When Xi called Trump ... something big is happening

 For the first half of 2025, Trump was sending messages to want to meet up with Xi. He had sent all the positive signals to China, claiming Xi was his good friend, Xi was a great leader and...relations between the two countries could be good. No one believed Trump. After all Trump was the one that started the trade war with China in his first term and following up with greater intensity in his second term. Xi was reticent, no reply, not saying a single word. 

The break came on the last few days of the APEC Summit in South Korea that both would finally meet in Busan on 30 Oct. The Meeting ended with Trump claiming it was a good meeting and both walking out together smiling, like two old friends. Trump also announced he would be visiting Beijing next year and Xi would make a return visit to Washington. The trade war had a slight reprieve with China agreeing to buy soya beans, held back on more restriction on rare earths and curtailing sale of fentanyl. Trump did not really offer anything of substance or meaningful to China.

Shortly after the Meeting, negative rhetoric continued from the American side, showing signs that things were not going well. Then Japan lighted a fire by announcing that it would intervene and even attack China should China reunify with Taiwan. Suddenly everything heated up and tension rose. US was exceptionally restrained with only its ambassador in Japan making a short statement to support the Japanese position. The whole world looks on with trepidation that a great crisis is in the making.

China was infuriated with Japan crossing its red line and has slammed Japan daily, including taking measures to ban Japanese seafood, cutting off flights and tourists to Japan. Japan did not back down, refused to retract the aggressive remarks, giving the impression that the Americans were behind the move.

A war with Japan is a war between China and the USA. The consequences are beyond anyone's imagination. Both China and US would suffer unacceptable damages while Japan ended the biggest winner. Japan is setting up this fight between China and the USA.

Now Xi has made a call to Trump. Chinese media reported that Taiwan was discussed. White House did not reveal this. Xi would not call Trump to talk about golf or breakfast. Something very big must be discussed and going to take place. My opinion, Taiwan was the central issue in the phone call. Xi must have told Trump that China's red line has been crossed by the Japanese. China will act. What would be Trump's response? After the call, Trump said relations between China and US is 'extremely strong', and 'Taiwan's return to China' is key part of Beijing's vision for the world order. This is the first time Trump used the term 'extremely strong' for relations between the two countries.

The phone call must be very frank and serious. Whatever, if Xi decided it's time to act. Trump would have to consider seriously how to respond, to fight China or to let China fight Japan alone. There is no good reason for Trump to risk the whole USA to fight China all because of Japan. It is just not worth it, and there is no need to. Xi must have briefed Trump of what is coming and be best for Trump not to get involved.

The next few days or weeks are crucial moments in China US relations and would affect the future of human civilisation. A war with China is not something to mess around with. This is the real thing that Trump in all his seriousness and betting, cannot be ignored lightly. When China decides to act....

Now is the lull before the storm.

Asean countries' perception of Japan are not the same as East Asian countries

 Though the experiences of East Asia and SE Asia during the Japanese Invasion were quite similar, there are in many ways quite different as well. All were invaded and almost colonised by the Imperial Japan, some longer, some semi colonised, with the exception of Thailand. Several of the countries had their people massacred by the Japanese with very few exceptions. The countries that suffered the most from Japanese atrocities and cruelties were China and Korea and to a certain extent Taiwan. China lost 35 million death, Korea and Taiwan were colonised completely and their people treated with disgust by the Japanese. The Taiwanese were treated slightly better after a couple of hundred thousand were massacred followed by a 'taming of the beast' or 'domestication of the Taiwanese' campaign by the Japanese.

The experiences of SE Asia were quite different in a way. They were all colonies of Western empires, and the Japanese were just another empire, another colonial master. The SE Asian countries had been subdued and were not independent nation states. politically still immature. Nationalism in SE Asia and nationalistic resistance were nascent. Changing of the national anthem, nationalities and raising a foreign flag did not really mean much to the colonised people. 

In contrast, the Chinese and Korean were ancient civilisations with distinct identities of nationhood, though not in the western sense. But they were clearly civilisations with their political systems, kingship etc. The pain felt by the East Asian states were therefore more severe, also contributed by the cruel and barbaric acts of the Japanese Imperial forces.

Without any strong identities, with their familiarity of being ruled by foreign forces, the brief Japanese rule, though harsh and cruel, was just a brief phase of their history and easily and conveniently forgotten. SE Asian countries also have a bizarre affection for their colonial masters, not withstanding the massacres and discriminating status as colonised people. Maybe they are suffering from the Stockholm Syndrome.

For the SE Asian states, with very shallow roots, like duckweeds, history and the past are not that meaningful to them. Many did not remember or did not want to remember what the Japanese did to their forefathers and non existent nation states. It is all like starting a new chapter in their national history. It is therefore quite easy for the SE Asian states to welcome and embrace Japan as a friend. And many are easily taken in by the bowing and smiling Japanese, thinking that the Japanese are very nice and polite people.

Some Asean states would readily welcome the Japanese as the new policemen of SE Asia, just like they welcome the Americans. Why not, these are powerful and rich countries that can provide economic help to grow their economies. Never mind about the past, the massacres and occupation. The Japanese also did not mind the American military presence and overlording them despite the two Atomic Bombs. If the Japanese can forgive the Americans, just follow the Japanese way and forgive the brutal invasion and colonisation during the Japanese Occupation. And if the Japanese are strong enough to reconquer SE Asia one more time, so be it. A devil we know is better than the devil we don't know. 

The Japanese are the most qualified to rule SE Asian countries. They had done that before, colonising all of them and ruling them for a few years before they were defeated. Another plus for Japan is that they did not massacre enough SE Asian natives, so they are still welcome by the natives that survived the massacres. Would Asean states be happy to be ruled again by the Japanese, the very nice and polite Japanese, unlike the brutal and barbaric Japanese of the past?

SE Asia needs a big power to be the policemen of the region. The Americans may not be here for long. Let the Japanese have some practice as the next policemen of the region, to bring peace and prosperity to the region. Oops, they had hands on experience in WW2, ruling over the region. The Japanese tried with their East Asia Co prosperity Sphere, to 'liberate' the SE Asian states from western colonialism. It would be better, and no bloodshed, if the SE Asian states were to invite the Japanese here to turn their East Asia Co prosperity Sphere into reality this time. And it should not be an issue to raise the Japanese flag and sing the Japanese anthem once again, a great dose of nostalgia. SE Asian states had great experiences in being ruled by colonial powers. They would get used to it very quickly. Some already planning to be the 52nd state of the USA. Never mind even have to learn to speak Japanese and change their names to Japanese names. Many SE Asians like to be Japanese, like everything Japanese, like some of the Taiwanese.

Banzai, Banzai!

Oops, oops, the above is just a satire of the possibility of the Japanese returning to rebuild their Japanese Empire in SE Asia peacefully after failing to do so in WW2. And this time it would be a happy ending with the SE Asian states welcoming them with open arms. Please Nihon san, no need to massacre anyone this time, be kinder, be civilised, no need to be cruel and brutal to the natives. Remember, the SE Asian natives love you, love to be ruled by the Great Imperial Japan and worship the Japanese God Emperor.

The East Asian states, except the Taiwanese, would never accept to be ruled by the Japanese, over their dead bodies. They have enough pride and dignity to live as free and independent nation states.

China must be careful of the bitch in heat

China has the industrial base to fall back on in any war. China also has the supply chains like rare earth magnets, titanium, copper and steel for making more weapons like drones and missiles that other countries are now short off.

Just like Russia churning out weapons that the Europeans could not match and thinking Russia is really falling short in that sector. So, who has the advantage in any war in the South China Sea is a no brainer. This is China's front yard, and which dog, male or female, wants to start a fight must be prepared to face the consequence.

Having said that, China needs to watch the Japanese using a female dog very carefully, as this was exactly the desperate situation that forced the Japs to launch its attack on China and other Asian countries in the past. A sneak attack is not beyond contemplation, just like Pearl Harbor. And just like Pearl Harbor, the Japanese will face total annihilation this time around.


Anonymous

Japan can send all its contaminated seafood to Taiwan

Japan is looking at another economic stimulation exercise. Stimulate what is the question when all the stimulation over the last three decades came to nothing. It will not work and is just making the Yen weaker and Japanese nationals getting poorer with a falling Yen. Even all the arrows fired by Shintaro Abe, the other samurai, using his Abenomics failed to strike the target. He was not the last samurai, it seems, as his protege is doing the same that he left off.

Japan's GDP had been stagnant or just drifting and even declining over the last decade, with India said to be overtaking it with its cow dung GDP added in. Japan was the second biggest global economy, peaking at US$6.3 trillion in 2012, now at fourth with just US$4.2 trillion or thereabouts today and in deep economic trouble, with huge debt to GDP ratio. Japan's industrial base had been decimated first by the South Koreans and now by the Chinese.

China is going for the underbelly of Japan by targeting its tourism and seafood industry for a start. Tourism is one area that affects many other sectors like hotels, food and beverage, shopping malls, entertainment outlets while seafood targets Japan's fisheries sector and also causing collateral damage to Japanese restaurants operating in China. But never mind, all the contaminated seafood can go to Taiwan, knowing that Japan is still releasing contaminated Fukushima waters into the ocean. The Chinese had better be safe than sorry.


Anonymous

Little China waiting to be attacked by Japan

BEIJING: China has taken its growing dispute with Japan to the United Nations, accusing Tokyo of threatening "an armed intervention" over Taiwan and vowing to defend itself in its strongest language yet in the two-week-old dispute....

"If Japan dares to attempt an armed intervention in the cross-Strait situation, it would be an act of aggression," Fu wrote, according to a statement from China's UN mission. "China will resolutely exercise its right of self-defence under the UN Charter and international law and firmly defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity." CNA

What is wrong with the above quote? The Japanese threatening an armed intervention is not aggressive enough? China is behaving like Venezuela, waiting to be attacked by America, in this case Japan. Yes, it is Japan threatening to attack China, not China threatening to attack Japan. And faced with such aggressive stance of Japan, China like Venezuela, can only wait to be attacked. Can anyone think that the scenario should be different, that a superpower, a nuclear power, be the one that is threatening to attack a smaller country? Why is a smaller country threatening a nuclear superpower like it is going to whack the hell out of China like in WW2? Why is China still acting like a third rate power, being threatened by little Japan and behaving like it is unable to hit back, at best just defending, to ward off the blows from Japan?

Venezuela has no choice, facing a much bigger and superior superpower like America. China is facing a midget Japan and can only cry out loud, that it would defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity but afraid to step out of the door. Did the Chinese ever think that they can whack the hell out of midget Japan and it is the Japanese that should be crying about defending themselves? No, the hyenas are threatening to eat the dragon and the dragon can only think of hiding inside the cave to be safe, hoping that the UN would tell the Japanese to stop attacking China.

This is just unbelieveable! And the western world is shouting, China is aggressive! Japan is so nice, so polite, so friendly, and Asean is inviting Japan to be the new sheriff of SE Asia, to protect Asean from aggressive China!

What do you think the Americans will do if Venezuela is to threaten to attack America?