Asia risks becoming a “powder keg” that could trigger world war III, according to a prominent Chinese academic who blamed the United States and its allies.
Zheng Yongnian, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Shenzhen campus, warned that China would be at the “eye of the storm” as the US shifts Nato’s strategic focus, while warning nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula could also trigger a crisis.
“Despite the US claims to achieve peace in Asia under its leadership, the reality is quite the opposite – Asia, under US dominance, is rapidly sliding towards war,” he wrote in an article first published last week on the WeChat public platform.
The commentary was published a few days ahead of US national security adviser Jake Sullivan’s visit to China for “strategic dialogues” with Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Zheng argued that the Asia-Pacific region was destined to be the battleground for any future world war, as it contained all the key elements: economic interests, US involvement, efforts to set up an Asian equivalent of Nato, military modernisation and nationalism.
Although the US and China have tried to prevent tensions from boiling over, there are still deep divisions on issues ranging from trade and technology to space, while the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait remain major potential flashpoints.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory that must be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as independent, but Washington opposes any attempt to take the island by force and is legally bound to arm the island to help it defend itself.
The US was “deeply embedded in Asia” like no other country, and was becoming “a major organiser” of conflicts in the region, Zheng said.
