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  • if he is, it's not a DoD initiative.
    There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

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    • My quick summary

      It seems that after a period of diplomatic pettifoggery the US and the Chinese Militaries are attempting to extend an olive branch – the US is postponing its naval exercise in the yellow sea and now private citizen Zbigniew Brzezinski is spending his vacation in China.

      Brzezinski, an invited guest of the China Institute for International Strategic Studies, held talks with General Xu Gaihou, the vice chair of the Central Military Commission, where they reminisced on Brzezinski's 1981 retracing of the PLA’s Long March.

      A question remains when will be deemed an “appropriate time” for Defense Secretary Robert Gates to resume his delayed visit to China.


      The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - U.S., S.Korean Naval Exercises Postponed

      PLA Senior Official Meets Zbigniew Brzezinski

      Brzezinski "retraces" the Long March, stressing U.S.-China strategic dialogues - People's Daily Online

      The Associated Press: China welcomes Gates visit at appropriate time
      “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

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      • Xinhui Reply

        Interesting. Unaware of the postponement. Certain Chinese and Pakistani circles may crow about this turn of events but it makes sense.

        Thanks for the update.
        "This aggression will not stand, man!" Jeff Lebowski
        "The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool." Lester Bangs

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        • S2,

          Looks like the first stage of the US-ROK naval ex will not take place in the Yellow Sea. I think most of the pundit (including NPR) missed the point -- after the arms package to ROC and meeting with his holiness, the US has to "compromise" something before Sec Gates can visit China at a "appropriate time". For the US, it is a compromise that can be easily provided. it is very much off the news headline in the US.
          “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

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          • just wrote this.



            Of threats and might.

            Recently, there has been rush of OpEds that deal with the topic of US and Chinese military and diplomatic dynamics in the pacific. Some are good (FT, US Naval College Review, Arms Control Wonk) others are bad (Time, Newsweek, CSM) and the rest are just plain ugly (Foreign Policy and WaPo). While the OpEds dance across the political spectrum, they seem to share a common theme – the pacific has been reduced to two actors. Some argue that the US and China should increase cooperation, while others take a more confrontational view citing efforts to line up allies for a show down. One thing is certain, no nation in the pacific is willing to go to war [at this juncture] for someone else because they share a common ideology, market, or culture, and soft-power influence. Lip-service notwithstanding.

            By reducing the dynamics of the pacific to two actors, it forces the issue of PLAN modernization into the open. However, the unintended consequence is that it downplays other stronger regional players such as the Japanese, Korean and Australian navies. Then again, readers prefer their burgers juicy and their debate black-and-white; it makes for simpler reads.

            One more item I would like to add -- using the display of military might to change others behavior is wishful thinking at best. For example, North Korea will not change its world view just because the USS Washington is parked in the Yellow Sea. The same goes with the Chinese. To quote a recent OpEd from the Huanqiu, an official PRC propaganda mouthpiece:

            Huanqiu: the Optimal Strategy of the Chinese Aircraft Carrier
            Written by TGS/HEM
            ????????????_??_???

            “Aircraft carriers cannot help solve the maritime security problems for China. A dozen of them would not do, let alone the rumored five or six. “

            “We must be clear that it is unrealistic over a very long period of time to bring about the turning point of ‘China strong, U.S weak’ in the Pacific by building aircraft carriers. It is equally unrealistic to bring about a pro-China Asia by intimidating neighbors through a growing military force.”

            Source: Huanqiu, July 30, 2010
            “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

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            • andy,

              For example, North Korea will not change its world view just because the USS Washington is parked in the Yellow Sea.
              that's assuming the naval exercises are directed at NK, which IMO they aren't. NK already knows what will happen if a war ignites.

              it's more for reassuring US allies and partners in the region.
              There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

              Comment


              • it's more for reassuring US allies and partners in the region.
                if took 4 months to setup the ex, not is not very reassuring.
                “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

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                • andy,

                  see when the USS george washington was last in the yellow sea. that should give you a hint into US thinking.
                  There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

                  Comment


                  • Don't think I can handle the drama until the year end.......... Beijing is within the range of the on-board F-18s.
                    “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

                    Comment


                    • China and US stage Yellow Sea wargames

                      FT.com / Asia-Pacific - China and US stage Yellow Sea wargames

                      By Kathrin Hille in Beijing

                      Published: September 3 2010 13:49 | Last updated: September 3 2010 13:49

                      China and the US have been staging near-simultaneous naval exercises this week in the oceans around the Yellow Sea in one of the most open displays of the rising competition between the two rival forces in north Asia.

                      The Chinese navy’s North Sea Fleet is practising shooting artillery in waters south-east of Qingdao until Saturday, while the US and South Korea are scheduled to hold a joint exercise in the Yellow Sea from Sunday.


                      While the US wargames are intended as a show of force towards North Korea, Beijing’s latest exercises illustrates a pattern of increasing assertiveness on the part of its military, especially its navy experts say.

                      “China’s naval power is growing rapidly. This is something which the US long expected to happen but which has now reached a level where it is clearly felt also by China’s neighbours,” says Gary Li, an expert on the PLA Navy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

                      China stresses that its latest, and other recent, exercises were not a response to the US-South Korea manoeuvres or to Washington’s recent announcement that the US had a “national interest” in the South China Sea, a statement which infuriated Beijing.

                      But observers note that Beijing has sent a clear message by publicising these latest exercises, which it has not done in the past.

                      The Chinese navy’s increased presence has been most marked in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s territorial claims overlap with its neighbours, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.

                      These countries emphasise the strategic importance of the sea because the passage through it of oil tankers and the potential for exploitation of undiscovered undersea resources.

                      Bud Cole, a Chinese navy expert at the US Naval War College, says Chinese naval exercises in the South China Sea – which were consistent for most of the past decade – have changed in nature.

                      The Chinese navy has added new ships and electronic systems and its three regional fleets are increasingly able to integrate operations. These closer ties were demonstrated most recently at a major exercise in the South China Sea last month.

                      Bigger changes are also taking place in the area following the completion of a submarine base on the south-eastern island of Hainan.

                      Diplomats from two south-east Asian countries said the Chinese navy had conducted bombing exercises over the South China Sea over the past seven months, and more frequent exercises were expected in connection with the new base at Hainan.

                      In addition, analysts say the Chinese navy appears to have taken over part of China’s fisheries law enforcement command, so that some coast guard patrols that were previously unarmed now appear to be equipped with anti-aircraft guns, according to Mr Li.

                      This could help explain the uptick in fisheries disputes in the area and could also pose the risk of more dangerous confrontations at sea. Over the past couple of years, the US navy has observed a number of incidents at sea, including one whether Chinese vessels came dangerously close to a US spy ship.

                      Another far-reaching change is on the way. Robert Willard, the head of US Pacific Command, recently said China was close to making an anti-ship ballistic missile operational. Once deployed, the missile dubbed an “[aircraft] carrier killer” could help the Chinese military deny US naval craft access to regional waters.

                      Military analysts say the Chinese navy has also learnt how to improve its ability to undertake sustained operations from its participation in international anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.

                      “They are having an extremely steep learning curve,” says Mr Li. During the first few missions last year, the Chinese navy practised basic things such as food supply planning, and greatly enhanced its knowledge of the waters from the South China Sea to the Horn of Africa.

                      By now, the Chinese navy has its sixth escort mission on the way to the Gulf of Aden, and is getting a maximum exercise effect by bringing in a greater array of vessels. Earlier this week, its biggest hospital ship visited the area on its first international mission.

                      Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.
                      “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

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                      • China and US likely to resume military contacts
                        FT.com / China / Politics & Foreign Policy - China and US likely to resume military contacts

                        By Geoff Dyer and Kathrin Hille in Beijing

                        Published: September 8 2010 14:53 | Last updated: September 8 2010 14:53

                        China and the US are likely to resume military contacts before the end of the year, removing one of the disputes that has helped fan a period of rising diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

                        News of the agreement to resume talks emerged on Wednesday as a delegation of senior White House officials ended a three-day visit to Beijing during which both governments went out of their way to appear cordial in public despite considerable disagreements in private.


                        Indeed, the meetings in Beijing this week could be a prelude to renewed friction over the coming weeks as the US congress debates legislation that will highlight accusations of China manipulating its currency.

                        The White House officials, led by Lawrence Summers, President Barack Obama’s leading economic advisor, and deputy national security advisor Thomas Donilon, met President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, a measure of how seriously the Chinese took the visit.

                        In keeping with the conciliatory public tone that Beijing adopted this week, President Hu told the visitors that he believed the discussions had gone well and that “we are willing to work together with the United States in promoting the advance of healthy and stable China-US relations”.

                        The White House released a short statement at the end of the visit which said that the two governments co-operated on many subjects, but on some issues “we will speak frankly and with respect when we disagree”. It added that Mr Summers and Mr Donilon held “candid exchanges” with their Chinese counterparts on North Korea, Iran and global economic imbalances.

                        Washington and Beijing have had a number of sharp disagreements in recent weeks over issues such as military exercises in the seas off the Korean peninsula and over the South China Sea, where China is one of a number of countries that disputes the Paracel and Spratly islands. Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, enraged Beijing when she said last month that the US was willing to act as a mediator in the dispute.

                        Criticism of China’s currency policy is also rising in the US after Beijing allowed the renminbi to appreciate by just 0.3 per cent since it abandoned a de facto peg with the US dollar in late June. Some analysts believe there is a good chance that legislation aimed at punishing China over its exchange rate could be approved in Congress over the coming month.

                        Military-to-military ties between the two countries were postponed by China in February after the US approved a new arms sales package to Taiwan.

                        The two sides were still discussing when and how to re-start contacts, said a US military official and an official at a Chinese think-tank involved in the process. However, such contacts are expected to re-start before the end of the year, given that President Hu is planning to make a state visit to the US in January.

                        The level of military exchanges had fallen far behind other areas in the bilateral relationship, Admiral Robert Willard, commander of US forces in the Pacific, told the Financial Times earlier this year. Military-to-military dialogue had only resumed in mid-2009 after an earlier suspension.

                        Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.
                        “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

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