US Spreads Anti-Chinese Propaganda In Preparation For The Coming US-China Trade War
Australia Airs "Concern" On Behalf Of US Over China's Arms Build Up
The United States doesn't mined if the Iraqi government, and the Iraqi insurgency, pick up their explosives, guns, bullet belts, mortars and mines from American, British, German, French and Israeli arms manufacturers and dealers. But they're having an absolute shit fit now they've discovered Chinese made weapons are finding their way through the appallingly unregulated international arms trade into the hands of insurgents and militias alike. The same goes for the Taliban, militias and government forces in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon and the US State Department are fighting their early days of the coming trade with China by spreading anti-Chinese propaganda on multiple fronts. The controversy over Chinese weapons reaching anti-American insurgencies, via Iran of course, is a double shot. Both Iran and China can be, somewhat, blamed for the shocking defeat of the American military in Iraq, and the continued wearing down of NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Australia is doing its bit for the the Bush Co./NeoCon anti-China propaganda mission by airing "concern" over China's upgrading of its naval and civil defence capabilities. The irony of Australia criticising China for 'arming up' is gagging.
China is a country of more than 1.2 billion people, with a booming economy, not too far on the global scale from massive Islamist uprisings, provoked in part by the actions of the United States, and China is expected to spend just over $40 billion in the next fiscal year on defence.
Australia is an isolated land mass, with no land meeting hostile borders, and a population of only 21 million people. Geographically, Australia could not be any further from the dangerous instability of the Middle East and Afghanistan and Pakistan. Yet Australia will spend a mind-boggling $23 billion on defence in 2008, at least $26 billion in 2009, and a projected $30 billion-plus in 2010.
China is well aware that the United States is using Australia as a proxy, and vital ally, in the eventual encirclement of China, through the US missile defence shield and the deployment of war ships and submarines to create a ready-to-go blockade of the Malacca Straits, China's energy supply gateway, should the United States ever need Australia to do so.
From Financial Times :
The US has raised concerns with the Chinese government about the discovery of Chinese-made weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Richard Lawless, departing senior Pentagon official for Asia, on Friday said Washington had flagged the issue with Beijing. In recent months, the US has become increasingly alarmed that Chinese armour-piercing ammunition has been used by the Taliban in Afghanistan and insurgents in Iraq.
A senior US official recently told the FT that Iran appeared to be providing the Chinese-made weapons. He said Washington had no evidence that Beijing was complicit, but stressed that the US would like China to “do a better job of policing these sales”. Mr Lawless said the question of origin was less important than who was facilitating the transfer.The concerns about Chinese weapons follow months of allegations from US officials that Iran is helping attack US troops in Iraq, and more recently Afghanistan, by providing technology for bombs that can destroy Humvees and other heavily armoured US vehicles.
He said the Pentagon was disappointed that China had not given Admiral Michael Mullen, chief of naval operations, the same kind of access that his Chinese counterpart received during a visit to the US. Adm Mullen, who has since been nominated as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ended up not visiting China.
Mr Lawless also said it was important for China to hold talks with the US about its nuclear forces. A recent Pentagon report concluded Beijing was developing a more survivable nuclear force, including submarine-launched missiles, and mobile land-based missiles.
Since Presidents Hu Jintao and George W. Bush last year discussed increasing military exchanges, China has not responded to an offer for the commander of its strategic nuclear forces to visit US Strategic Command.
“There is a great shortfall in our understanding of China’s intentions,” said Mr Lawless, referring to the overall Chinese military build-up. “When you don’t know why they are doing it, it is pretty damn threatening . . . they leave us no choice but to assume the worst.”
From Forbes :
An Australian defense paper released Thursday warned that strains between the US and China were inevitable in coming decades, identifying Taiwan as a potential regional flashpoint.The report, released by Prime Minister John Howard, said the US and China had so far managed their relationship well but there would be tensions as power balances in the Asia Pacific region shifted.
'The (US-China) relationship is underpinned by the region's remarkable growth, the economic interdependency between the two countries, and their mutual interest in stability in the region,' it said.
'As with any international relationship there will be tensions from time to time, but we are confident that the maturing relationship will enable the two countries to resolve any differences amicably.'
The report said Australia's alliance with the US was its most important strategic relationship, predicting that the US would remain the predominant power in the region for at least a generation.
It said China had a legitimate interest in protecting it own security but said the Asian giant's military expansion was a potential source of regional instability.
'The pace and scope of its military modernization, particularly the development of new and disruptive capabilities such as the anti-satellite (ASAT) missile tested in January 2007, could create misunderstandings and instability in the region,' it said.
The military forces of the United States and Australia wound up a massive joint training exercise on Australia's far north coast last week. The 'Talisman Saber' exercise saw more than 7000 Australian and 20,000 US troops working through a series of land and sea based defence scenarios pitting them against 'fictional' enemies.
The joint exercises were covered in detail on China's state run television and internet media.
Note : I'm having trouble embedding links in the commentary sections of the above story. Check back in a day or two if you need to see the sources and links to back up the claims made.
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