Posted on 02/08/2013 11:59:35 AM PST by blam
Two Chilling Developments Suggest Asia May Be One Step Away From War
Robert Johnson
February 8, 2013, 9:38 AM
China and Japan, along with North and South Korean troops at the DMZ, appear one step away from armed combat and tensions don't look likely to ease any time soon.
New developments within both regions illustrate how close to open combat the four countries are, and how quickly one incident could expand to war among very powerful nations.
Tokyo reported two January events where Chinese naval vessels targeted its East China Sea forces with fire-control radar. This specific type of radar is used almost exclusively to assist guided weapons systems in their flight toward a target. It's an unmistakable action that can be the first step to open combat, and was taken seriously enough by the Japanese captain to prompt a combat alert aboard his vessel.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded to the allegations by saying it hadn't heard about the engagements until news of the events appeared on international news. It has since said that the event didn't happen and is a total Japanese fabrication. Whether it's true or not China is using Japan's claim to prove Tokyo is preparing for war.
If Chinese ships did engage their fire-control radar, it may be in Beijing's interest to deny it because either it approved the maneuver, or the ship's captains acted independently. Both scenarios offer a long list of concerns that would be easiest for China to address if avoided entirely.
Japan continues pressing the issue and yesterday announced that the use of fire-control radar against its ships is an "act of force" and a direct UN charter violation."
U.S. Secretary of Defense Panetta is pleading for caution and says, "the situation could ultimately get out of hand."
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
I’d bet my money on the Japanese vs China. The ChiComm apes nearly sunk their carrier when they practiced landings below the waterline. Blub. Blub.
Remember, the hero for the ChiComms is super-pilot Wang Wei who crashed his F-8 (Mig-21) when bozo the clown Wang Wei intercepted the American EP-3E Aries II surveillance aircraft.
Oops. Downed by a wing clip.
The military tigers in Asia, in my opinion, are the Japanese and the South Koreans.
From my experience, the ChiComm apes still haven’t discovered how to a anneal a bolt. The ChiComm manufacturing tolerance on sockets is plus or minus a quarter-inch. Don’t get me started on their crappy socket wrenches that fall apart. And don’t dare ask me about their cheap-ass chop saws unless you want to hear me bitch for two hours. Fourty-five degree angle cuts my butt.
Been buying stuff at Harbor Freight?
I guess I'm getting too old. If a real existential threat arises, which I thought we were talking about, priorities change quickly. They have to. Do people really need the next Iphone? I mean NEED IT, as in they will die if they don't have it?
Maybe 90% of cheap consumer goods aren't made here. I think people, and yes even the economy, can do without cheap Chinese crap while production transitions. Necessity is the mother of invention.
“Been buying stuff at Harbor Freight? “
LOL! Good comeback.
Actually, it goes beyond Harbor Freight and Wal-Mart.
I prowl flea markets markets, looking for 1950s American-made steel bolts and screws. It gets frustrating as hell torquing down a bolt on a 400 hp motor and the bloody head of a ChiComm bolt snaps off. Grrrr!
I appreciate your measured humor.
There are two vital inputs that a 21st century industrial society cannot do without. Food and energy. North America is absolutely awash in both. By rights the US and Canada should become the number 1 and 2 oil exporting nations on earth. Let business build the pipelines and the ports and the refineries. Let people drill and produce the energy that lies at our feet. Given enough food and energy, and we have enough of both, North America can weather any storm, and win any war.
We should not fear the Chinese. They should fear us.
With John Kerry as Sec. of State I feel much safer. I am sure the Un can keep the peace between the two. The war could get messy if it should get going. What did Hitler say? Going to war is like walking into a dark room, one never knows what you will bump into—or words to that effect in German. If war comes—it will not last long—and Obama will have the USA neutral as China has Neutered us with debt.
You can bet the same Free Trade Communists who support Free Trade w Communist China will try to suck up to the Communist China....and try to make Japan the bad guy
Also, this would be a good time to boost tariffs on Communist Chinese products....we need to encourage and motivate companies to manufacture in the US again. It would be stupid to continue a Free Trade policy with a country that will have its production slowed and altered if they are in any protracted war
And, for US National Security reasons, too, we need the production back in the USA, not Communist China
But, I am sure the usual Free Trader Communists who support Free Trade with Communist China will have some spin on this
:)
Maybe this is why Washington is claiming they can't afford to refuel the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). "Gee, sorry Japan, we just don't have enough carriers on-line to help you right now." I wonder how many more obama will take out of service.
I wish that were true but we have closed down so many factories, we are not allowed to extract natural resources, we don't have many steel mills anymore, obama is keeping us dependent on foreign oil, we have raised a generation of uneducated idiots that never did grasp American excptionalizm. We are soooo screwed.
I spend half a day looking for US made drill bits. Finally found them, didn’t cost much more than name brand made in china to “exacting standards”. Never had a drill bit bend until “made to exacting standards” in China came along.
Went to Harbor Tools today and just could not buy anything. Mostly just shiny junk.
“I spend half a day looking for US made drill bits. Finally found them...+
I hear you. It’ s tough to pick out real bits from of a pile at the flea market.
It takes knowledge. Good bits were quenched at the right temperature and you can read the proper color. Most tools today are crap. I’m in the middle of trading out my box wrench set for older American steel. Those were tools forged to last 100 years. I’m going to leave them to my niece. If she needs to throw them at some a-hole, they’ll hurt like hell. That’s what American steel used to be about.
I wish that were true...
The fact that the Chinese don't make anything we can't do without or make ourselves is, obviously, true. Once again, they don't sell us food or energy.
...we have closed down so many factories...
Correct. Thousands of factories in the US have closed to avoid high labor costs and regulation. Those factories and the jobs they represent went to China to take advantage of cheap labor and no regulation. This was encourage by granting China MFN status. The solution is easy. Get rid of big labor's stranglehold on industry, this is happening now. Revoke China's MFN status, you cannot have free trade with a country whose wage rates are a fraction of yours. Finally, a wholesale change in government that, basically, closes down the EPA and the Department of Labor.
...we are not allowed to extract natural resources...
And that, sir, is an utter crime. Politicians who block citizens from reaping the wealth that lies beneath their feet should be expunged.
That has already happened. Do you know the percent of the PRIVATE sector workforce that is unionized? I'll answer for you, it is less than 6%. So there is a 94% chance that the jobs outsourced were NON-UNION.
A decade ago, I would have agreed with your bravado.
Now I am starting to become concerned. I believe there is some validity to your confidence.
However now a huge portion of Americans are becoming used to buying things we never made. Moreso all the time. That is new, and very troubling.
We need to stop importing everything. We need to raise import taxes, and start producing things in America once again.
Now.
Apple already is expanding production outside China. Brazil is a major production site. Goal seems full independence from any particular country.
The post I was referring to cited the steel industry in particular. This industry is highly unionized.
Please don't tell me that unions have not contributed to the decline of industry in North America. I have been observing the machinations of the UAW/CAW, teacher's unions et. al. for my entire life. The decline of the "big 3" auto makers is due to the rapacious demands of the UAW/CAW and a short sighted management that gave in to these demands. Many other industries looked at this example and responded by setting up shop in China.
...Americans are becoming used to buying things we never made...
Maybe, although I would like some examples of this. In any case I am very confident that ANYTHING the Chicoms make can be produced in North America. The quality will be better too.
We need to stop importing everything.
Yes.
We need to raise import taxes
No, absolutely not. That said, I would advocate revoking MFN status from China, which would, in effect raise tariffs on Chinese goods. China does not deserve MFN status.
I'll answer, about 7 percent of the MSRP covers the labor involved in manufacturing. So a car that retails for $20,000 if built by slaves would cost $18,500. Cheaper yes but not astronomically cheaper. I am not defending unions, just trying to get you to understand the magnitude of the problem. It isn't as bad as you make it out to be. As far as PUBLIC sector unions go, they should be illegal.
I live in a city dominated by the CAW and union politicians. With respect, seriously, you sound like a union "economist". I would really like to see your reference for that 7% figure.
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