China Rapidly Modernizes for War With U.S.

Newsmax ^ | August 2004 | Alexandr Nemets

[U S Army EOD]

We needed you 60 years ago to plan the defense of Pearl Harbor.

[anonposter]

Perhaps Harry S. Truman should not been afraid of Josef Stalin (even though he had already tested the first Russian atomic bomb) and let Douglas MacArthur to nuke China, when the Chinese entered North Korea to help fighting the Americans.

[lentulusgracchus]

That was Saddam's dress rehearsal for the Gulf War. During the latter, he got close only once, when a Chinese-built Silkworm (SS-2 "Styx"/"Samlet" knockoff) locked onto a U.S. BB but was intercepted and destroyed by a Sea Dart fired from an escorting Royal Navy destroyer. (Sea Dart was a miserable flop during the Falklands War, when British commanders learned to rely instead on their Sea Wolf anti-missile missiles to intercept Argentine raids, but it performed like a champ nine years later during the Gulf War. Persistence pays.)

[lentulusgracchus]

Erratum: SS-N-2, not SS-2, for "Styx".

[shaggy eel]

While they will threaten Taiwan with various acts, they won't invade because of the implications for their trade based economy.

,,, maybe, maybe not. They've left Hong Kong alone to a greater extent than I envisaged they would. They'll get a lot of mileage out of trade if they leave Taiwan alone too. What has to be watched is the build up in the Panama canal area and the Bahamas, along with the alliances being forged in South America.

[stefanbc]

.....what China will probably continue to do is proliferate weapons all over the world to rouge nations and use it's superior military as a negotiating point to get trade concessions and territorial concessions. The United States needs to have the strongest possible military to thwart these efforts and have leverage with China.
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Yes, this is certainly true as others have noted- they are going to "incrementally" increase their political, economic, and military pressure and influence everwhere they can- just like us. But I'm not buying the many assertions on this thread they are either stoopid or suicidal. Folks who assert this do not know the Chinese M.O. and are basing their fears on, possibly, our experience with Soviet style communism. Again, China has NO history of foreign aggression. None. It's all talk, bluff and incremental increase of pressure. They are NEGOTIATING the new geo-political world order- and if we are not smart they will screw us royally and continue to get what they want without a fight. Think Klinton.....

>Once China is completely under the spell of capitalism (and it is close now) I think that China will become more and more similar to us - in that our best interests (selfishly) are seeing other countries prosper and remain peaceful in order to enrich ourselves from the increased trade.

The more capitalist China becomes the more it will be in it's interest to keep the world safe to keep the prosperity of the it's citizens at what they are used to. Businessmen are already proliferating throughout the Communist party structure and they will (again, selfishly) try to leverage the party to gain profit for themselves, which requires the country remain at peace.
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Again, I agree with this. Chinese only start war with their weaker neighbors. At the moment we have ALL SEVEN OF OUR CARRIER BATTLEGROUPS OFF TAIWAN. Message to China: Hands off Taiwan or else suckers. Will they gamble now or later that we are bluffing? They do not like gambling.

[AntiGuv]

France is a rouge nation; China is a rogue nation. There's a difference..

[stefanbc]

The 'other message' to China is: Bush better come home safe from Chile

[stefanbc]

France is a rouge nation; China is a rogue nation. There's a difference..
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BIG difference..... LOL!

[Terpfen]

I can think of plenty.

Food: grocery stores such as Publix (in Florida.)

Electronics: Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, or various online stores (there are plenty of good ones with prices are lower than Wal*Mart's, and the Chinese aren't in the business of selling PC components.)

Clothing: hit the mall. Don't buy from The Gap or other such designer stores, but stick with the department stores and you'll be alright.

Furniture: I've yet to see a couch with "made in China" on the back.

Home supplies: Home Depot and Lowe's. Don't need Wal*Mart's tool isle.

The great thing is that all of these stores are usually within a few minutes' drive of each other, traffic considered. Pretty much all I buy at Wal*Mart these days are pencils, pens, and the occasional small CD rack.

[nmh]

Food won't be from China but you are fooling yourself on the other items and stores you mention.

[Stratman]

Latin America should be our backyard. We should have a free trade zone from the top of Canada to the tip of South America. NAFTA is successful for both sides of the border. Mexico has developed a strong export trade with us that has increased a great deal, and American professionals have markets in Mexico. I realize Bush has Been occupied in other areas, but a President should be able to multi-task.

I had forgotten about Hong Kong entirely. Buy you are right. Hong Kong provides China with financing.

[Happy2BMe]

Thanks for the ping. It's difficult to accept, but what we are doing with the trade imbalance is buying China the weapons it will need to bury us with.

[shaggy eel]

,,, european countries are buying Chinese debt big time and a fair amount of that is transacted thru Hong Kong. Hong Kong has acted very successfully as China's buffer with the west for decades, until China started opening up. Associations made in Hong Kong have provided immeasurable benefits for east and west. If China leaves it the way it is they'll be doing a smart thing.

[Stratman]

I think China realizes that. If I remember correctly, China has attempted a few minor crack-downs and had been majorly rebuffed. The bottom line is money talks.

[Kevin OMalley]

OK, I stand corrected. But the incident does still further my point that it is relatively easy to disable a ship at sea. There aren't many places to duck. And unfortunately for nuclear carriers, the bigger the target, the harder to hide.

This next decade could be known as the "China Decade", where we first bleed jobs to China, then we pour real blood.

[Terpfen]

Like I said, I've yet to see a couch that comes with a "made in China" sticker.

[TheForceOfOne]

Threaten to jam their airwaves 24/7 with Air America Radio and drop photos of Al Franken until they meet our demands. I know its harsh but its time to play tuff! lol

[Porterville]

I like the odds. If they want a fight, let's kick their ass. Game over.

[B4Ranch]

>>It's difficult to accept, <<

Why? I see a few other things where we are comitting suicide by continuing them.

Intentionally? Probably so.