Posted on 08/09/2004 7:17:38 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
/begin my translation
People's Liberation Army(PLA) of China practiced river-crossing using pontoon-bridge last month at Yalu river, Japanese Sankei Daily reported on 8th (of August), quoting RENK(Rescue The North Korean People), an organization for helping N. Korean escapees.
PLA practiced installing 10 sections of pontoon bridges, which are 5~7m wide, 20~30m long. The installed bridges stretched to the middle of the river where the border lies, starting from a shore, which is 30 minute drive upstream from Dandong, Liaoliang Province, a border city of China. The training had been going on for two weeks since the early July. It is estimated that 1,000 men were involved (in the training), according to Sankei (Daily.)
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The pontoon bridge installed recently by PLA for river-crossing exercise at Sino-N. Korean border. A member of Japanese organization for helping N. Korean escapees(Rescue The North Korean People:RENK), took this picture from inside a car and got it published. |
It is unusual that PLA conduct such training at the Sino-N. Korean border. It is viewed as a measure to beefing up border security related to N. Korean escapees. However, some argue that this is a way of pressuring N. Korea to give up nukes.
Since China transferred the security of the border area from People's Armed Police to PLA, PLA's border security unit must have been the one conducting the exercise, Sankei (Daily) reported.
/end my translation
Anyway, Chinese river-crossing exercise is a provocative move. However, if Chinese had wanted to give a real good impression, they should have done it on a much larger scale, including heavy armors, paratroopers, and air cover.
Some in S. Korea have begun to worry that Chinese will invade to oust Kim Jong-il and install a pro-Chinese regime in N. Korea while grabbing a chunk of N. Korean territory. We will see what the real Chinese intention is.
Maybe our next major militaty execercise should be on the Rio Grande.
Ping!
China wants NK to get on the stick and quit making waves. The more NK messes up, the more money China stands to lose.
You can bet that if they cross again, it will not be in S. Korea's or America's interest.
Despite all the manuevering and claims to the contrary, I still believe N. Korea is China's surrogate in the area and that all the other is a product of Sun Tzu philosophy...All warfare is deception.
China neutralizes NK and America allows China to absorb Taiwan like Hong Kong?
You just nailed it. NK does nothing without the PRC's approval.
Border troops wouldn't have organic heavy bridging capability. This exercise had support from much higher up.
The downside is that the occupation would not be that unpopular. PRC communism (where you don't starve to death and have to resort to canibalism) in NK would delay the Reunification of Korea for decades. From the American viewpoint it is a pragmatic solution that we could live with. The South Koreans will be devastated but that is the price they must pay for their appeasement and dovish policies. The only people who lose out who don't deserve it are the Japanese.
Turning our backs on South Korea.. not to mention Taiwan and Japan would get figidity about the U.S. letting the Chinese grab land.
You want Japan to build some nukes? Let the Chinese take an aggressive move against anyone.
Thanx
If it's preparation for anything in particular, it's preparation to respond to a U.S. move to destabilize or invade the DPRK. It's not a threat to the DPRK from the PRC.
A Chinese blitzkrieg into NK to 'prevent' a nuclear confrontation between the psychotic NK regime and the rest of the world would be in China's best interest economically and strategically. China has serious race issues with the thousands of North Korean refugees flooding into the Middle Kingdom and this act would assuage the xenophobic fears of the average Chinese. I don't see the US giving a crap about NK getting its' butt whooped at someone elses' expense. Frankly, it would likely speed up reunification of the Koreas as China would immediately open the border between the North and South as a potential trade route for China. Taiwan would be affected only so much as if China uses the invasion of NK to practice a blue-water amphibious operation into NK. Then we could assume the invasion of NK is a dress rehearsal for an invasion of Taiwan. Further, I don't see China invading Taiwan during the Bush administration but I see it as a huge threat with Kerry in the Oval Office. Kerry would almost certainly give the PRC carte blanc on such a thing.
"If China invaded NK under the auspices of taking out the WMD and Nukes, Bush wouldn't have a leg to stand on to criticize the invasion."
***
That depends entirely on what China's intentions are. To my knowledge, NK has not threatened China. They may threaten us because they know they can easily sway the opinions of the Soccer Mom Brigades and other "War Is Bad For Children and Other Growing Things" types. It's safe to say at the very least that there are no soccer moms in Red China.
Therefore China can't say with any credibility that NK is threatening them with terrorist attacks because China doesn't have the handicap of squishy or squeamish public opinion to prevent them from vaporizing NK and NK knows it.
Only the soccer-mommish types would believe that China would be subscribing to the Bush Doctrine.
The other motivations are:
1) NK is screwing up our trade agreements and relations in general with the U.S.
2) We need more land for our people.
3) Variation on #2 -- we want to annex South Korea too.
This is China's way of telling us to stay out of Taiwan.
ping
Correctomundo! [But few here have a clue ... I am glad you DO! Thanks! ]
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