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While U.S. is distracted, China develops sea power
Washington Post ^ | Sept. 26, 2010 | Robert D. Kaplan

Posted on 09/27/2010 4:16:04 AM PDT by nuconvert

The greatest geopolitical development that has occurred largely beneath the radar of our Middle East-focused media over the past decade has been the rise of Chinese sea power. This is evinced by President Obama's meeting Friday about the South China Sea, where China has conducted live-fire drills and made territorial claims against various Southeast Asian countries, and the dispute over the Senkaku Islands between Japan and China in the East China Sea, the site of a recent collision between a Chinese fishing trawler and two Japanese coast guard ships.

-excerpt-

China has the world's second-largest naval service, after only the United States. Rather than purchase warships across the board, it is developing niche capacities in sub-surface warfare and missile technology designed to hit moving targets at sea. At some point, the U.S. Navy is likely to be denied unimpeded access to the waters off East Asia. China's 66 submarines constitute roughly twice as many warships as the entire British Royal Navy. If China expands its submarine fleet to 78 by 2020 as planned, it would be on par with the U.S. Navy's undersea fleet in quantity, if not in quality. If our economy remains wobbly while China's continues to rise -- China's defense budget is growing nearly 10 percent annually -- this will have repercussions for each nation's sea power. And with 90 percent of commercial goods worldwide still transported by ship, sea control is critical.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: china; chinesenavy; navy
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To: Cringing Negativism Network

I believe that the US is more than capable of winning the “free trade war.” We, however, have been fighting it very stupidly so far. Our nation’s strengths are severely hampered by our government’s efforts to extract revenue to perpetuate itself.

If we had a government that was truly interested in bettering the lot of its citizens, it would scrap the Internal Revenue code, the collection bureaucracy of the IRS, and repeal the 16th Amendment in favor of a National Retail Sales Tax - also known as the Fair Tax.

This would remove the taxation shackles from American manufacturing and businesses freeing them to focus on what they do best rather than on staving off the tax beast. Businesses would no longer need the tax accountants and wouldn’t need to do business in ways that minimize taxes rather than maximize efficiency.

Our citizens would also no longer need to spend the government estimated 8 hours (it took me over 40 hrs of work last year) to figure out how much Uncle Scam will steal from them each year. They can pay their Federal taxes in the same way that they pay their state level taxes - at the cash register when they buy new goods and services.

What corporation would not want to locate here when that is implemented? Unemployment will decrease, freedom will increase, and the ruling class will be greatly reduced in power.


21 posted on 09/27/2010 5:57:30 AM PDT by stefanbatory (Insert witty tagline here)
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To: Thrownatbirth
My Dad who was a sub driver pointed out that the US Navy has control of all the choak points. We have listening stations off of Iceland, south Africa, pretty much ever where. If a fork gets dropped on a chinese sub, we know it. I can remember back during the cold war, my dad's bosses were worried that the Russians couldn't be that stupid because we were tracking every one of their noisey subs. They thought they must have been putting a steel bar between the engine and the hull then pull the bar out and go silent when the balloon went up. Turns out they were just stupid and couldn't make a good submarine. Same thing is happening with china. China may fight India, may fight Russia, but it will be on land. Taiwan has nothing to worry about.
22 posted on 09/27/2010 6:08:20 AM PDT by Delacon ("The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." H. L. Mencken)
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To: Delacon

“our subs and our navy’s aircraft carriers would deliver more ordnance in that hour to make the bombing of Tokyo seem like a picnic.”

Provided that it is approved by our CIC.


23 posted on 09/27/2010 6:12:21 AM PDT by Rebelbase (Political correctness in America today is a Rip Van Winkle acid trip.)
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To: nuconvert
The U.S. is not distracted. It is occupied by Domestic Terrorist who run rampant in DC and eventually all across the Country.

They call themselves DEMOCRATS.

24 posted on 09/27/2010 6:20:23 AM PDT by wmileo
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To: Rebelbase

Actually I think the pacific rim is mostly protected by law. We have treaties and bases in Australia, the Phillipines, Korea and Japan. We have congressional level laws that we are duty bound to protect all of them. If China wants to make a fuss, which they wont, we have a navy that will easily turn them into fish bait.


25 posted on 09/27/2010 7:24:09 AM PDT by Delacon ("The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." H. L. Mencken)
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To: nuconvert

I don’t think we are distracted as much as we are engaged in self destruction by design ...


26 posted on 09/27/2010 7:25:16 AM PDT by Scythian
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To: nuconvert

The Bush/Clinton/Bush/Obama administrations have been systematically cutting back on Naval and Coast Guard assets.

The chief of Naval Operations, ADM Roughead started pushing the insane idea of a ‘1000’ ship navy, 5 or 6 years ago.

The 1000 ships of course aren’t US ships but ships of other nations, like India for example, so we don’t need to keep our fleet up. In fact we are below 300 ships at this time.

Our ship building businesses have been decimated by the ‘free traitors’ in the white house and congress. Our merchant marine is gone because of them. Our navy is just about gone because of them.

The ‘free traitors’ are so beholden to China they are doing everything in their power to destroy our military and empower China’s.


27 posted on 09/27/2010 7:34:45 AM PDT by hedgetrimmer
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To: wmileo

You are only partially correct.

The globalist free traitors which includes the two Bush administrations and the Clinton administration are behind the decline of our Navy and our military strength around the world. Free traitor globalists included Democrats, Republicans, and socialists in and out of both the parties.


28 posted on 09/27/2010 7:38:53 AM PDT by hedgetrimmer
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To: Delacon

You mean the Law of the Sea treaty? It dis-empowers the United States making us weak and unable to defend ourselves. Pushed by both Bush administrations, and Clinton, it took Obama illegally enact the treaty by utilizing the Executive Branch to implement it.

The globalist free traitors have won.


29 posted on 09/27/2010 7:41:53 AM PDT by hedgetrimmer
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To: nuconvert


While U.S. is distracted, China develops sea power

It’s not distraction.
It’s kow-towing and purposeful ignorance...bordering on treason on
the parts of Bubba Clinton and Obama.


30 posted on 09/27/2010 7:51:44 AM PDT by VOA
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To: hedgetrimmer

No, I was talking about the the myriad treaties, including the one where we are obligated to go to war with China if they try to invade Taiwan. As for the Law of the Sea treaty, dont get me started. Just do a FR search for Delacon and LOST. I have been an opponent of it since it reared its ugly head.


31 posted on 09/27/2010 8:01:41 AM PDT by Delacon ("The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." H. L. Mencken)
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To: nuconvert
Alarmist articles like this are so stupid. Really they are. China is 23 times larger than Britain in population and nearly three times her economy. And her economy could reach 5 times by 2020. And 10 times by 2030 and possibly 20 times by 2040.

China has a growing military because she is edging a little closer to her economic potential every year. I'm willing to bet, that in the next half century, China, ON A PER CAPITA basis, will not reach the military spending of what Britain and France (and I'm not evening mentioning the US) did during the peak years in post WWII.

Look at the raw statistics and compare with the size of China's population, economy, etc. China is doing nothing out of the ordinary for a country her size. Everything she has, the quantities, the expeditures, the research, etc. speaks of a peace time budget.

32 posted on 09/28/2010 12:24:25 PM PDT by ponder life
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