China and Russia won’t yield to US international order: analyst

Nations that seek independence from US domination challenge the “international order” Washington has established to maintain global hegemony, says a foreign policy expert.

“The aggressive intent of US imperialism has been clearly shown by War Secretary Mattis’ testimony before the US Congress,” Professor Dennis Etler, a professor of Anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, said in an interview with Press TV on Wednesday.

“The US has the right to prowl the world challenging anyone who doesn’t submit to its dictates, but any nation that seeks to protect its sovereignty and develop a credible land, sea and air defense against US aggressiveness is seen as a threat,” he said.

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis has warned that Russia and China are challenging America’s military dominance with technological advances, “placing the international order under assault."

Mattis made the statement to the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee on Monday as part of his testimony at a hearing on the Defense Department's 2018 budget request.

"A return to great power competition, marked by a resurgent and more aggressive Russian Federation and a rising, more confident, and assertive China, places the international order under assault," the Pentagon chief said.

He said the US military dominance in sea, land and air was being threatened with Russian and Chinese technological advances.

Read More:

• 'Russia, China challenging US military dominance'

“According to Mattis, Russia and China must acknowledge US military superiority in order for them to have a positive relationship with the hegemon, otherwise they become pariah states which must be subverted,” Etler said.

“It is the US and its allies which impose sanctions, declare embargoes, destabilize nations, sponsor insurgencies and intervene militarily to assert its control over the international order, not the likes of Russia or China,” he stated.

“It is the US that challenges other nations in their own backyards far from its shores, not Russia or China, neither of which have their militaries stationed in America’s backyard.”

Mattis attended the wide-ranging hearing with the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, who said the United States had an adversarial relationship with Russia.

Washington and Moscow have a number of diverging interests, including in Syria and Ukraine.

“Rather than seeking accommodation with Russia and China by acknowledging their core strategic interests, it is the US that challenges them, not the other way around,” Etler said.

“But to the US, any nation that defends itself against US imperialism, challenges its core national interests. The US constantly threatens nations like the DPRK (North Korea) and then condemns them for seeking to defend themselves,” he added.

“Democratic Iran is accused of sponsoring terrorism, while its accusers arm and train terrorists throughout the world. For the US and its allies, black is white and white is black. They disingenuously accuse others of what they themselves do.”

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk