This is a better place, I think, to voice my concerns over the remarkable recent expansion of China in many areas, and what it may mean. The former Soviet Union pales by comparison I think, because China is basing every move that it makes on ECONOMICS (which Japan in the post WW II era realized quickly was simply another area for the philosophy of Sun Tzu to be applied)

This also follows modern concepts of what "Politics Conducted by Other Means" can be interpreted to be, in a purely Carl von Clauswitzian perspective...

"It is not necessary to destroy an opponent" - indeed, that is poor forward looking. But in a war scenario what you want to do is weaken and subsume the infrastructure of an opponent to your own advantage.

The ideal outcome is an opponent whose assets become your own. Preferably intact...

But anyway, China is now expanding far beyond anything ever seen before. They also hold the mortgage on the US National Debt (!)

And now they are building BRAND NEW LAND in the Spratly Islands, using Atolls as places to dredge soil and coral into.

This is not some wild late night garbage from AM Coast to Coast, it's actual. And I think I don't know enough about it yet - so I am asking for commentary here.

This is an interview from earlier this year:


I think it's important to see that video (even if it might seem tedious) ALL THE WAY TO THE END....

The sense I get from it is that while the FORMER Soviet Union were Chess Fans -
CHINA prefers seven card stud, and occasionally BLACKJACK


What this is going to mean is on the floor now. Please participate in a cool and rational manner

 

More recently:



GO Chucky VEE!!! (It's one of my favorite ships)

But this also points to a delicate balance amid heightened tensions

This is a much more professional and on-point video:


I know, a lot of it is flight deck ops and crew dogs. Most of us on those carriers have no idea where we are going or why. But those are MY GUYS! (and Girls)

The big picture is somebody else's problem, and you just have to trust whoever that is...

 

Good flight ops video Dutch. Brings back the smell of JP...
I esp liked seeing the new EA-18G Growlers tooling around. They're using the same jammer pods as the EA-6Bs did, of course, a good system and now more computerised with 2 crewmen instead of four. I've gotta' read up on how their ECM effectiveness compares to the Prowlers

China has a cohesive, long-term plan, and they will eventually be able to kick our butts in the South China Sea (aka West Philippine Sea). We're slowly losing smaller allies in WestPac as China's overpowering influence 'coerces' them into trade deals etc. For instance, China and Cambodia recently started joint naval exercises, after Cambodia cancelled exercises with the U.S. after we cancelled the TPP and didn't make a bilateral trade deal.

We've got to get a move-on over there, the previous admin's "turn to the Pacific" wasn't much. Though keeping China from controlling/blocking the merchant transit lanes between the Pacific and Indian Oceans is right in their back yard. I'm afraid our logistics 6,000 miles away against their up-and-coming blue water navy will be impossible to overcome. They've said if we try much, it is war. And "We can take Taiwan in 100 hours" boasted a Chinese general. There's got to be a better way, but countries haven't been able to figure one out in what, 10,000 years.

 

Following is more scavenged speculation - sounds like more than one use an Artificial Voice Software for commentary

 

My background in the "on call" department has me more focusing on how China has kinda boxed themselves into a corner with the whole DPRK thing. Korean war part 2 breaks out and China has to choose between supporting their neighbor they've always taken care of or the whole economics thing since imports would be shut off if we were shooting at each other. Pretty sure our allies would shut them off economically too.

If they are going to focus so much on economics, they're going to have to reign young Kim in. Problem is, they can't do that without seeming like a puppet of the USA now that we have a POTUS moving assets in place to counter the missile launches.

I see China as the new cold war games we used to play with the Soviet Union. Taken seriously, but we didn't really expect to go head to head with them. Just too much to lose on both sides.

 

I'm still not sure what I think of the entire picture with China. Asia usually sticks together, but all Asian nations are very prideful and don't want anything to do with China as an Overlord. At the same time they have a very long northern border, and I don't think Russia has ever really liked them.

The changes in the former Soviet are still ongoing and evolving, and so also is China's economic situation.

Because China is notorious for stealing technology - nobody really wants to share tech with them, and yet here we are working with the former Soviet Space program...

American Corporations have been getting more and more interested in China, China bought out Cessna and the rights to build HUMMERS, but who really wants a Chinese 182 flying over their house? Their quality of product is to this day highly suspect.

They absolutely CANNOT expand to the north, or to the west. Their attempts to expand into the sea are also highly questionable if not totally absurd.

 

Our hopes of a unified Korea under democracy are real dim. Even with the likely new liberal government winning the election in S. Korea after Park's impeachment. Therefore I'd like China to expand a few miles north right into N. Korea. Not a good solution, but Kim Jong Un is a madman with nukes.

As for China expanding into the sea, they've already done it and say they will continue building fortified islands. Maybe their dream is to build an artificial island perimeter around the South China Sea (aka West Philippine Sea) and treat the area like Russia does the Sea of Okhotsk demarked by the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka. O'course, the SOO doesn't carry half the world's maritime trade like the SCS does between the Pacific and Indian Ocean. Big problems coming.

 

Not if there's a big enough sub-oceanic earthquake. But I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for it.

Still - last time I looked, you have to have permission before you build a (F)ing landfill on property you have no title to!

But after Clinton gave so much away (whether it is proven or not) and the total laxity in the area thanks to the former "Manager in Chief" they think they can get away with it

The UN has been nothing but a suboptimal reserve unit for years, and has effectively castrated itself from what I can see

Essentially there does not seem to be any "WORLD COURT" that anyone involved in the scenario can count on for anything, the Chinese have definitely sent the message that they could care less - but figure forgetting about it also works

 

It's a new world order. China's expansion won't come through military conquests I don't think, it will come through purchases with cash. They've already bought half of hollywierd to help with their advertising.

 

I imagine a lot of that is leveraged through our own national debt

The most bizarre thing about China right now is that they are one of the ONLY nations on earth aside from Switzerland that seems to be on a sound, if not overwhelming financial footing

Can anyone check and verify that?

Japan is also solid. Unfortunately - so are many in the middle east

Q: What nations not only DO NOT owe any other nations right now - but also have huge cash reserves?

EI: "WHO owns WHO?"

~I'll bet the answer isn't to our liking

 

Keep studying. China is leveraged on cash purchases, but at the subprime housing market type expense. Debt compared to GDP is horrific. One hiccup and the house of cards comes crashing down.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-economic-problems-will-come-to-a-head-in-2017-2016-11-23

 

Fascinating video here:


What F350-6 pointed out about the Chinese economy caught me by surprise! I'll be looking around at that now, and there is another aspect of Chinese housing that I've been looking for a video I saw about - that they don't care about upkeep

Found it!!!


Something else though -


Article from the New York Post:
http://nypost.com/2016/05/17/why-us-companies-have-started-fleeing-china/

 

Debt is their approaching storm and our silver lining. As great as China's sovereign wealth is, claimed to be almost $900B, decades of bad gov't d loans to businesses are greater and will have to be absorbed (painfully. *grin*). Look how fast Russia's sovereign wealth evaporated after oil's decline and western sanctions - they're still in recession.

They seem unable to get a handle on a centuries-old culture of corruption (nice alliteration Pelosi), that multiplied by the hundreds, sucks the treasury down and skrews many people. Whole villages often revolt and protest.

Their jimmied stock exchanges open only to Chinese investors 'corrected' last year and took the savings of investors similar to our S&L crunch in the early 90's, on a bigger scale. The Party greatly fears the simmering social unrest.

Xi Jinping is ruling with a velvet-gloved iron hand, is spending money won over ton on the military and infrastructure. He has prosecuted many corrupt officials, after he and his own family became rich on his rise to the top. I guess he knows where the skeletons are.

The other part of the country has great pride and are dedicated believers in the great destiny of China. They are smart and driven. When I read ScienceDaily dot com, half of the PhD's, doctors, and researchers working in our country and universities have Chinese/Taiwanese/Singaporean names. They are rising, proud countries and we have to match them.

 

How's this for twisted: Chinese investors are coming with Xi to meet Trump soon, and one topic is their funding of our infrastructure rebuilding. They have the cash, we don't. But like Chris says, a big hiccup could start the collapse of their economy and its mostly-hidden indebtedness.

Being authoritarian/totalitarian and the state owning most everything, I imagine their landing will be smoother than ours. They can just make many things disappear.

After blocking many foreign investments and businesses in their own country, they hope that they will be treated "fairly" on an even playing field here.

i wrote another book sheesh.

 

See the article in post #12 from the NY Post - US and other nations businesses are pulling out of China like fleas jumping off a burning dog!

Unfortunately, they are late. China has already stolen or appropriated a huge amount of technology and manufacturing processes