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That article seems to be all about how we can explain that the so-called "pivot" to China is not about containment. It begs the question, which in my opinion is far more important, of whether China needs to be contained.
Furthermore, US officials can say containment is not US policy until they are blue in the face, and it will not matter, as China will react according to what we do, not what we say. And it must be borne in mind that when the Chinese look at a map, they are at the middle, and they are surrounded by rivals or enemies, actual or potential. Russia, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, India, just to name a few. So any action taken by the US or its allies will be analyzed by the Chinese based not on our intent, but on its effects in containing China.
Similarly, whatever we say about "pivoting" (and this Administration has a bad record of announcing "pivots" that amount to nothing other than an attempt to pivot attention away from a scandal or policy failure), Chinese officials will judge us based on our actions, not our statements. For that matter, in judging our seriousness or reliability, so too will our allies look to our actions, not our rhetoric.
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