Obama ‘snub’ on G20 arrival as US-China tensions intensify
There was no red carpet for President Obama in China. Photo: AP/AAP
As the United States and China manoeuvre over regional dominance in the Pacific, US President Barack Obama has been subjected to what many are describing as a “calculated snub” on his arrival to the G20 summit in Hangzhou.
Unlike a host of leaders who arrived ahead of him, Mr Obama was deprived of the traditional red-carpet walk off the plane on Saturday after Chinese officials failed to provide a rolling staircase to Air Force One.
And as Mr Obama made his entrance to China via a little-used door in his plane’s belly, there were heated altercations between Chinese and US officials after American reporters were not allowed to watch the President disembark.
When a White House aide complained about the situation a Chinese official shouted back, “This is our country! This is our airport!”
The New York Times‘ Mark Landler, who was part of the US delegation, described the treatment on arrival in China as “bruising”.
Landler said after the airport confusion and confrontation, “there were further surprises” when Mr Obama met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the West Lake State House.
“White House aides, protocol officers and Secret Service agents got into a series of shouting matches over how many Americans should be allowed into the building before Mr. Obama’s arrival,” he said. “There were fears the confrontation would become physical.”
Watch the airport altercation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lmgO0VY3N4
Mr Obama later said the altercations between the US and Chinese officials should not be overblown.
“I wouldn’t overcrank the significance” of the tensions, he told a media conference on Sunday.
Former Mexican ambassador to China, Jorge Guajardo, however, was in no doubt that the reception offered to the US delegation was well calculated by the Chinese.
“These things do not happen by mistake. Not with the Chinese,” Mr Guajardo told The Guardian.
“I’ve dealt with the Chinese for six years. I’ve done these visits. I took Xi Jinping to Mexico. I received two Mexican presidents in China. I know exactly how these things get worked out. It’s down to the last detail in everything. It’s not a mistake. It’s not.”
Seamless multi leader events China has hosted in past: Olympics, APEC, Boao, Africa Summit, they know how to do it. No room for mistakes.
— Jorge Guajardo (@jorge_guajardo) September 4, 2016
The tarmac row even prompted an uncharacteristically sarcastic tweet by a US spy agency.
“Classy as always China,” read the Defence Intelligence Agency tweet, which linked to a New York Times article about the incident.
The post was quickly deleted, but not before the Wall Street Journal noticed the snark.
The agency later tweeted its apology: “Earlier today, a tweet regarding a news article was mistakenly posted from this account and does not represent the views of the DIA. We apologise.”
The DIA’s tweet was posted after a tarmac row between US and Chinese officials. Photo: Twitter
South China Sea tensions
One of the key factors behind the strained US-Chinese relations came to the fore later during talks between Mr Obama and Mr Xi.
President Obama and President Xi held “candid” talks over the South China Sea. Photo: AP/AAP
Mr Obama urged China to abide by its obligations under an international treaty in its activities in the South China Sea.
The White House said in a statement that Mr Obama “reaffirmed that the US will work with all countries in the region to uphold the principles of international law, unimpeded lawful commerce, and freedom of navigation and overflight”.
In July, an international tribunal ruled against Chinese claims to historic rights in the South China Sea.
China dismissed the ruling and said it would defend its interests in the area.
The White House said Mr Obama emphasised “the importance for China, as a signatory to UNCLOS, to abide by its obligations under that treaty, which the United States views as critical to maintaining the rules-based international order”.
Chinese media reports on the meeting between Mr Obama and Mr Xi reportedly made no mention of any discussion about the South China Sea.
Last week Mr Obama ordered the guided missile destroyer USS Lassen to sail within 12 nautical miles of two artificial islands China has constructed in the South China Sea’s Spratly archipelago.
A sail through the South China Sea by the USS Lassen last week has heightened US-China tensions. Photo: US Navy
The move is part of an ongoing strategy of sail through and fly overs that are designed to reinforce the free right of way in the South China Sea.
The USS Lassen sail through resulted in China’s Executive Vice Minister Zhang Yesui summoning US Ambassador Max Baucus to voice Beijing’s displeasure.
The Chinese foreign ministry said on its website that the US had acted in defiance of repeated Chinese objections and had threatened China’s sovereignty and security.
