Post by Steve Gardner on Mar 5, 2008 20:59:01 GMT
...buy nukes
Although apparently a News item, I actually think this is part of The war on Terror, hence its inclusion in this board.
The War on Terror is fundamentally about the pursuit of energy, in my view. It's about securing access to as much of it as possible and limiting access to others. Chinese ambitions factor large here.
Their consumption is set to double over the next seven to ten years, at which point their annual consumption is expected to be around two thirds that of the US (currently, the Chinese consume around one third that of the US). With energy resources believed to be becoming more scarce, and production set to become more concentrated on the Middle East and Caspian Region, it is clear China represent a major threat to US and indeed Western energy interests.
Add to that the fact that China have a good trading relationship with Iran and, as a Communist regime, are ideologically alligned with Russia, and you have the perfect target for the DoD propaganda machine.
Which is what this is.
I also find it ironic that CNN should imply something suspicious in the fact that China's $100 billion or so defence spending isn't especially transparent and then go on to mention the US's $481 billion defence budget without rasing similar concerns.
Bearing in mind this figure doesn't include the outrageous wartime appropriations, what on earth does a country of some 300 million spend $481 billion on?
Source: CNN
Although apparently a News item, I actually think this is part of The war on Terror, hence its inclusion in this board.
The War on Terror is fundamentally about the pursuit of energy, in my view. It's about securing access to as much of it as possible and limiting access to others. Chinese ambitions factor large here.
Their consumption is set to double over the next seven to ten years, at which point their annual consumption is expected to be around two thirds that of the US (currently, the Chinese consume around one third that of the US). With energy resources believed to be becoming more scarce, and production set to become more concentrated on the Middle East and Caspian Region, it is clear China represent a major threat to US and indeed Western energy interests.
Add to that the fact that China have a good trading relationship with Iran and, as a Communist regime, are ideologically alligned with Russia, and you have the perfect target for the DoD propaganda machine.
Which is what this is.
I also find it ironic that CNN should imply something suspicious in the fact that China's $100 billion or so defence spending isn't especially transparent and then go on to mention the US's $481 billion defence budget without rasing similar concerns.
Bearing in mind this figure doesn't include the outrageous wartime appropriations, what on earth does a country of some 300 million spend $481 billion on?
Source: CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Chinese military continues to increase spending on efforts to break into U.S. military computer systems, expand its Navy, and invest in intercontinental nuclear missiles and weapons to destroy satellites, according to the latest U.S report on China's military power.
The annual report from the Pentagon to Congress says China's total military spending in 2007 was between $97 billion and $139 billion, but it is hard to tell exactly how much was spent and on what.
In comparison, the U.S. military budget request for 2008 is $481.4 billion, not including war requests.
Pentagon officials said a chunk of China's spending went to cyberwarfare, because 2007 saw several "intrusions" believed to be from the Peoples Liberation Army. In the incidents, unclassified U.S. military computer systems were broken into and information was taken, according to Pentagon officials.
While the information taken was not classified, Pentagon officials said the worry is the Chinese hacking required many of the skills and capabilities that would also be required for a computer network attack.
Last summer, a cyber-attack on Department of Defense computer systems took down the e-mail capability of hundreds of staffers for weeks, but the Pentagon still will not comment on who initiated the attack. It is widely believed among the military to have been the Peoples Liberation Army.
China is also investing heavily in and fielding improved nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles and antisatellite missiles, according to the report.
The United States expressed its concern last year after China fired a missile at one of its old satellites and destroyed it, sending thousands of dangerous pieces of space debris into orbit.
The United States conducted a similar strike last month on a broken U.S. spy satellite before it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. U.S. officials said the satellite was hit and broke into thousands of small pieces that burned up as they re-entered Earth's atmosphere.
The United States is also concerned about the purchase of more submarines by the Chinese navy as well as plans for more aircraft carriers. The Chinese once had a small Navy. Now the United States is keeping an eye on the growing service amid concerns over Taiwan.
The concerns include "China's near-term focus on preparing for contingencies in the Taiwan Strait, including the possibility of U.S. intervention, which is an important driver of its modernization," the report says.
Additionally, the Chinese have placed about 100 more short-range missiles on the shore opposite Taiwan in the past year, it says.
Pentagon officials worry the continued increase in Chinese military spending is slowly tipping the balance of power between China and Taiwan in China's favor. The United States has said it would help defend Taiwan if China invaded.
The report also says the Peoples Liberation Army is "pursuing comprehensive transformation from a mass army designed for protracted wars of attrition on its territory to one capable of fighting and winning short-duration, high-intensity conflicts along its periphery against high-tech adversaries."
Such an army, the report says, would have "the greatest potential to compete militarily with the United States and field disruptive military technologies that could, over time, offset traditional U.S. military advantages."
The United States says the lack of transparency by the Chinese on its spending poses "risks to stability by increasing the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation," and that China has yet to explain to the international community the purpose of its military expansion, Pentagon officials said.
