce with the assurance that everyone is following the same rules,” said Blinken in his opening remarks. “The alternative to a rules-based order is a world in which might makes right, and winners take all, and that would be a far more violent and unstable world for all of us.”

In response, Yang said China and the international community follow what he called the “United Nations-centered international system … not what is advocated by a small number of countries of the so-called ‘rules-based’ international order.’”

Yang then launched into an attack on what he called “United States-style” democracy. “We do not believe in invading through the use of force, or to topple other regimes through various means, or to massacre the people of other countries,” he said, arguing the U.S. has no moral ground to lecture China about human rights.

“The fact is that there are many problems within the United States regarding human rights, which is admitted by the U.S. itself as well. …The challenges facing the United States in human rights are deep-seated. They did not just emerge over the past four years, such as Black Lives Matter.”

“We believe that it is important for the United States to change its own image and to stop advancing its own democracy in the rest of the world,” he said. “Many people within the United States actually have little confidence in the democracy of the United States.”

‘A MORE PERFECT UNION’: Blinken said the United States, unlike China, admits its imperfections and is constantly working to form what the Constitution calls “a more perfect union.”

“That quest, by definition, acknowledges our imperfections, acknowledges that we’re not perfect, we make mistakes, we have reversals, we take steps back,” he said. “But what we’ve done throughout our history is to confront those challenges openly, publicly, transparently, not trying to ignore them, not trying to pretend they don’t exist, not trying to sweep them under a rug. And sometimes it’s painful, sometimes it’s ugly, but each and every time, we have come out stronger, better, more united as a country.”

And he cited America’s alliances in the region, having just come from consultations with Japan and South Korea. “I have to tell you, what I’m hearing is very different from what you described. I’m hearing deep satisfaction that the United States is back, that we’re re-engaged with our allies and partners.”

You can read the entire exchange on the U.S. State Department website.

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HAPPENING TODAY: The former U.S. Pacific commander and ambassador to South Korea discusses the current state of play on the Korean Peninsula at 9 a.m. at a virtual event sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Retired Adm. Harry Harris was ambassador to Korea from June 2018 to January 2021, and he commanded what was then known as the U.S. Pacific Command from 2015 to 2018.

ALSO TODAY: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in India, a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, also known as the “Quad,” which also includes the U.S., Japan, and Australia. During his three-day visit, Austin is scheduled to meet in New Delhi with his Indian counterpart, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, before returning to Washington.

AFGHANISTAN COUNTDOWN, DAY 43: As of today, there are 43 days left before U.S. and international troops are scheduled to withdraw fully from Afghanistan under the Feb. 29, 2020, agreement negotiated with the Taliban by the Trump administration. President Biden has yet to indicate whether he will abide by the agreement or declare the Taliban to be in violation of the terms and extend the deployment of 2,500 U.S. troops, along with more than 5,000 NATO and partner forces.

Following yesterday’s peace conference in Moscow, the U.S., Russia, China, and Pakistan issued a joint statement, which said, “a sustainable peace can only be achieved through a negotiated political settlement” and called on all parties in Afghanistan “to reduce the level of violence in the country” and on the Taliban “not to pursue a spring offensive, so as to avoid further casualties and to create an environment conducive to reaching a negotiated political settlement.”

Secretary of State Blinken will be in Brussels, Belgium, next week for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, in which a decision on an Afghanistan pullout will be at the top of the agenda.

A SIX-MONTH EXTENSION? Meanwhile, NBC News is reporting that Biden is reluctantly considering keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan until November.

“In recent discussions with members of his national security team, Biden has pushed back against the Defense Department’s efforts to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond May 1,” NBC reported, citing one of two people familiar with the discussions. “But he has been persuaded to consider a six-month extension.”

Biden told ABC News this week that if he extends the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, it won’t be by “a lot longer.”

ETHIOPIA MISSION: Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a close confidant of President Biden, has been dispatched by the White House to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he is to meet Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.

At Biden’s request, Coons will convey America’s “grave concerns” about the humanitarian crisis and human rights abuses in the Tigray region and the risk of broader instability in the Horn of Africa,” according to a statement from the White House. Coons will also consult with the African Union on how to advance the region’s shared interests in peace and prosperity.

PULLING THE F-35 OUT OF A PR TAILSPIN: House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith made headlines recently when he vowed to stop throwing money down the “rat hole” for the expensive F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

During a Brookings Institution event earlier this month, the Washington state congressman recalled how as a young, newly elected representative in the late 1990s, he was wowed by a prototype of the plane and its promise of saving money and maintenance costs by using a common platform for Air Force, Navy, and Marine versions of the jet.

“I remember, and this is my ignorance, you know, 31-years-old, I went to St. Louis when Boeing was still bidding on the thing, and they showed me their model and the idea of redundancy, and we’re going to have this one plane that was going to fit all three of these things,” Smith said. “Was that such a smart idea?”

Now two decades later, Smith has soured on the program, not so much over the F-35’s capabilities but its cost, especially for maintenance, which he describes as “brutal.”

“The thing about the F-35 — it all comes down to don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” Smith said. “The things your mother told you that are just so simple and straightforward that are true.”

In this week’s Washington Examiner magazine, we look at what’s ahead for the F-35 and how the Air Force’s top general put the Pentagon’s pricey premier fighter in a PR tailspin.

THE SAD SAGA OF THE F-35: TOO BIG TO FAIL, TOO EXPENSIVE TO FLY

The Rundown

Washington Examiner: The sad saga of the F-35: Too big to fail, too expensive to fly

Washington Examiner: Austin keeps Trump’s slimmed-down South Korea exercises, but warns the North US ‘ready to fight tonight’

Washington Examiner: Biden administration has 14,000 migrant children without parents in its custody

Washington Examiner: Blinken tells companies building Nord Stream 2 to ‘immediately abandon’ project in deal with Ted Cruz

Washington Examiner: Minority view in intelligence assessment argues China meddled in 2020 to hurt Trump

Washington Examiner: Kremlin is furious with Biden over ‘killer’ comment as experts see new low in U.S.-Russia relations

Bloomberg: U.S., Russia In Joint Push For Afghan Power-Sharing Despite Spat

The Drive: Massive New Chinese Military Heliport Taking Shape Right Across From Taiwan

The Hill: Marine Corps Commandant Says China, Russia To Pose Biggest Challenges For Years

Breaking Defense: Top Lawmaker: Army Budget Needs ‘Not Even Close’ to Navy, Air Force

USNI News: HASC Members Pushing For SECNAV Nominee Ahead Of Pentagon Budget Fight, Fleet Modernization

Seapower Magazine: Navy’s Future Carrier Air Wing Could Reach 40% Unmanned Aircraft, Use Manned/Unmanned Teaming, Admiral Says

Air Force Magazine: US, South Korea Prepare for Transfer of Wartime Operational Control

Wall Street Journal: Hitting Nerve With Kim Jong Un Regime Takes Just a Few Words

AP: Pentagon looks to root out extremists aiming to recruit service members

CBS: Secretary Of Defense Lloyd Austin On Racial Bias He’s Experienced Throughout Career

San Diego Union-Tribune: Backers Fight To Save Marines’ Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum Ahead Of April 1 Closure

Washington Post: Biden expected to nominate former senator Bill Nelson to be NASA administrator

Washington Examiner: Opinion: It’s not about Tucker; the politicization of the military leads to endless war

Bloomberg: F-35 Upgrades See Costs Surging by $2 Billion, GAO Says

Forbes: Opinion: The Media Is Flat-Out Wrong: The U.S. Military Needs The F-35

Calendar

FRIDAY | MARCH 19

9 a.m. — Atlantic Council, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, and the Royal Norwegian Embassy virtual conference: “Looking North: Security in the Arctic,” with Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Soreide; and Norwegian Minister of Defense Frank Bakke-Jensen https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event

9 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar on “the latest situation on the Korean peninsula,” with retired Adm. Harry Harris, former U.S. Pacific Commander and U.S. ambassador to South Korea. https://www.csis.org/events/korea-chair-capital-cable-22

9:30 a.m. — Brookings Institution webinar “Revitalizing America’s Alliances,” with Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J.; Zack Cooper, research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer, director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States’ Paris office; Sara Bjerg Moller, assistant professor at Seton Hall University; Tanvi Madan, senior fellow at the Project on International Order and Strategy; and Victor Cha, senior vice president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://www.brookings.edu/events/revitalizing-americas-alliances

10 a.m. — House Foreign Affairs Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation Subcommittee hearing on “America’s Way Forward in the Indo-Pacific,” with Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, former director of policy planning at the State Department; Randall Schriver, chairman of the Project 2049 Institute, former assistant Defense secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs; and Nadege Rolland, senior fellow for political and security affairs at the National Bureau of Asian Research. http://foreignaffairs.house.gov

11 a.m. — House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee hearing on “Investing in an Organic Industrial Base to Support Service Modernization Plans,” with Lt. Gen. Duane Gamble, deputy Army chief of staff, G-4; Vice Adm. William Galinis, commander of Naval Sea Systems Command; Vice Adm. Dean Peters, commander of Naval Air Systems Command; Lt. Gen. Donald Kirkland, commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center; and Maj. Gen. Joseph Shrader, commanding general of Marine Corps Logistics Command. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

12 p.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association virtual discussion: “NIST (National Institute for Standards and Technology) Standards for CMMC (cybersecurity maturity model certification),” with Katie Arrington, special assistant to the assistant Defense secretary of acquisition for cyber; and Ron Ross, NIST computer scientist and fellow. https://www.afcea.org/event

12 p.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association virtual discussion, with Col. Kevin Johnson, deputy director for air, space and cyberspace operations and CIO of the Air Force Materiel Command. https://daytonwrightafcea.wildapricot.org/event

1:30 p.m. — Brookings Institution webinar: “Remembering the First ‘Space War,'” focusing on Operation Desert Storm in 1991, with Air Force Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, U.S. Space Force Deputy Chief of Space Operations, Cyber and Nuclear. https://www.brookings.edu/events/remembering-the-first-space-war

3 p.m. — House Armed Services Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems Subcommittee hearing on “Department of Defense Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations: Challenges and Opportunities in the Invisible Battlespace,” with Joseph Kirschbaum, director of the Government Accountability Office; Bryan Clark, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute; and William Conley, chief technology officer for Mercury Systems, Inc. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

TUESDAY | MARCH 23

7 a.m. EDT/12 p.m. CET — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends NATO foreign ministers two-day meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s news conference will be streamed live https://www.nato.int

9:30 a.m. G50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the nomination of Adm. John Aquilino to be commander, United States Indo-Pacific Command. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings

2 p.m. — Gold Institute for International Strategy webinar: “Turkey – Repairing the Relationship with the West,” with retired British Brig Gen. Geoffrey Van Orden CBE, Gold Institute distinguished fellow; Soner Cagaptay, director, Turkey Research Program, Washington Institute for Near East Policy; Walid Phares, foreign policy advisor to Republican presidential candidates; Matthew Brodsky­, Gold Institute senior fellow; and Nahro Zagros, Gold Institute senior fellow, vice president of Soran University in Kurdistan region of Iraq. https://docs.google.com/forms

3 p.m. — House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness hearing: “Learning From and Preventing Future Training Mishaps,” with Gen. Joseph Martin, Army vice chief of staff; Adm. William Lescher, vice chief of naval operations; Gen. David Allvin, Air Force vice chief of staff; Gen. Gary Thomas, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

MONDAY | MARCH 22

11:30 a.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual event: “Conversation on the Future of Nuclear Modernization,” with Sen. Deb Fischer, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces; and Patty-Jane Geller, policy analyst, nuclear deterrence and missile defense, Heritage Foundation. https://www.heritage.org/defense/event

WEDNESDAY | MARCH 24

11 a.m. — Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress virtual discussion: “Lessons from New START and the Road Ahead for Nuclear Arms Control.” with Rose Gottemoeller, former undersecretary of state, arms control and international security; and CSPC Board Chairman Amb. Thomas Pickering, former undersecretary of state for political affairs and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Russia, India, Israel and Jordan. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register

12 p.m. — Hudson Institute virtual event: “North Korean Threat Perception and the US-South Korea Alliance: Political-Military Dimensions,” with retired Army Gen. Vincent Brooks, former U.S. Korea commander; retired South Korean Lt. Gen. In Bum Chun; Andrei Lankov, director, NK News, professor, Kookmin University; Evans J.R. Revere, former deputy chief of mission and charge d’affaires, U.S. Embassy, Seoul. https://www.hudson.org/events

FRIDAY | MARCH 26

11 a.m. — House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations hearing: “SOF Culture and Climate: The Future of the Force,” with Linda Robinson, director, Center for Middle East Public Policy, RAND Corporation; retired Army Lt. Gen. Mike Nagata, senior vice president and strategic adviser, CACI International Inc.; retired Marine Lt. Col. Kate Germano; Mark Mitchell, former acting assistant secretary of defense special operations and low intensity conflict. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

3 p.m. — House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness hearing: “Installation Resiliency: Lessons Learned from Winter Storm Uri and Beyond,” with Lt. Gen. Douglas Gabram, commanding general, Army Installation Management Command; Vice Adm. Yancy Lindsey, commander, Navy Installations Command; Maj. Gen. Edward Banta, commander, Marine Corps Installations Command; and Brig. Gen. John Allen, commander, Air Force Materiel Command. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

WEDNESDAY I MARCH 31

12:30 p.m. — Hampton Roads World Affairs Council Virtual Symposium virtual panel discussion: “Stronger Together: Perspectives on Strengthening the Alliance,” with the current and three former commanders of Allied Command Transformation, including French Air Force Gen. Andre Lanata; Retired French Air Force Gen. Denis Mercier, retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis, and retired Adm. Ed Giambastiani, ACT’s first commander. https://zoom.us/webinar/register