The West may be too late to stop Beijing in S. China Sea

[PeaceGen]

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/30/...fic-command-north-korea-china-intl/index.html

US admiral says China is Asia's biggest long-term threat
Updated 0341 GMT (1141 HKT) May 31, 2018
Source: CNN
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The West may be too late to stop Beijing in S. China Sea, says analyst 05:13
(CNN)The US admiral expected to become the country's next ambassador to South Korea says North Korea remains the most imminent threat to peace in the Pacific but China's "dream of hegemony" is Washington's biggest long-term challenge.

Adm. Harry Harris spoke Wednesday as he turned over the reins of the US Pacific Command to Adm. Phil Davidson at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in a ceremony that also announced the rebranding of US military assets in the region to the US Indo-Pacific Command.
Harris, who has been at the helm of the most expansive US military command for three years, hammered home points he's made repeatedly during his term.

Adm. Phil Davidson, left, relieves Adm. Harry Harris, right, as commander of US Indo-Pacific Command during a ceremony at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Wednesday.
"North Korea remains our most imminent threat and a nuclear-capable North Korea with missiles that can reach the United States is unacceptable," he said.
However he added, "China remains our biggest long-term challenge. Without focused involvement and engagement by the United States and our allies and partners China will realize its dream of hegemony in Asia."
It is unclear what role Harris will play in talks with North Korea leading up to a hoped-for summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12. Harris' nomination went to the Senate on May 18 ahead of his expected confirmation.


US rebrands Pacific command amid tensions with China
The admiral had been Trump's choice for to fill the vacant ambassador post in Australia, but that nomination was pulled hours before his confirmation hearing in April. Sources told CNN at the time that the move was the idea of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has been instrumental in laying the groundwork for a Trump-Kim summit.
While Harris has always been a hawk on North Korea during his term at Pacific Command, he has also issued warnings on China as Beijing has pursued a more muscular military posture in the Pacific and established a military presence on man-made islands in areas the US and its allies contend are international waters.
Harris was still in charge of Pacific Command last week when it pulled an invitation for China to participate in the 2018 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercise, the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise.
US officials said that decision was made after Beijing's recent deployment of missile systems and the first landing of a Chinese bomber on an island in the South China Sea.


US plans 'steady drumbeat' of exercises in South China Sea, Mattis says
Standing alongside Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at a news conference in Washington on May 23, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called the US decision "unhelpful."
"We find that a very unconstructive move ... It's unhelpful to mutual understanding between China and the US. We hope the US will change such a negative mindset," he said.
In Hawaii Wednesday, Mattis said, "we should cooperate with Beijing where we can but stand ready to confront them where we must."
The admiral and future ambassador also warned his successors to keep an eye on Moscow, saying Russia is trying to act as "the spoiler" in the Indo-Pacific.
"A geopolitical competition between free and repressive visions of world order is taking place in the Indo-Pacific," Harris said.
"Great power competition is back and I believe we're approaching an inflection point in history.... Freedom and justice hang in the balance."

i imagine the thinking of the Chinese to be along the lines of :
well if the West were ever gets into a conflict with us, Australia is going to be one huge forward base for them. Japan probably too. South-Korea too. And then we got all of Asia against us siding with the west. No thanks.

so it's not entirely surprising to me that the Chinese claim such a large area to the south in the South China Sea.

some over here in the West might say that is like handing territory over to the Chinese for free.
it's not.
it's all based on simple calculations that do a lot to help prevent actual large scale war, *and* prevent the rise of another Hitler in the West (or elsewhere, for that matter).

i do caution the Chinese against building up their South China Sea bases into impenetrable fortresses, and also against using fear to convince the other Asian countries near these bases to not speak up against these bases and their current strength level, at any point in the future.

China is now a mature economic powerhouse, with thriving middle class that can travel the world, etc.
That also means China will face new conditions, such as a real need to take care of their environment (which is already worked on, i know), the cost of their aging population (perhaps, i havent looked into Chinese statistics on this), and :
being perceived internationally as a peaceful strong nation rather than a sneaky and/or manipulative and/or lying and/or aggressive nation. because if you do that, Chinese, if you don't show restraint and diplomacy and wisdom in your quest for forward defensive bases which means slow growth rate of number of bases *and* of the strength of each of these bases, which is something that should be carefully considered for each base and not be enhanced too soon either - warfare is a largely mobile business these days and building up forward bases that are designed to be insurmountable or even the strongest in the nearby region,
then you end up in an arms-race with the West and their allies, and/or India (the next to rise to your economic levels in your region) and/or even Russia!
and that can seriously wreck your economy. to the point of introducing serious food-shortages to your entire population.
i recommend you employ charm and maybe even humor (political caricature, especially about political situations, tends to sway Western audiences) in the international media (as ads in western mass media and internet, as your own English language publications on the internet, as facebook ads, all calling for westerners to address their politicians via email), rather than lies or threats to get rid of an overabundance of foreign military hardware at locations in your region that make you nervous, Chinese.

 

[ZeEa5KPul]

First, your analysis is laughable and your advice even more so.

Second, I learned something interesting about the Netherlands recently. It has a rather curious monopoly on lithography machines used to fabricate semiconductor chips. This is absolutely unacceptable - China must launch anti-trust cases against ASML at the WTO and wilfully violate its patents to produce Chinese lithography machines.

 

[PeaceGen]

To each their own opinion.

Good luck with your anti-trust case. I couldn't care less what the outcome is.

 

[beijingwalker]

Since when a tiny small county size nation gets the guts to talk about matters on big global powers games. SCS is ours, loud and clear, end of the story.

 

[PeaceGen]

Since when a tiny small county size nation gets the guts to talk about matters on big global powers games. SCS is ours, loud and clear, end of the story.

you're displaying exactly the kind of attitude that gets us all into an arms race or even a major war (further down the road).

and people from tiny size countries like mine *should* and *will* have a say in big global power games. it's the fact you see them as games, that worries a lot of people around the world. they're not games, they're dangerous wastes of money and brain-power.

 

[beijingwalker]

you're displaying exactly the kind of attitude that gets us all into an arms race or even a major war (further down the road).

and people from tiny size countries like mine *should* and *will* have a say in big global power games. it's the fact you see them as games, that worries a lot of people around the world. they're not games, they're dangerous wastes of money and brain-power.

Bring it on and see what you can do.

 

[PeaceGen]

Bring it on and see what you can do.

i just did.

 

[Dalit]

LOL The West can't even come near to China. LOL at stopping

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

I don't understand why there is fear from China by West

• China makes noodle
  
• West makes stake

Both trade forms can co-exist

• China makes goods
• West makes Apple/Ikea / Designer stuff

Trade does happens both ways

Before China arrived on scene those BBQ stands and equipment used to cost a fortune only rich folks had it now , working class folks can have similar equipment and have BBQ I don't see a problem

Real issue really is over excessive prices in Western World for similar quality stuff just look at bicycles , you buy one in western shop they charge a plenty for mountain bike but from China still does same thing cost better price (honest price)

 

[beijingwalker]

Cause even the designer stuff are being taken away by China at an alarming speed now.

 

[PeaceGen]

Real issue really is over excessive prices in Western World for similar quality stuff just look at bicycles , you buy one in western shop they charge a plenty for mountain bike but from China still does same thing cost better price (honest price)

companies will charge what the consumer can spare for the products they offer, in each area where they sell.

 

[大汉奸柳传志]

Russia prevailed in Syria and after 4 years still holds on to Crimea The whole world knows what the so called “west” can do... so do us a favor just quit bluffing

 

[PeaceGen]

Russia prevailed in Syria and after 4 years still holds on to Crimea The whole world knows what the so called “west” can do... so do us a favor just quit bluffing

well i advocated, according to the same principles of war that have me agreeing to China building bases in the South China Sea, that the Russians could have their Crimean naval base back. Makes sense eh, considering that sea the Crimea is the coastline for, has a link in Turkey to the Mediterranean Sea which is NATO territory.

i also advocated the Russians could have reliable land supply routes to the Crimea.

'what the west can do' is not just win in war, it's also letting others feel secure in their own countries.

somehow i doubt people like you would show restraint in military expansion. maybe that's because you're new to it.

 

[beijingwalker]

'what the west can do' is not just win in war, it's also letting others feel secure in their own countries.

No one feels safe in US and everyone could be the victim of another mass shooting. The west better straighten up their home first than talking about making others feel unsafe.

 

[PeaceGen]

No one feels safe in US and everyone could be the victim of another mass shooting. The west better straighten up their home first than talking about making others feel unsafe.

large cultural changes take time.
you know this in your own country. it took decades for Beijing to take environmental policies seriously, now you're building forests the size of France.

and there is, once again thanks to our free speech and free press and free politics, a large movement active in the US to change the gunlaws. it's on several major US TV networks too, like CNN-US, whenever another school shooting occurs.