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Chinese Military,Political and Social Superthread

Many Chinese believe that the so-called 'Russian Far East' is Asian and that it should not be part of European (barbaric) Russia. Some Chinese scholars/commentators believe that China should act (interesting word, "ac") to persuade the Asian peoples of Siberia to come independent.

The Russians, for their part, KNOW that the Chinese despise them ABD that China covets the resources and, above all, water in the "Russian Far East."

Russia and China can be fair-weather-friends when it suits them, but, even in 2008, when Russia wanted to destabilize the US dollars, the Chinese put their own interests ahead of hurting the USA.
There is a book you might like to read The Horse That Leaps Through Clouds: A Tale Of Espionage, The Silk Road, And The Rise Of Modern Chi...

On July 6, 1906, Baron Gustaf Mannerheim boarded the midnight train from St. Petersburg, charged by Czar Nicholas II to secretly collect intelligence on the Qing Dynasty''s sweeping reforms that were radically transforming China. The last czarist agent in the so–called Great Game, Mannerheim chronicled almost every facet of China''s modernization, from education reform and foreign investment to Tibet''s struggle for independence.

On July 6, 2006, writer Eric Enno Tamm boards that same train, intent on following in Mannerheim''s footsteps. Initially banned from China, Tamm devises a cover and retraces Mannerheim''s route across the Silk Road, discovering both eerie similarities and seismic differences between the Middle Kingdoms of today and a century ago.

Along the way, Tamm offers piercing insights into China''s past that raise troubling questions about its future. Can the Communist Party truly open China to the outside world yet keep Western ideas such as democracy and freedom at bay, just as Qing officials mistakenly believed? What can reform during the late Qing Dynasty teach us about the spectacular transformation of China today? As Confucius once wrote, "Study the past if you would divine the future," and that is just what Tamm does in The Horse that Leaps Through Clouds.
 
There is a book you might like to read The Horse That Leaps Through Clouds: A Tale Of Espionage, The Silk Road, And The Rise Of Modern Chi...

On July 6, 1906, Baron Gustaf Mannerheim boarded the midnight train from St. Petersburg, charged by Czar Nicholas II to secretly collect intelligence on the Qing Dynasty''s sweeping reforms that were radically transforming China. The last czarist agent in the so–called Great Game, Mannerheim chronicled almost every facet of China''s modernization, from education reform and foreign investment to Tibet''s struggle for independence.

On July 6, 2006, writer Eric Enno Tamm boards that same train, intent on following in Mannerheim''s footsteps. Initially banned from China, Tamm devises a cover and retraces Mannerheim''s route across the Silk Road, discovering both eerie similarities and seismic differences between the Middle Kingdoms of today and a century ago.

Along the way, Tamm offers piercing insights into China''s past that raise troubling questions about its future. Can the Communist Party truly open China to the outside world yet keep Western ideas such as democracy and freedom at bay, just as Qing officials mistakenly believed? What can reform during the late Qing Dynasty teach us about the spectacular transformation of China today? As Confucius once wrote, "Study the past if you would divine the future," and that is just what Tamm does in The Horse that Leaps Through Clouds.
Have read, excellent book. The bit on the cover illustrates how Tamm was prescient about repression of ethnic minorities, esp. Uyghurs of Xinjiang; remember at the time of von Mannerheim's trip (quite a fellow) the Han grip on Xinjiang (East Turkestan) was much weaker and Tibet was effectively independent.

horse.jpg

Mark
Ottawa
 
Next ....
A group of 10 naval vessels from China and Russia sailed through a strait separating Japan's main island and its northern island of Hokkaido on Monday, the Japanese government said, adding that it is closely watching such activities.

It was the first time Japan has confirmed the passage of Chinese and Russian naval vessels sailing together through the Tsugaru Strait, which separates the Sea of Japan from the Pacific ...
 
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MELBOURNE, Australia – China has for the first time showed off retired 1950s era fighter jets that have been converted to unmanned drones, with satellite photos of two of its east coast bases near Taiwan showing a large number of the jets on site.


 

Chinese airshow offers glimpse at military’s new drones​

By Mike Yeo
Thursday, Sep 30


MELBOURNE, Australia – China has put a number of operational and prototype unmanned aircraft designs on display at the ongoing Zhuhai Airshow, giving an insight to its increasingly wide range of unmanned systems in service.

These include fast, air-launched reconnaissance systems and stealthy unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs, that are already in service with the country’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The exhibit highlights the effort China’s defense industry has made to broaden the types of drones the military has fielded.

Among the types on display is the Guizhou Aircraft Industry Corporation WZ-7 Xianglong – “Soaring Dragon” – high-altitude, long endurance unmanned aircraft. An example was present at the show’s static display while a second airframe was on display at the booth of state-owned aerospace and defense conglomerate Aviation Industry Corporation of China, or AVIC.

This is an unmanned reconnaissance type (WZ stands for Wu Zhen, which is short for “unmanned reconnaissance,, and is powered by a single, domestically produced turbojet engine believed to have been derived from a Russian design.


 
Lot of uproar about this:

Questions Linger Over China’s Reported Hypersonic Space Weapon Test


"There are a lot of things that are in the realms of feasibility and [...] we need to worry about that," Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said.​


In the wake of a hair-raising report of a secret Chinese hypersonic space weapons test, a denial by the Chinese government, and doubly vague public remarks from the US Air Force chief, security observers have been left this week with more questions than answers about what exactly may have circled the planet just weeks ago and how big of a threat it could be to US security.

It also has prompted larger questions about the state of strategic nuclear stability, but that complex issue warrants a story on its own.

For now, perhaps of greatest concern in the long run for US-China relations, a number of analysts said, is that the dearth of factual information about the test seems to be fueling the growing trend within US national security circles of seeing Beijing’s actions through a worst-case lens.

The U.S government can't seem to decide if they will defend Taiwan or not.
That's why the policy is called "strategic ambiguity";) :

Mark
Ottawa
 
"and is powered by a single, domestically produced turbojet engine believed to have been derived from a Russian design."

Sounds like PC speak for 'Yeah, we stole the design and reverse engineered it'
 

If, and that is a big if we a headed to armed conflict with China, if it some how stays non-nuclear, it would likely become the bloodiest war we will ever see for generations.
 
Anyone have a read of this? The timing would have been very close to when the new AOPS Harry DeWolf would be in the area. Just another reminder that we need to get our kit in order.



An article written after the above occurred. Again, we need to be a part of the conversation and the solution on this with the Americans. Its a long, lonely ride from Esquimalt through the Aleutians to finally reach our new AOPS stompings grounds in the western end of the North West Passage.


"Beijing highlighted the importance of access to the region, stating, “The utilization of sea routes and exploration and development of the resources in the Arctic may have a huge impact on the energy strategy and economic development of China,"

“China sees itself not only as having interests in the Arctic but also as being on course — over the period from 2015 to 2030 — to become a ‘polar great power.’” For that, the Bering Strait is essential."

"Chinese polar research icebreaker, Xuelong 2, was also deployed in the Arctic, just north of Alaska, and transited the Bering Strait on its way home around the same time of this deployment." - 'just north of Alaska' - so basically at the entrance to the western gate for the North West Passage....again, was any of this covered in the Canadian media 6-8 weeks aga, oh no, we were too busy having a completely useless Federal Election!!!
 
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and perhaps more concerning...

 
Many Chinese believe that the so-called 'Russian Far East' is Asian and that it should not be part of European (barbaric) Russia. Some Chinese scholars/commentators believe that China should act (interesting word, "ac") to persuade the Asian peoples of Siberia to come independent.

The Russians, for their part, KNOW that the Chinese despise them ABD that China covets the resources and, above all, water in the "Russian Far East."

Russia and China can be fair-weather-friends when it suits them, but, even in 2008, when Russia wanted to destabilize the US dollars, the Chinese put their own interests ahead of hurting the USA.
I just placed an order for this book on Amazon. Always open to more suggestions on good books. Here's one that I've recently picked up but haven't the chance to read as I'm still going through "Galicia Division" by Michael Logusz - 'The Invention of Russia, the rise of Putin and the age of fake news' by Arkady Ostrovsky.
 
I just placed an order for this book on Amazon. Always open to more suggestions on good books. Here's one that I've recently picked up but haven't the chance to read as I'm still going through "Galicia Division" by Michael Logusz - 'The Invention of Russia, the rise of Putin and the age of fake news' by Arkady Ostrovsky.
How is it? May pick it up over the weekend
 

and perhaps more concerning...

I’ve been somewhat confused as of late, when I see articles with similar titles, which state that China may ‘soon’ be ready to invade.

If China wanted to invade tomorrow, they could.

No?
 
I’ve been somewhat confused as of late, when I see articles with similar titles, which state that China may ‘soon’ be ready to invade.

If China wanted to invade tomorrow, they could.

No?
As many much wiser and more experienced people than I will tell you, the two most complex and dangerous operations in war are:

1. An airborne assault ~ against anything, it gets worse if there are air defences; and

2. An amphibious landing, especially against a defended locality.

The only ways to invade Taiwan are by air and/or sea. Taiwan is not a weakling. It is modern air defences and it plans and trains to meet and defeat an amphibious assault.

I was impressed, ten to 30 years ago when I used to visit China on a fairly regular basis, on how much the People's Liberation Army (Navy and Army) seemed to be improving in professionalism but there is a nagging question: can you buy skill? The PLA has a lot of shiny new equipment and it is, now, a large professional force but I still wonder if it is ready and able to undertake either, much less both of the two most complex operations in war.
 
As many much wiser and more experienced people than I will tell you, the two most complex and dangerous operations in war are:

1. An airborne assault ~ against anything, it gets worse if there are air defences; and

2. An amphibious landing, especially against a defended locality.

The only ways to invade Taiwan are by air and/or sea. Taiwan is not a weakling. It is modern air defences and it plans and trains to meet and defeat an amphibious assault.

I was impressed, ten to 30 years ago when I used to visit China on a fairly regular basis, on how much the People's Liberation Army (Navy and Army) seemed to be improving in professionalism but there is a nagging question: can you buy skill? The PLA has a lot of shiny new equipment and it is, now, a large professional force but I still wonder if it is ready and able to undertake either, much less both of the two most complex operations in war.


Which is why the Chinese prefer an indirect approach, IIRC:


Why China-Taiwan Relations Are So Tense​


How has China tried to intimidate Taiwan?

China has employed a variety of coercive tactics short of armed conflict, and it has ramped up these measures since Tsai’s election in 2016. Its objective is to wear down Taiwan and prompt the island’s people to conclude that their best option is unification with the mainland. To that end, China has increased the frequency and scale of patrols of PLA bombers, fighter jets, and surveillance aircraft over and around Taiwan. It has also increasingly sails its warships and aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait in shows of force.

Taiwan has reported that thousands of cyberattacks from China target its government agencies every day. These attacks have soared in recent years. In 2020, Taipei accused four Chinese groups of hacking into at least ten Taiwanese government agencies and six thousand official email accounts since 2018 to try to access government data and personal information.

Beijing has also used nonmilitary measures to pressure Taiwan. In 2016, China suspended a cross-strait communication mechanism with the main Taiwan liaison office. It restricted tourism to Taiwan, and the number of mainland tourists visiting Taiwan has fallen from a high of over 4 million in 2015 to 2.7 million in 2019. China has also pressured global corporations, including airlines and hotel chains, to list Taiwan as a Chinese province.

Has Beijing undermined Taiwan’s democracy?

In addition to the tactics described above, China has ramped up interference in Taiwan’s elections. Its methods include spreading disinformation on social media and increasing its control over Taiwanese media outlets. In the 2020 election, for example, China spread disinformation in an apparent effort to damage Tsai and boost the KMT’s presidential candidate. Such efforts are part of China’s larger strategy of employing coercion to erode trust in Taiwan’s political system and sow divisions in Taiwanese society. However, experts view the DPP’s success in recent elections, including Tsai’s reelection in 2020, as a rebuke of Beijing.

Taiwan’s democracy is relatively young. The KMT governed under martial law from 1949 to 1987. During that time, political dissent was harshly repressed and Taiwanese who had long inhabited the island before 1945 faced discrimination. Taiwan held its first free legislative elections in 1992 and its first presidential elections in 1996. Since then, it has peacefully transferred power between parties several times.

Despite Chinese threats, Taiwan appears to have so far bucked the trend of backsliding afflicting democracies around the world. In 2020, the Economist’s Democracy Index [PDF] labeled Taiwan a “full democracy” for the first time and ranked it eleventh-most democratic overall, up from thirty-first the previous year. That is higher than its Asian neighbors (Japan ranked twenty-first and South Korea ranked twenty-third) and the United States, which ranked twenty-fifth. Recent elections have seen high voter turnout.

 
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