F35 in India - Mistrust in QUAD member

 Modi strutted around like a cock in the company of QUAD leaders. India has made it to the white men's club. They must have trusted India to be one of them. Then Britain flew in a F35 to Chennai to let Modi take a photo op in the pilot's seat. If only the Brits trusted the Indians.

No way. The Brits did not trust the Indians a wee bit, despite India being a core member of the QUAD. Oops, the Brits were not in the QUAD. This must be the reason. The trouble ridden F35 had to make an emergency landing in Chennai, India and unable to return to its mothership, the Brit's aircraft carrier, Prince of Wales that were passing by.  

The Indians tried to help by offering to move the aircraft from the open tarmac into a hangar. The Brits refused the offer, fearing that inside the hangar when the Brits cannot keep an eye on it, the Indians could mess around with the aircraft. The Brits want the aircraft to be on the tarmac, despite exposing to weather, but not inside the hanger in the hands of the Indians. They are afraid that the Indians would steal the secrets of the F35 once out of their sight. 

This must be a big slap on Modi. The Indians probably would like to have a closeup view of the aircraft that they wanted to buy and promised by Trump in a deal. Unfortunately, they could not get near to the aircraft. Did the Americans have anything to do with the Brit's decision to park the aircraft in the open under the close watch of the Brit's pilots and crew flown in?

Whatever confidence and high hopes that the Indians think they have in becoming an ally of the Americans and the West turned into smokes. After 3 weeks in Chennai, the F35 is either going to be cut up and packed into a big transport aircraft to be sent back, or latest, might have been repaired and able to fly back on its own. No Indian can get close to it.

This is a rude awakening to Modi and the Indians. The white men have ungracefully told Modi and the Indians that they are not one of them, cannot be trusted even to take care of an aircraft. The only good thing coming out from this is that India can boast about having a F35 on its soil. Singapore had bought  more than a dozen, fully paid, but still got no chance to even have a look at the aircraft in the city state. This may not happen at all in the lifetime of many Singaporeans.

Would India still want to be a member of QUAD? Or would Modi be sobbing in the arms of Trump, complaining about the Brits? How real was Trump's offer to sell the F35 to India?

Trump still in his fantasy land

Trump and his administration think the whole world owes the USA a living. This is going to cost the USA dearly, having already driven friends and foes to go against his administration by almost totally ignoring his tariff deadlines or just telling him there is an alternative to the USA and the US$. It is going to be the whole Global South going against the USA and its cronies and sycophants.

Japan has almost been driven to manufacture cars in the USA since Trump's first term and yet is facing tariffs of 25% going forward. So does South Korea. These are close allies of the USA, supporting its agenda for decades and now being thrown under the bus. Next to be thrown under the bus will be India, if it still does not realize what is in store for its pacifying stance towards the USA. The USA is basically telling India to quit BRICS or face consequences. This is good news for BRICS if India were to be forced to quite the bloc by itself.

Recent news also emerged that Samsung has backtracked on its chip investments in Arizona, pulling back further investments for facilities supposed to start operation from 2024 to 2026, citing lack of a credible market to support further buildup of production facilities. This is a stark reality befalling all those chip makers building facilities in Arizona.

China is the main market for chips, and without the Chinese market, which is planning to be self-supporting going forward, the outlook for chipmakers in the USA is certainly not bright. Building chips just for the USA market alone is not feasible. The USA created this mess for itself by waking up the giant, trying to push China against the wall. It is going to backfire badly.

Trump is also pushing very hard for China to stop it from cutting off supplies of rare earth for USA manufacturing, both for commercial enterprises and the military. In fact, he is reported to have 'demanded' that China must not cut off supply chains from the USA. Trump thinks he is the emperor of China.


Anonymous

High cost of drugs. Americans' turn 'better to die than to get sick'

Wait a minute. Trump is going to impose a 200% tariff on pharmaceuticals. The only thing not to do for USA consumer's healthcare cost is increasing the price of drugs by 200%, which is plain horrendous. I guess USA citizens have not heard of Singaporean's complaining that it is better to die than to fall sick. Of course not, when China is its medical supply chain of last resort for decades already.

China provides the raw materials, even those that India needs in the making of drugs. So does drug companies in the USA. In fact, China makes the raw ingredients that makes the drug work and the finished products, which are sold cheaply to the USA's big drug makers, and they do the packaging part using their brand names and allowed to mark up the prices like crazy. It is the same as with iPhones, luxury bags and Rolex watches. China does make low end products for the low-end buyers, but China can also do the high-end stuff for the right price. I think it is high time for China not to be nice and continue to help others make all the money with unbelievable profits at its expense and yet getting demonized.

I think China should just sit tight with the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and ship less consumer stuff to the USA and see who blinks first. I have been seeing reports that Trump is demanding that China must stop cutting off its supply chain to serve the USA market. It shows that Trump is losing his leverage on China. We shall see what happens the next couple of months when stockpiling has served its purpose of restocking shelves that would otherwise be empty by now.


Anonymous

Hypersonic missiles change the rules of modern warfare

Aircraft carriers are now sitting ducks in the face of hypersonic missiles. This is the reality developing, although no actual sinking of an aircraft carrier has been reported as yet. Even Stealth fighter jets are being countered by new radar systems capable of identifying them.

But the effectiveness of hypersonic missiles has already been proven in the 12-day Iran/Israel war, with Iran suspected of using hypersonic missiles that got through the 'Iron Dome' with ease despite all its various curtain of defense, causing all the damage to Israeli cities. These hypersonic missiles cannot be taken down by interceptor missiles like the Patriot, THAAD and whatever. The speed of hypersonic missiles just allows them to break through the 'Iron Dome' and makes those interceptors obsolete. Which is why the USA needed a truce between Iran and Israel, not otherwise. Israel has no defense against hypersonic missiles, and Iran has plenty of them.

Russia is also now using hypersonic missiles in Ukraine as well, which the USA via a vis NATO has still not been on board. Military establishments in the West are more interested in selling military equipment that caters to the mass and hypersonic developments have been sidelined. China, Russia and Iran have totally eclipsed them in this sector.


Anonymous

American air to air refueling hoax when bombing Iran

 The American terrorists spread the lies that American tankers for air to air refueling were sent to the Middle East to support the Israeli and American bombings of Iran. They also spread the lie that B2 bombers have to fly all the way from the USA to bomb Iran. How much of these are true when they could simply fly their B2s and F35s from air bases in neighbouring Arab states to Iran within minutes?

The spreading of these lies was to send the Iranians and the rest of the world to believe that the Americans and the Israelis have to do the hard way and to distract them from what was happening on the ground. American B2s could be in nearby European or Arab states to launch their attacks against Iran. Why fly all the way across the Atlantic or Pacific, taking several hours, conduct air to air refueling, stressing the aircrews just for a few minutes of bombing missions?

As for the F35s, there are all in American bases in Saudi Arabia, maybe in Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar or UAE, just a few minutes from Iran. And who would believe that the F35s bombing Iran were Israeli planes and not American F35s, flew by Americans pilots? It was also easy for the Israelis to fly the F35s to American bases near Iran, fueled, armed and took off from these bases to strike at Iranian nuclear facilities. Why go through the costly, tedious, strenuous and time consuming process of air to air refueling over Arab states that can be detected and even be shot down?

If one can scratch the right ear with the right hand, why struggle with the left hand and stretching behind, across the back to do it? The Americans and the Israelis are not stupid. Everything could be done so easily, cheaply and efficiently using American bases in the region and to implicate the Arab states to create more distrust among them. There is no need to do what they publicly announced to the world. But unfortunately many in the world, in Arab and Muslim states believed in the hoax and distraction. The Iranians also thought so and dismissed the possibility of what the Americans and Israelis were doing with the American bases in Arab and Muslim states. Perhaps the Iranians knew of the American and Israeli ploy to incite Iranians to bomb the Arab states. This did not happen.

Iran must bomb out all the American bases in neighbouring Arab and Muslim states to prevent the Americans and Israelis from launching sneak attacks against them, with American warplanes and drones. Do not blame the Arab and Muslim states. They have no choice. They are semi colonies of the Americans and Israelis and the military bases in their countries are totally in the hands of the Americans and they can do whatever they want, with top mission, to remove any Arab or Muslim leaders that did not do their bidding.