Posted on 06/21/2004 12:55:23 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Excellent Answer...you nailed it.
"They eyeball Japan and and oil and mineral reserves of the souhthern Pacific. What was it called when the Japanese did it? The Great Asian Co-prosperity Sphere or sumpin' like that. Same thing. Also, the Chinese have not forgotten WWII like we have."
And the Chinese could afford to put million man armies in places like the Phillipenes and Indonesia to serve as occupation forces. They could put 10 million in Japan.
"Taiwan is unfinished business for the mainland."
Deserves to be repeated.
Interesting scenario on Japan, which brings this question: How would China react if Japan announced it was going full out to re-arm.
What scares China more - a large Japanese navy, a giant expenditure on fighter aircraft or re-invigorating a few dozen divisions of samurai grunts?
Does Japan have a defense treaty with Taiwan?
How might Japan react to an invasion of Taiwan by China? Simple hand wringing or might the Japanese invade the Sprattley Islands and throw the ChiComs out??
I know I'm asking you to play crystal ball wizard, but it's always interesting to speculate.
Don't forget the the Spratleys(?). The PRC has an interest all along the Pacific Rim and into the Indian Ocean. All the geopolitical stuff is important. The point I was making was that ideology trumps everything else in a communist/socialist environment.</p>
Have you priced any steel or concrete lately?
China is hurting us, bad. The prices of commodities is going through the roof, and there's no end in sight.
It's called "war", and the goal is to win.
China has been quite frank about their ultimate intentions toward the west, and we ignore them at our own peril.
Given that a sizeable chunk of the US electorate is wearying of the commitment to Iraq (already), I think the US defense commitment to Taiwan is in serious question.
It seems pretty clear that China is manipulating the North Korean crisis to their advantage. Any move against Taiwan will probably come after a military confrontation on the Korean Penninsula.
Its supply and demand. The Chinese are buying more stuff than they used to as they move to Capitalism.
A unified Asia taken by force and or the threat of it?
The Chicoms have a bit more in their plans when and if they attack Taiwan.
Expect S Korea and other Asian countries to follow.
How does our Navy defend against an attack that consists of a call from Peking to all COSCO ships, ordering them to turn around?
I give us 30 days of non-supply from China before we're on our knees.
We've exported our manufacturing infrastructure. We have placed ourselves at the mercy of our avowed foe. We have made ourselves dependent on an enemy for our very survival.
We are fools, and China has been laughing all the way to the bank.
So, what will our Navy do? Mount an antiblockade?
Hint: There ain't no such thing.
China isn't moving to capitalism. They're merely engaging in strategic socialism.
The west has blinded itself, dead set on proving Lenin's rope theory correct.
It is war. And as long as only the aggressor realizes that it's war (rather than "commerce"), the more certain the outcome will end up in their favor.
You can't make this sh!t up.
That's unlikely - the Free Trade Kool-Aid tastes too great.
That is the real issue at stake is pride. Would they start a war over it? I don't think so. If China was ever to start a major war, they would invade the middle east. Their demand for energy is a compelling factor.
It would be a lot easier to defeat the Chinese in the Pacific then it would be to prevent them from overrunning the Middle East.
Japan already has over 200 nuclear weapons ready for final assembly, according Jane's I think.
The jihadists which we are battling today are merely the pawns of the PLA - for money. Note the increased need for oil as well as the proximity to the ME oil fields - China is only one nation away from owning real estate in the ME. That is the explanation for China's investments in Pakistan, and an additional incentive for why we are in Iraq - to keep China out of the ME. The al Qeada are only "Hired guns" if you will, to keep China's deniability and the PLA out of the fight until we are attrited. Laugh all you want at that idea, but in the end you'll see that is true.
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