[section9]

We enter interesting times. The Chicoms kept this clown around just long enough to put a monkey wrench into their ambitions.

The central thrust of Chinese grand strategy has been to dominate the Western Pacific both militarily and politically. This cannot be done is Japan is provoked into naval rearmament. The combination of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and the Japanese Combined Fleet is a mountain that no Chinese leader can hope to climb.

The Chinese are not happy. If the Koreans keep going on like this, Japan's rearmament will be a foregone conclusion.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[struggle]

Over here the only real protest against re-arming Japan is from the Japanese Communist and Labor partys (Kyosanto and Shakaito) the others seem to have no opinion but are probably for it. The real problem is that Japan has still to wake up from it's "everything is peaceful" attitude. People lately have been alluding to it on the politics shows, but there is also a heavy feeling of dependance on America. I hope Japan re-arms as well, because the structure of their government precludes them becoming a "bad" government again. We'll see.

[Paul Ross]

Yes. The more they rattle their sabers, the less the like the results from the GWB administration. Not at all what they expected.