12/01/2012

China’s response to the US pivot


For the last few decades of its rise as an economic giant, China has adopted a low profile in its relations with its neighbours other than trade and economics. It was always a meek giant, allowing little countries to bully its people. Its fishermen have been arrested by South Korea and Japan, chased away by Japanese coastguards from the Diaoyu group of islands, and Vietnam and the Philippines had on many occasions arrested Chinese fishing men and boats in the Spratleys and the Paracels. Some of the fishing boats were hauled all the way to Manila like little thieves. It was a grand display of power, and humiliating to China.


In spite of all these provocations and harassments, China kept a very low profile, not even diplomatic protest.  It refrained from engaging in any military conflict or confrontation with its neighbours’ hostility. This was be interpreted by some cocky neighbours as a sign of weakness, that China was unable to defend its interests or protect its people. It was also seen as military weakness, that China feared an open conflict with the US. And as long as the US is in the picture, the little pesky countries could run circles against this toothless giant. They aggressively challenged and claimed islands that were historically founded by the China.  

All of these are changing. The most dreaded US 7th Fleet is no longer a factor in a naval conflict in the East and South China Seas. They have been neutralized by the commissioning of anti ship missiles in China. The playing field is more level and China would no longer hold back to provocations by little pests. Any more signs of weaknesses could see its claims to the South China Sea islands ended under the control of the Americans through their proxies. Also, weakness will only invite war and heighten the risk of war.
China has to stand up as a major military power and shaft its stick up the asses of little pesky countries that think they could rely on the Americans to take on China. It is unavoidable that a conflict with the Americans will come to a head. It is only a matter of time as the US is moving its military machine from the Middle East to the region. In fact taking a strong and firm stand and whipping the asses of the pesky countries would reduce the risk of war with the Americans. Once the little countries know that China will kick their asses and willing to take on the Americans, the nonsense will stop.

China has just done that by authorizing its naval police ships to board and arrest foreign ships violating its territorial integrity. Looks like the first ship to be boarded and haul to Hainan will be the biggest battleship in the Filipino Navy. Let’s see how gungho the Pinoys are to provoke the Chinese and attempt to arrest Chinese fishing boats again.

China will no longer tolerate the aggressive provocations of little countries and must whip them if it is to be taken seriously. There is no other way. The earlier style of diplomacy and appeasement, of avoiding trouble even when her fishing boats and fishermen were harassed and arrested by little countries is over. The little countries must take note of this new position of China. It is only doing what is needed to protect its territories and people like what any country will do. The trouble makers have set fire in China’s courtyards and it must act or get its house burnt.

In Syria the Americans are contemplating on escalating the fight by direct involvement of American forces, just like in Libya. This is how friendly big powers behave and gain respect, and fear. China has to emulate the big powers like the US and tell the little countries not to trifle with her interests and they will get a wallop in the face. Kindness and refrain from retaliation is a bad policy and will be misunderstood for weaknesses and will invite a continuous string of provocations and aggression. China’s tough stand in the South China Sea is to defend its territories from foreign encroachments, to ward off unfriendly and hostile overtures by silly little countries. It is not an act of aggression like what the Americans are doing in the Middle East and contemplating to do in Syria. It is an act of self defence.

The tougher stand will ruffle a lot of feathers as the little countries are used to a submissive giant that would turn the other face. After the initial grumbling they will understand the meaning of correct and proper diplomacy and what is being polite to a gentle giant. Do not cross the line.

9 comments:

oldbread said...

submissive giant?

the japanese and koreans are nationalistic so as long as their economies allow they'll continue to face off with china

the pinoy govt is just plain dumb. even without the US they'll still try to talk loudly as if the "international law" matters without thought to repercussions

and seriously, since when was PRC a submissive govt? do you realise how many wars they fought since establishment?
and if you haven't noticed, other then those directly threatened or crazy like the pinoys, everyone else has already gotten out of the way.

the filipino govt seem to have this idea they can talk things out. you have no army, no navy, no airforce(I don't know what those things are but they're definitely not the army/navy/airforce )
your economy is increasingly dependent on PRC and her affiliated countries..... and you want to negotiate? talk about fairness? want to feel and have pride?

the only export that's proping up filipno economy is mass human labour export who regularly send money back.
can you inmagine if china is pissed enough to stop further inport of labour into HK? and expel the rest, then informally hint that her "friends" should thighten imigration processes as well?
used to an economy propped up by foreign revenue, half of these professionals and yes maids as well being sacked is enough to ruin their economy and topple their govt for angering china over their rice bowls.


cut off from the rest of asean, who would help them? lol US? they can send bombs, maybe a monetary package.
but they can't provide jobs en mass

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Hi oldbread, welcome to the blog.

Please read the history of China from 1850 to present day and see whether China is an aggressive war mongering country or the victims of aggression. Or you may want to shorten it to start from 1949. But that would have made Japan the most peaceful loving country in the world.

You may want to compare that with the history of Japan and the USA. Tabulate the number of wars each had fought and whether they were wars of aggression or wars of defending their own territories.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

China must clean up its act. At the moment they have "low profile" for many reasons --one is that they are not squeeky clean and have a lot of shit to hide/ defend. (OTOH, no cuntry is squeeky clean)

They need to and are cleaning up "corruption" -- but that will take a long time. I'm not sure that learning anti-corruption practices from Singapore is a good idea, but they are doing it anyway.

China doesn't have to "appease" the US or the EU. In fact, China should tell both giants to "fuck off", literally use those words -- make the mat saleh's blur.

The hearts and minds China need to win and woo are those in ASIA. Asia is DIVIDED when it comes to the question of China. It is some Asian governments licking the gonads of the US....Asians...two faced cowards for the most part.

China is doing a helluva job in Africa. China will save Africa and make it RICH. The African-brand of corruption is an entirely another matter...but at least the Chinese are doing great in Africa, winning hearts and minds. And similar moves are being made in South America.

Sure. They are after the commodities -- natural resources, water and agriculture. But they are decent about ownership. They buy. They keep quiet, they mind their own business.

They know people are watching. One wrong move and fuck-hacks at The Guardian and The Huffington Post will go nuts and start writing shit. The media whores at the New York Times, Faux News, MSNBC start having epileptic fits over "yet-another-expose" of China's outrageous behaviour.

Anonymous said...

In the world stage of big powers and power diplomacy, it is not about niceties. You whack the shit out of people against you and they will be nice to you and join you even in the killings. The Americans are just doing that.

Now which country in the right mind would dare arrest American ships or people without getting a black eye. The Israelies are doing the same.

China, like it or not, has to wield the club and knock the daylight out of pussy little bitches or they will keep coming back to bitch. America grabbed most of the land from Mexico, controlled the Arabs and Africans, and whack them whenever it has do. And they keep coming back for more and pronounced that the US is a friendly and peace loving country.

South China Sea will be a busy hotspot if China does not stop the monkeys from starting fire. It can only maintain peace by swinging the big club. No other ways. Or the Pinoys and Vietnamese will continue to board and arrest Chinese fishing boats and asked for a ransom for their release.

And they will continue to point the fingers at China as the aggressor, as the trouble maker.

How could China allow such things to happen to its people?

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

@anon132

That is so true. Americans have a doctrine called "American Exceptionalism" which means that the US govt is "obliged" to do what is necessary to secure American interests in a geo political world.

The problem with this doctrine is that it can be based on whim disguised as "pragmatism". For e.g. even at the hint or rumour of possessing WMD (Weapons Of Mass Destruction) the US govt Commander-In-Chief can decide, unilaterally to bomb the fuck out of that "rougue" cuntry and kill its citizens, citing "collateral damage" as "sad, but unavoidable".

I don't think China can just go out and willy-nilly wallop the Nips, the karaoke Pinoys or the ex-gooks of Vietnam...immediately the shit will hit the fan if that happens and China will come away looking like an ugly bully.

Actually, I admire China for the restraint that it has shown. This is a hard game. Have to bear in mind that the US of A is extremely adept at painting America as "the good guys".(and to be fair, often they are, but on more than one occasion they've shown to be really fucking bad bullies, meddlers, manipulators and homicidal maniacs)

And don't forget India: they have fought and lost a war with China. I will bet that the Indians won't take kindly to a China swinging its military might in Asia. Add to that Beijing's cosy relationship with the Muslim elites in Islamabad.

At least China has good influential friends in Asia: Singapore and Thailand for example.

oldbread said...

Hi red bean.

from Qianlong onwards.... china was in a decline, in no position to wage war. taiping rebellion caused tens of millions of lives.
by 1850, they were hardly in the condition they were in when they wrestled central asia from imperial russia. and Qing ended in 1911.


but whenever she could, whenever any big power could. they tend to behave the same way.
I must say again, as before, I'm not anti China in this view. I just don't like it when people paint china as a peaceful power when it's so obviously they are quite sophisticated in their thinking and dealings with other nations.



other then imjin war, I kind of personally considered all modern japanese wars to be linked. since they were attempting to gain control of the same area.


USA herself , is a warmonger, but yet enjoyed unparalleled support
Something I'm not quite sure PRC would enjoy when she wants to flex her wings.


PRC is definitely not a peace loving nation. or at least not in conventional sense. her wars were all calculated, and had the option of opting out at a loss of course. their actions, plus released views showed they don't believe in talking before wielding a big stick
she is a very aggressive but not war loving nation. they avoid war because of the costs. not because they fear war.

we're simply choosing to suck dick first before they wave the stick to avoid trouble.

it's a matter of time when philippines wake up and start worrying. no need for a stick when only an arched eyebrow is required.

Anonymous said...

US has stick but no balls, China has balls but no stick. US try to be funny with China, Europe and Russia will be the winners. US make love with China, the whole world will be celebrating.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

The American warmongers are behind the false pretence of bravery and idiocy in the Philippines affront against China for many years. The Americans have just passed a bill to include Daioyu/Senkaku which they acknowledged as islands under Japanese administration only to come under their defence pact. Such double speak, or like the Red Indians said, white men speak with fork tongues, is America's intent in the pivot to Asia, to stir up interstate rivalry and to provoke a war.

When the Americans deem it acceptable to board and search ships, even arrest them in all corners of the oceans, China's latest policy to secure its South China Sea territories is seen as an escalation of tension. Did China say that it is not allowing freedom of navigation? No, it is to tell the pesky countries that it will not take nonsense from them anymore and a notice to the US to stay clear of the waters.

A military confrontation with the US is imminent as the US would test the resolve of the Chinese by deliberately sailing their naval ships into the area. A new flashpoint is going to burst into flame and the culprit as usual will be China and not the Americans.

Who gives the Americans the damn right to mess around in other people's courtyard to stir trouble? It is all about big power play. They carry more guns and thus can behave as gangsters.

The latest defeat in the UN on the Palestinian cause when more than a hundred nations voted against the Americans and its 6 allies is a telling sign that the rest of the world is turning against them. America has lost all credibility as a superpower in the Middle East by being anti Arabs and Muslims. When Saudi Arabia falls, the rest of the Arab and Muslim states will fall into one big anti American bloc.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

>> Who gives the Americans the damn right to mess around in other people's courtyard to stir trouble?

The American President, Senate and Congress do. The "right"is American Exceptionalism. It is based on the ideas that America and the American people are "special", and therefore can act in manners which benefit America's freedom, prosperity, happiness and security.

Interestingly, in order to secure the above "values" for the American people, it is often necessary to make other cuntrees and their peoples less free, less prosperous, less secure and a whole lot less happy...with the exception of course of their corrupt leaders who become very rich and very happy, and are quite willing to shit on their own people for one long and lucrative American-payday.

America also secures its "right" to play out the doctrine of American Exceptionalism by handing out large amounts of Foreign Aid

List of greedy cuntrees getting free American tax-payer monery

Ever the smart crony-capitalist, the American govt also offers assistance in military funding so that cuntrees can buy super-duper US-made, govt-subsidised weapons from the plethora of US "defense contractors" which make up the bulk of the military-industrial-political-financial complex -- a group of super-elites all having a rocking good time on the taxpayers' dime.

It always takes 2 hands to clap. One cannot criticise America on its own without seeing the bigger picture, and how other govts enjoy a very cosy and financially beneficial relationship with Uncle Sam...even if it means Uncle Sam can shoot off a few drone sorties now and then.