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Ear to the Ground

China Wary of Obama’s New Military Plan

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Posted on Jan 6, 2012
bbc.co.uk

No-flexing zone: After President Obama’s announcement Thursday, China will be watching any U.S. military machinations in its general vicinity for signs of aggression.

Republicans weren’t the only ones irked at our nation’s leader this week. President Obama has also ruffled some feathers in the Chinese government with his newly hatched military strategy, which he announced in a rare news conference at the Pentagon on Thursday, and which apparently strikes the Chinese as a potentially unwelcome display of U.S. prowess on their side of the globe.  —KA

BBC:

China’s state media have warned the US against “flexing its muscles” after Washington unveiled a defence review switching focus to the Asia-Pacific.

In an editorial, official news agency Xinhua said President Barack Obama’s move to increase US presence in the region could come as a welcome boost to stability and prosperity.

But it said any US militarism could create ill will and “endanger peace”.

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By heterochromatic, January 10, 2012 at 4:48 pm Link to this comment

I didn’t propose a thing but do suggest that we talk about it without sounding
like we’re as blind and foolish as the folks who say that the US is perfect and all
thew rest of the world is corrupt.

China is in for a decade or more of real instability at home as it evolves from
totalitarian government into something different and it’s also heading into
trouble with the Uighur secessionist movement and the radical separatists
among that group hanging out and getting terrorist training in Pakistan.


Thirty years ago people were saying that the US was soon to be owned by the
Japanese. These days there’s a slightly better case for saying that the Chinese
are going to eclipse us, but they have not , in any way, and it’s highly doubtful
that the Chinese aren’t soon going to be reeling under they’re own changes.

It’s gonna soon have to deal with the incredible migration from the country into
the cities….and oddly, it’s still illegal for Chinese to move without government
permission.

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PatrickHenry's avatar

By PatrickHenry, January 10, 2012 at 4:19 pm Link to this comment

Tic,

What do you propose the United States does about it? 

Boycott Chinese made goods?

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By heterochromatic, January 10, 2012 at 4:11 pm Link to this comment

PatH```` Hong Kong is very far from representative of
the Chinese nation,... for obvious historical reasons.


Criticize the US all you wish, but don’t let that
preclude you from taking a real look at the rest of the
world.

China’s a mess and you have to be out to lunch to fail
to note it.

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PatrickHenry's avatar

By PatrickHenry, January 10, 2012 at 3:23 pm Link to this comment

IMax,

Plenty of sweat shops manned by illegals here in the US.

Last time I was in Hong Kong the locals I saw were doing quite well.

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IMax's avatar

By IMax, January 10, 2012 at 5:11 am Link to this comment

PatrickHenry,

YES, as apposed to how you treat Americans in your home town.

If you knew even a little about the working and living conditions in China you’d be ashamed of yourself.

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By PatrickHenry, January 9, 2012 at 4:02 am Link to this comment

a guy,

As opposed to the way we treat Americans here at home?

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By a guy, January 8, 2012 at 1:48 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

“China said any US militarism could create ill will and
“endanger peace”

What a load of garbage. The way the Chinese treat there
own people should infuriate humanity. The conditions
that Chinese factory workers are enduring at the age of
13 is a crime against humanity. They treat their own
people worse than animals. Animals can yelp when they
are hurt. The Chinese have no voice. Go look in a
Chinese factory. They cannot be trusted.

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Blueokie's avatar

By Blueokie, January 7, 2012 at 9:02 pm Link to this comment

hetero - Doff of the chapeau to your comments.  My objection was to the spin of Obama as doing something constructive.  Your commentary was spot on.

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By heterochromatic, January 7, 2012 at 6:49 pm Link to this comment

Blue~~~~ I don’t even vaguely understand why someone thinks that there’s a story
here.Neither the US no rChina has the slightest interest in any real conflict.

All that’s happening is that China’s power is growing and their expansion is
unsettling to other , smaller Asian nations and we’re trying to assure them that
there’s no unopposed explosion of Chinese aggression coming any time real soon.


if there is any “hot point” between the two large nations at present, it’s in Korea

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By Blueokie, January 7, 2012 at 6:10 pm Link to this comment

hetero -

Oh sure, try to inject pragmatic sanity.

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By heterochromatic, January 7, 2012 at 5:59 pm Link to this comment

China and the US will find ways to get along and if China isn’t always pleased with
us, it matters no more than that we’re no always pleased with them.

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By kalbinator, January 7, 2012 at 3:18 pm Link to this comment

nothing to worry about folks (if you own stock with the predator drone killing machines corporations). Thanks to the LBJ/Bush/Obama/Clinton 1st strike doctrine.  Gulf of Tokin here we come.

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IMax's avatar

By IMax, January 7, 2012 at 6:48 am Link to this comment

An interesting dichotomy.

China’s official statements regarding these sweeping U.S. military changes recognizes the stabilizing effects these changes will have in the Eurasian region while, at the same time, cautioning against U.S. over-reaching into China’s sphere of influence.

I believe it’s important to note that this shift in U.S. military posture and systemic revisions are the direct result of Donald Rumsfeld’s wide-reaching evaluations and reform mechanizations.  It’s fascination to see how the Obama administration rolls out these Rumsfeld revisions of 21st Century warfare in this election year.

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By citizen2000, January 7, 2012 at 2:26 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

It has been a long time for the US to come to the conclusion that China is a threat, both military and economic. The troublemaker is the one who sponsors or atleast tolerates daily cyber attacks against American targets and the one who organizes students, through the CSSA, to gather American technologies while we subsidize their education. With the Soviet Union we were careful about giving them technology and giving their citizens a technical education. With China we have ignored the fact that they are an authoritarian regime that treats their citizens very badly and that they have used our technology to rapidly modernize their military. Our American universities and corporations should remember that they are Americans and guard our secrets well. Read more at http://www.china-threat.com

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By Dr Bones, January 7, 2012 at 1:55 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

All China need do is call their loans or stop making loans and the US goes bankrupt, the soldiers don’t get paid.  But of course the politicians and military contractors long for another arms race.

Meanwhile, we can’t afford to educate, feed our children or afford health care.

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By Michael Turton, January 7, 2012 at 12:37 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Of course, for the other 5% of us who actually live
out here under Chinese threats to kill and maim and
burn, in order to annex portions of the nations
around them, greater US involvement would come as a
relief, if Obama actually means what he says.

Living under 1600 Chinese missiles pointed at me in
Taiwan, as well as the growing military build up, and
Chinese hatred and fear of Taiwan’s democracy, I
sometimes wonder where my fellow progressives’ heads
are at.

Michael Turton
The View from Taiwan

Report this

By tapxe, January 6, 2012 at 10:55 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

piss everybody off…

Chinese, Russians, Arabs, South Americans, Africans, India, Turkey, etc…  Look for a fight with Iran for the benefit of the zionist puppet masters, stir false revolutions all over the Arab world, rape and pillage Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and trying to do the same to Syria and Iran for the exclusive benefit of you know who… under the pretenses of false flags who fool nobody but the idiotically gullible.

Screw the Europeans in the ass by having the uSSa derivative scam (to pyramid “finance” “globalization”) somehow become “the “European debt crisis”...  Their 1% gladio leaders are still with you but the 99% Europeans despise and hate you and every false value you represent.

A perfect storm is coming…

You piss enough people off and before too long they’re either all going to gang up on you or be the ones to facilitate your own self destruction by hubris… in any case not one of them will lift a finger to provide any assistance whatsoever when you soon lay there agonizing…

ameriKa is the scourge of the world, it’s the one plotting and starting trouble and wars everywhere.

Fascist ameriKa without a Constitution nor de facto a Bill of Rights is the plague on the face of the earth and it is high time history applies the treatment that is always reserved in the end to these kinds of tyrannical and imperial regimes.

The sooner, the better.

Good friggin’ riddance!

if only al-CIA-da were real!  but not to worry, hubris will achieve the same results in very short order.

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By PatrickHenry, January 6, 2012 at 8:11 pm Link to this comment

Obama is probably having the military rip the Chinese made microchips out of our mulitary hardware.

http://www.tmv.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=310&Itemid=59

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By Blueokie, January 6, 2012 at 6:00 pm Link to this comment

I think its safe to say that about 95% of humanity is, or should be, wary of any military plans by the Nobel Neo-Con.

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