Many
people thought that America might learn a lesson from the Korean War.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. In the 1960s, Uncle Sam became involved in
another Asian affair with the Chinese — Vietnam. This time Washington supported
the Southern regime while Beijing stood by the Northern regime headed by Ho Chi
Minh. Both the Chinese and the Americans had become a bit smarter by this time,
because both sides tried to avoid direct military conflict like they had
experienced during the Korean War. The two Vietnams, which represented China
and the United States indirectly, fought each other severely for ten years because
both Washington and Beijing logistically supported their own regime. In the
end, the United States lost about 58,000 solders before withdrawing from the
Vietnam War.
Within
two decades after WWII, the United Stated fought two wars — the Korean War and the
Vietnam War — with the Chinese. Fortunately, now, American academia has progressed.
In order to educate young people in the United States and the world, John King
Fairbank from Harvard University established “Asian Studies,” which educates
young Americans about the Chinese — not only Chinese history but also Chinese
culture. In 1968, John King Fairbank published The
Chinese World Order: Traditional China’s Foreign Relations, which has influenced
many members of the younger generations. Later, in 1999, Richard Solemn
published Chinese Negotiating Behavior:
Pursuing Interests Through ‘Old Friends.’ Both books have been used in the
teaching of sinologists for decades. Since then, many universities and colleges in the
United States have begun teaching Asian Studies and prepared many excellent sinologists
across America. Many sinologists, including Allen Whiting (in the Nixon
Administration), Michael Oksenberg (in the Carter Administration), Joseph Nye
(in the Clinton Administration), and Ezra F. Vogel (in the Clinton
Administration), have served American presidents, who have made less mistakes
involving Asian Affairs, particularly Chinese affairs.
Sadly,
the last sinologist who served in the White House was Kenneth Lieberthal (from
1998 to 2000). Since Barack Obama took office in February 2009, no real sinologists
have worked in the White House. In 2010, President Obama offered the ill-fated pivot-Asian-policy toward China; the relationship between China and the United
States has not improved. Today Sino-U.S. relations have been heading toward a
cliff as a result of the wage war in both the East and South China Sea (SCS).
Not only the White House but American lawmakers also have lost their sense of
an understanding of history between the Red Dragon and Uncle Sam. Even John
McCain, the former Vietnam War prisoner of war, has forgotten his own “pain” experienced
during his time in a prison camp, by stressing provocative statements and
activities in the U.S. Congress against the Chinese in the SCS, which will not
help the relationship between Beijing and Washington. It is time for American
politicians to learn history and the Chinese signals, because this is how
direct military conflict and miscalculations will be avoided.