By Nirmal P. Acharya
After doing everything possible to put together MCC and now SPP in a distant land of Nepal, senior US officials has time and again clearly stated that it is aimed at China. So does everyone else, including yours truly himself.
However, on second thought, I reckon there is another possibility: MCC and SPP are the two sharp swords primitively pointed towards China, yet, through strange combination of circumstances, there seems to be higher chance of India bleeding first.
Recently, China launched its Type 003 aircraft carrier, now formally known as Fujian, the carrier has surpassed the US in three core technologies: a medium-voltage DC integrated power system, a super capacitor driven electromagnetic launch system, and a fully integrated miniaturized ship island. This was followed by a successful test of a Land-based mid-course missile interception on June 19.
Let’s put it this way, if the US were to start a war with China over Taiwan, it would have no hope of winning. Similar to the conclusion drawn by the RAND Corporation of the United States after repeated deductions in 1951. The RAND Corporation had narrated the US government that if US forces crossed the 38th parallel, China would invade North Korea. However, the US government didn’t take the RAND report seriously and ended up in disgrace with a black eye.
Fast forward 70 years later, Today China is the only country in the world with a full industrial chain, and the US has lost its ability to deter China militarily. Not to forget the American logic, that an unbeatable opponent is a friend. In this case, the MCC (and SPP), which the US has worked so hard to deploy in Nepal might not stand a chance to be used against China.
Assuming that, the US and China were to make peace after a period of confrontation, as was the case during the 1971 Ping-Pong diplomacy, what would the Americans do with the MCC (and SPP) in Nepal, which have been deployed thousands of miles away? Of course, scrapping is one way to deal with it. But is it not possible to use it against India instead?
It is only a matter of time before the US takes care of India. India considers the Indian Ocean to be its inner lake, and sooner or later will bring it into irreconcilable conflict with the US, the world’s only maritime hegemony. Also, in the context of Russia-Ukraine war, India has not listened to the US greetings and sided with Russia, which has only strengthened the US’s determination to concentrate India at some point.
The Americans undoubtedly has some kind of plan B: if the MCC and SPP can’t be used against China, wouldn’t it come in handy using them against India? Reproduced from People’s Review Weekly, 29 June 2022
