US, Japan Eye China After Ships Barred

backroads:
I have certainly never heard of ships being denied safe harbor from an approaching storm. The seas have typically been treated like space or the frontier with regards to protection of travelers from the elements. Apparently authoritarian politics trumps that.

Hey it was a mistake, Like targeting the Chinese embassy in Kosovo. I mean the US would never deliberately use a smart weapon on an embassy, these are generaly viewed as safe Harbours too.

Do you defend every country that crosses the United States, I SPY? LOL

Well in this case I do, I know my countries future is in China, and the US and China are still enemies. Pity, about that. Anyway The Chinese economy is now the biggest in the world, with the biggest GDP, the fastest growing economy, and the most valuable company. It's just economics, no offense but you cant bite the hand that feeds you. Maybe if the US can get over its Messianic crusade for world domination and the US public can stop believing that they have some G.O.D. given right to be the global cop, judge, jury, executioner, surgeon and savior all in one, then people might start to take them seriously again.

I wasn't aware you weren't from the United States. May I ask which country you hail from?

As for your criticisms of America, honestly, you are right. I disagree with you frequently on the Israel issue but I cannot disagree with you here: we Americans have forgotten who we are and how we act in our best times... let us hope the upcoming election brings a new president to remind us of our strength and responsibility in the world to be its voice for morality and conscience like John F. Kennedy did.

Australia

let us hope the upcoming election brings a new president to remind us of our strength and responsibility in the world to be its voice for morality and conscience like John F. Kennedy did.

Hear Hear, I shudder to think who will fill the power vacuum left if America can not find a decent candidate for 2008. The US economy is on a knife edge and unless something is done by Americans then we shall see it pushed off next year. While it has always been my postition that it is testament to the American people that they need to be lied too, it's now time to take the issue of America's future out of hyper-reality and into the real world. So much has changed in the last 4 years for the US, and their are no signs that anyone who is in a position to change US foreign policy entering into this debate. We are starring down the barrel of WW3 and US politicians are arguing over whether they believe every word in the Bible, if they are for gay marriage and is stem cell research anti-right to life. I think the US has much bigger issues to address rather than playing wedge politics and succumbing to partisan infighting.

My opposition to Israel is based o similar thinking, if they dont stop now they will eventually lose an Apartheid type right to vote issue, as they are heavily out numbered by the local Palestinian population. I withdrew my support for Israel about six years ago when I realized they had no future and they have not done a single thing to address this. I think in the case of Israel, it is now to late. Maybe before the last war with Lebanon or if they agreed to the Saudi ultimatum of 2006, but not now. Hamas can smell blood and they wont give up. All they have to do is not recognize Israel and they will eventually win.

China faces a big snub as the Olympics approach.

One can only hope. Bush seems hesitant to do anything.

What we see and what media discloses are not the entire picture. Too bad my security clearance expired, else I'd tell ya more.

backroads:
I agree but I think that the public's perception of this is critical and the administration seems to be doing nothing but trying to smooth over past riffs while they are receiving new blows. They said they want to move on by "past events" and move onto "broader issues." I'm not sure what broader issues you can discuss with a country when they will risk your servicemen's lives by not allowing them safe harbor from a storm at sea... if they won't help you in a simple matter such as that, what makes the administration think they will be open to helping on "broader issues"?

So you think this will be like 1936 scott and Backroads? I dont think Japan will follow suit, They seem happy to let Chinese warships into their harbours.

"broader issues"? The Spratly Islands. If China closes the sea lanes here the US will instantly lose 1/4 of it's oil imports. Unfortunately China is holding all the cards, and they are not happy about the US beefing up the missile defenses on Taiwan.

I'm thinking India will be a foil to Chinese overtures; that is part of the plan, isn't it?

It does appear China holds all the cards, from Burma to Darfur, to flooding the markets, but it faces a backlash in some unanticipated directions, from heightened trade requirements, to attacks on personnel in Sudan and Pakistan, to wherever extremist Uighur decide to strike.

to wherever extremist Uighur decide to strike.

China has its own problems here, What we call the North West Frontier, the Russians call the Southern Frontier and the Chinese call Xing Xang The New Frontier.

India Does not like the US, they have always been more Russia centric, this is due to the fact that the US gave Pakistan nukes, and other things, There are plenty of examples where, even recently India has been less than co-operative with the US despite very generous overtures made to them.

The biggest threat to China is a misplaced sense of Russian nationalism, The border between China and Russia is still closed and rather tightly too.

IMHO I think this will come down to new issues and ones that we could hardly imagine right now, Things like a new space race or some such event. Whoever dominates these new technologies will most likely come out in front.

China has a distinct advantage for two reasons, One, they have a strict noninterventionist policy when dealing with foreign countries, and two, Mao's indelible leftist mark on the Chinese people. The concept of socialism is so ingrained in the Chinese psyche that they are more appealing to 3rd world countries and people.