Posted on 01/06/2002 10:53:20 AM PST by super175
Russia has secured a US$1 billion (HK$7.8 billion) contract to supply China with two modified Sovremenny-class destroyers, a report said.
The announcement, made against the backdrop of an accelerated military build-up by Beijing and Taipei, follows Washington's offer last year of its biggest arms package to Taiwan in a decade - including four Kidd-class destroyers.
Sovremenny destroyers pack more firepower than their older Kidd counterparts. Moscow has already shipped such warships to China, assembled from hulls laid down in the Soviet days.
Itar-Tass news agency said the two new 956-EM vessels were due for delivery in four years and would be an upgrade on the first batch. The warships would be built at the Northern Shipyard company in Russia's second city, St Petersburg.
"Russian designers have managed to significantly improve combat performance of all weapons to be installed on the destroyers ordered by the Chinese Defence Ministry," said Vladimir Yukhnin, who oversaw the modifications.
The report said each new warship would carry one dedicated helicopter. It quoted a government source as saying the value of the deal, signed on Thursday, exceeded US$1 billion.
Jane's Defence Weekly last year reported that Russia was facing difficulties in building the ships as manufacturers of some key components had remained beyond its borders in the wake of the Soviet Union's 1991 break-up.
Russian arms trade officials said late last year that they saw "a huge export potential" for Sovremenny-class destroyers.
China is a leading client for Russian arms manufacturers, which raked in more than US$4 billion in export sales last year.
Russia's lower house of parliament last month ratified a groundbreaking friendship treaty with China which recognised Beijing's sovereignty over Taiwan.
Though China exercises all sorts of discretion when picking and choosing the American technology it steals and the vendors it will allow to take a carefully circumscribed stab at its markets ... I'm sure they're trusting as hell where the Soviets are concerned and don't even notice they're buying schlock armaments, ships and who knows what else.
Sino/Soviet split notwithstanding, of course.
There are disputes overthere. Why do you exclude China from the issue while other countries have occupied the largest islands in the region?
A Chinese monarch 1,500 years ago, with his army a feudal thinking and the whole 9 yards rolled in and militarily conquered some lands and some ethnic people who lived there long before...and forced them to become his subjects.
Because of that event, all Chinese people everywhere now are the sworn superiors to that group of formerly conquered people. That land since then, now belongs to all the Chinese people.
It happened in the Qin, in the Han, and all the way to the Qing.
China still has not gotten over its feudal dictatorship mindset. This whole 'one China' thing is a historical LIE. Chinese history has been dominated by ethnic wars and hui (hui jiang de hui) all trying to conquer each other. They are expansionists and always have been. To them, it is a zero sum game. Either I am in charge or I am subjected to someone.
If anyone or any place had ever been conquered in the past, even 2000 years ago, feudalism still thinks that whoever those people are and whatever place that is, belongs to "zhong guo". China has always been an expansionist colonizing dictatorship.
The CCP better stay inside its 12 mile border. China is still racked with an inferior and uncivilized culture. China is not modern and still plagued with feudalism and colonialism of its own.
You want to know the truth? The British only played by the rules the Chinese set. The British only gave the Chinese rulers some of their own medicine. Under Chinese thinking and rationale, parts of China still belong to the British and they have the right to take those parts whenever they see fit.
China wants nothing more than to continue the cycle. China is not trying to take what is rightfully theirs. They are trying to claim someone else's stuff as their own.
When that is not enough they want the feudally conquered land of the Han, or the Tang, or whoever. Any justification will do.
Of course they have created this situation, the CCP that is.
At all different times in history two or three "China's" existed, all at the same time. The actual size of those dynasties got smaller or bigger on a regular basis. It was/is all about who controlled the land and who subjected the other party.
They also thought of themselves as literally superior to everyone else on earth.
Once you have been conquered by a Chinese emperor, you have been touched by diety, and hence you better recognize your place, and who it is that rules over you forever and ever.
THAT is Chinese culture. Pretty. Isn't it?
Tom Clancy is correct...China will not be a global superpower..for she cannot field a Navy of Global reach.
Modern combat at sea or networked with inter air, inter land battle management requires complex electronic networking...over the Horizon technology...Satillite uplink...information assimilation and computer targetting on wide scale.
Neither the Soviets..nor the Chinese stride in regal splendor here....decades behind they are...their choices in weapons assetes display temporal power..landlocked at best.
Financially they can not keep up...missmanagement of finances..resources and government descision making based on Mental fantasys and Insecurity now catch up with them.
Both do sell weapons via export...maybe ask the Arabs..just how good their product really is.
I'm not sure I understand your post but I like the way it sounds ...
Yes, the civil wars dominated the Chiense history, but they were the wars among Chinese. All wars aimed at unifying China were justified.
>>They are expansionists and always have been. To them, it is a zero sum game. Either I am in charge or I am subjected to someone.
It only happened among Chinese. Basically Han culture was very conservative and self-centered. They didn't expand out of their sphere of influence.
>>China is not trying to take what is rightfully theirs. They are trying to claim someone else's stuff as their own.
That's not true. China lost a huge amount of land to Russia, but China doesn't ask for the return of the land. The Spratly is a different issue and China, like other countries, has the right and historic evidence to claim the islands.
>>In regards to the British, when China gets what they dish out, then it all of the sudden is no fair.
The British were selling opium to Chinese, but China never did that to foreigners.
But I say sell some Perrys and Spruances to Taiwan to see the old Red bastards in Beijing sweat.
THe Han culture is in no way racist. Historically Hans were discriminated agiasnt by conquerers of other ethnic groups, Mongols and Manchus.
>>They also thought of themselves as literally superior to everyone else on earth.
How did you get the impression? The reality is just the other way around. Most Chinese believe foreigners, especially whites, are racists and look down upon Chinese.
TOLD YA
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