The Chinese threat. Real or imagined?

syscom3 · 11-10-2005, 07:11 PM

Lets hear some of your opinions on this. Will the PRC be our foe military wise? Or is it a country thats just going through growing pains and isnt a threat to world stability?

Let me start off by saying I see the country as being in similar straights as Imperial Germany and Japan a century ago. Rapidly modernizing and flexing their power. But, and its a really "BIG" but......they make so much money off of trade to the US, plain old profits over rides any desire to ruin a good thing. You might say that "profits are glorious".

BombTaxi · 11-10-2005, 08:03 PM

I think the threat to the Western bloc (for want of a better phrase), is imagined. As you say, the west does a massive trade with China, and in the fullness of time the relationship will become reciprocal, i.e the west will get things from China as well as selling in that market.The Chinese must be aware that any confrontation will screw this up.

From a British point of view, relations with China are good. The current State Visit is the second in just six years - almost unprecedented in terms of frequency. British papers are also reporting that talks today have led to the signing of contracts with China worth £783 million - so we, at least, are already establishing a mutual flow of business with China. Like I say, I dont think they're gearing up for any attempt to rock the geo-political boat right now.

FLYBOYJ · 11-10-2005, 08:30 PM

I think when they start building platforms to project that power globally, (aircraft carriers, a large deployable army) it's time to worry. They have gotten some modern equipment from Russia and continue to make strides in developing their own technology, but it seems their military concerns center around Asia and Taiwan. Before they think of global expansion, I think they they rather see the whole of the country with a standard of living close to the west...

lesofprimus · 11-10-2005, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Will the PRC be our foe military wise?

If they are, they had better pray its on/over their homeland, cause u know, Americans eat their POW's...

plan_D · 11-10-2005, 09:50 PM

Americans'll eat anythin' you put on their f*ckin' plate.

P38 Pilot · 11-10-2005, 10:06 PM

I think they will be athreat in the future.

Because think about it: They have nukes, N.Korea has nukes, they are expressing power! They might decide to use those as a threat and who knows what those crazy bastards will do. I estimate it will be 2010 between 2020 that the Chinese and possibly the N. Koreans will shown a sign of threat against the US and other allies.

syscom3 · 11-11-2005, 12:05 AM

Many countries in Asia look at the PRC with a weerie eye. On one hand they like the trade beneits with them. On the other, they have had historic disagreements with China, dating back centuries.

As China's economy grows, they will need more natural resources, which would brush up against other competitors claims. For example, something as mundane as fishing rights in the South China Sea in the Spratleys, could trigger "incidents".

Inevitably, China's economy will slow down, causing internal problems. Could that be a trigger to be adventerous?

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 11-11-2005, 07:07 AM

I believe that the Chinese are a threat and will try to project there power in the future. In my opinion what they are doing now is preparing for war. The Chinese want war in my opinion. They want to be what the Soviets once were.

North Korea on the other hand, in my opinion is nothing more than a joke. As my friend who just came from Korea put it, we are not over there protecting the S. Koreans anymore we are there to keep them from attacking the N. Koreans. N. Korea is broke and can not feed its people. There military is in shambles and there people are tired of living in hunger. As soon as whatever his name is dies, I see N. Korean people asking for reunification with the South.

In my belief N. Korea can not sustain a war with the West even if it really wanted to.

Nise Avatar there Les, really like it.

plan_D · 11-11-2005, 09:43 AM

North Korea isn't a threat - the nuclear weapons it claims to have cannot be launched further than the Korean penisuala - it's a flex of muscle that they don't have.

China isn't a threat either - but it's coming close to being one. It's a sleeping dragon at the moment but it could quickly turn sour. I think Japan are right to rearm with nuclear arms, if they eventually choose to do so.

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 11-11-2005, 10:25 AM

I agree with you pD.

Gnomey · 11-11-2005, 12:05 PM

So do I and I agree with your previous comments to Alder. At the moment China cannot (like N. Korea) use it's power anywhere outside of their sphere of influence. China's likely target will be Tiawan from there we will just have to wait and see. She is a bit of a sleeping giant.

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 11-11-2005, 04:16 PM

Yeap and I believe she will take Taiwan in the next 10 years and then we will be in a bitter long war.

P38 Pilot · 11-11-2005, 07:39 PM

Quote:

I believe that the Chinese are a threat and will try to project there power in the future. In my opinion what they are doing now is preparing for war. The Chinese want war in my opinion. They want to be what the Soviets once were.

China defintely wants to be like the Soviet Union. They are building and preparing for war.

syscom3 · 11-11-2005, 08:24 PM

Building and preparing for what war?

It wont be over Taiwan. To much possibility of the US closing the ports to their ships.

And if they want to project power into their own region, then why would it be of concern to us?

DerAdlerIstGelandet · 11-12-2005, 12:27 AM

The same way that Vietnam was a concern to us. The Chinese will not just stop. They will keep going and we allready have quite a bit of influence in the region not to get involved.