China has been getting big for their boots lately - I think that worries me the most.

When you look at the Spratley Islands, there is no logical claim they can have there. Both PI and Nam are within a hundred miles or so, but the closest China shore is 800 miles.

And China is supposedly building Islands out of Atolls in the region. - I'm guessing that if they "BUILD" Chinese land, they expect it will support their claims.

Like they don't have enough real estate already that they are not doing anything productive with...

But the difference between China and the former Soviet Union is that China intends to also take over the world market, and I doubt you will find Chinese workers waiting around tractor factories for parts to arrive




~ a gigantic land filled with Asian people - who would very much like to be US



To me it's plenty obvious that China DOES have the industrial and marine ability to use dredges to create new land where none has ever been - and that they would be foolish indeed not to establish airbases at those sites

But this does not automatically guarantee that they have sovereignty or permission to do so


This is a new and almighty big issue in world affairs


~It's almost enough to make me wish for a tidal wave or a new volcanic disturbance

 

Yes it's a huge deal to us and six? other countries that are closer to the atolls and sandbars that China has dredged, paved and turned into potent military bases. Their war planes are stationed on at least two of those artificial islands, SAM batteries emplaced, with modern naval warships. They're using a lot of our cash to surge military construction and buy influence around the world. China is big in Africa too, making deals to build their infrastructure in return for mining rights.

In Pakistan, China completed the first route of CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) from western China to the Arabian Sea. Chinese engineers are building more infrastructure in Pakistan, and state companies are buying Pakistani companies hand over fist. Because the Islamists don't like China, the Pak Army guards the Chinese workers.

Local opposition is India, which hates China and they've had two or three small border wars since the 1950's. Here's a good article on some of it from a Pakistani paper, 'Dawn'.

China, Pakistan build ties as Beijing splurges on completed CPEC 'Silk Road' trade route to Arabian Sea Feb 3, 2017
http://www.dawn.com/news/1312472/ch...s-build-ties-as-beijing-splurges-on-silk-road

China will soon be a Super Power as they build a modern blue-water Navy and soon-to-be strategic Air Force. Russia and China have closer ties and commercial deals, we may soon return to the Sino-Soviet Pact which is not good for the rest of the world.

Meanwhile we've lost or abandoned most of our bases in Westpac. Though I hope the Philippine's new President Duterte, who cursed Obama, reopens negotiations with Trump to continue our basing at Subic and special forces/Rangers at four PI army bases. The PI has an ongoing war with Islamist Abu Sayyaf down in their southern island jungles.

It's going to be a jarring ride for us around the world, Dutch and we're not going to like it.

 

This is all bad news - way bad, bad, bad... You know it and I know it. The former Soviet Union pales by comparison, because at least the Soviets were chess players.

China is coming on like a bulldozer down main street.

 

Hope for the best on that - China is industrious, nationalistic and cutting edge smart in some things and learning fast, often by cyber or physical theft, in the others. Some of the best doctors, chemists, geneticists etc. in the U.S. are from China and Taiwan. Apparently a fair number of contractor's employees here too, to estimate by the number of espionage busts that quickly drop out of the news. A native-born 1st gen Lt.Cdr turned and was caught out a couple of years ago. China keeps a hold on them, dedicated, and I hope not by family.

In another thread was talking about Westpacs and such with Jim. I started gushing over the airdales when I was a brownshoe (VAQ). A base mostly of A-6s and EA-6s, a VP wing and a VQ. All a part of a good community deployed or onboard. At my final tour, a pal gave a tour of a P-3C Orion to Donna and her dad (He was a gunner in B-24s over N.Africa and Germany in WWII. 35 missions i think he said.... Anyway he really appreciated getting on a warplane again.

Those P-3s are nice, great avionics. And you gotta be a de-gaussed boat or off track to get missed by them.

 

Anyone hear of Clark AB or Angeles city? Heck yeah
I seem to remember something thru the haze of Palawan rum and beer chasers...when i could drag myself from Olongapo or Barrio Baretto.

In good news, we and the Philippine gov't reopened Clark in a small way. I don't know if we're still using it after President Duterte was elected, he said that he wanted foreign troops to leave then made nice with China.

 

They probably had a deal cut with China that we'd refurbish the place, and then they'd hand it to China behind our backs. If China and the PI go to bed together, the South China Sea is finished

Get a load of this:
(I'm also going to post the link in the China discussion)
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/...lans-use-five-new-bases-philippines/82072138/

Funny - you remember all those pre-port call briefs we had to watch telling us not to drink any water from off-base in the PI? And then naturally all those guys in the line outside of medical with the running squirts

I remember being out and about in Magsaysay seeing guys wolfing down pitchers of Mojo and Bullfrog with HUGE chunks of ice in the pitchers - and asking them WTF they thought ICE was made out of?

~GOOD JOB guys... Some things alcohol don't kill.

There should be an informal service ribbon for those of us who like Balut. The magical hard boiled egg with a gigantic yolk -and a sardine inside...

For those stationed around San Diego - you can find Balut in some Fillipino stores around Mira Mesa. You can also sometimes find Quail Eggs at farm stands around northeast Escondido

I used to get Quail Eggs by the basket and hard boil them, then pickle them in brine and hickory smoke flavoring in a gallon jar when I was ashore and had an apartment on Mission Avenue

Don't know if I ever tried Monkey Meat or Dog - probably. If it was on a skewer on a sidestreet grill, I sampled it.

Quote: "I am HONGRY! You buy me chickon!"

 

I hope not. After we were run out, Clark got trashed by people looking for furniture, plumbing and wiring to take. Our five 'new' bases under the former president in that article? The new president Duterte is a nationalist and strict law-and-order-by-any-means-guy who strongly dislikes America. He talks of growing up in the Muslim south and not liking the drunken U.S. troops on liberty, or us finagling to get our people out of their legal system.

( I partied there but never partook in that kind of crap. There were better things to do than cause problems.)

Duterte says China has already beat us in the SCS for failing to stop them building artificial islands - forgetting that for China that means war. Anyhoo, I'm looking now to see if those old base agreements still hold or if he cancelled them. I would really like us to get along with them, he hated Obama but maybe he'll like Trump.

Mojo! That was the mix i was trying to remember. I usually lived in town and have a cast iron system -- the asian bugs only bothered me a couple of times. I had worse after eating leftover cajun food in La.

I couldn't deal with Balut after the first time -- half formed tiny chicken legs did me in mentally.

If you had street BBQ then you had monkey and dog. And the losing roosters too

 

Monkey Pot Pie from the Inn at Spanish Gate was good stuff..........

 

Basic MOJO:
1/2 PINT RUM
1/2 PINT CHERRY BRANDY
1 BEER
1 COKE
1 ORANGE SODA
1 7-UP
1 BIG GLASS OF PINEAPPLE JUICE
BUNCH OF ICE

*makes approx. 1 gallon