Posted on 01/01/2022 7:11:49 PM PST by elpadre
This is the second part of an interview with David Arase, honorary professor at the Asia Global Institute at the University of Hong Kong and resident professor of international politics at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
The first part of the interview appeared under the title “Belt & Road Phase 2 moves beyond infrastructure.” Here we continue with the professor’s assessment of the military aspects of the Belt & Road Initiative.
Q. Africa seems to be the best example of the “military-civil fusion” that (in the words of the US State Department) China sees “as critical to advancing its regional and global ambitions.” Could you elaborate on that?
Let’s start with diplomacy and business.
China engages with Africa via the African Union and the triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which started in 2000. Chinese leaders announce headline African loan initiatives and pose as Africa’s main friend and patron of development.
At the 2018 Forum, China pledged to lend and invest US$60 billion during 2018-20. This largess is parceled out via official bilateral negotiations with 53 of 54 African countries, and 46 of them are official Belt & Road Initiative partners. All of this helps to win solid African support for Chinese policies and initiatives in international forums.
In the past 15 years or so China’s engagement effort has made it Africa’s largest trade partner and largest bilateral lender, and fifth largest investor. The Chinese-built Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway. Photo: Africa Center for Strategic Studies
There are perhaps 10,000 Chinese businesses (mostly small) in Africa and 1-2 million Chinese living there after initially coming as laborers to build projects. In 2018, there were 81,562 African students in China (compared with fewer than 2000 in 2003) and as many as 500,000 Africans living in China.
(Excerpt) Read more at asiatimes.com ...
One of the reasons China controls the UN:
“...In 2020, according to Afrobarometer, 59% of Africans had a positive image of China – outshining the United States’ 58%.
In 2018, the 53 Forum members supported Beijing’s “one-China principle.” In 2020, 22 African countries signed a letter to the UN Human Rights Council supporting China’s policies in Xinjiang, and 25 signed a letter to that council endorsing its National Security Law targeting Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters.
One statistical analysis of UN General Assembly voting found that Africa is the continent that most closely follows China’s voting behavior. Another found that Chinese aid distribution correlates positively with African voting alignment in the UN....”
1-2 million Chinese, mostly healthy young men. A few shipping containers full of weapons opened up at the right time, a few airports and ports seized, and you can get an invasion force in fairly quickly.
“...Today, China has ringed the entire continent with ports located in 28 countries: Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritania, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Morocco, Algeria and Libya....”
this is an informative interview that should be read by everyone.
Africa will chew China up and spit it out. Just like they’ve done to every other country that’s gone in there.
It will be fun to watch.
L
But China doesn’t want or need to invade Africa.
They will partner with local despots, govern through civil-military fusion, strip mine the natural resources they want, and allow the population to shrink through natural means.
Sorry China,
Africa Always Wins
The General Assembly is basically just a suit-and-tie club. No power. They can talk, bluster, make declarations, blow off steam, feel important, live well on their expense accounts. But the GA holds no real power.
What power there is is all vested in the UNSC Perm Five. Back in the 90s we had the cat bird seat, and “the UN was the favorite tool of the US”. There may come a day when China gets that catbird seat if we don’t watch out. And it appears we’re not watching out.
Here we go:
China calls on citizens to leave eastern Congo after attacks
Yes, Africa Always Wins
Just wait until the radical and uncontrolled East Turkmenistan Islamic Movement ..ETIM... gets into China to defend the Uighurs.
Taliban has no control over them.
“....Africa will chew China up and spit it out...”
money talks and a lot of money talks louder. They are already following the Chinese line and voting with them in the UN.
“They are already following the Chinese line and voting with them in the UN.”
And?
L
Poor third world countries can be bought...
Water is wet..
The difference between the way the US 'bought' third world countries and the way China buys them?
Bill and Hillary Clinton and tons of other 'elites' would go to these hellhole countries and offer to give 'a 40 minute speech' for $500,000 - and offers to grease the skids to toss American taxpayer money in their direction. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING FOR OUR COUNTRY OR OUR PEOPLE.
China on the other hand goes there with loans - THAT AREN'T JOKES - THAT CHINA EXPECTS TO BE PAID BACK ON... And the investments make - socially and financially ARE FOR THE BENEFIT OF CHINA...NOT OF SOME STATE DEPARTMENT FLOOZY.
“A few shipping containers full of weapons opened up at the right time, a few airports and ports seized, and you can get an invasion force in fairly quickly.”
Without an adequate logistical supply chain, your invasion force collapses quickly due to a lack of supplies and manpower attrition. This was shown repeatedly in WWII by the Japanese army collapsing piece by piece across the Pacific islands.
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