China's Emergence as a Superpower (2015 onwards)

[Bill Moore]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mkxL4iqcAY&app=desktop

BBC Documentary China vs USA - Empires at war

The video interviews numerous PRC, Taiwan, and U.S. strategists, and as the retired PLA clearly states, China is at war with the U.S. now, but it is a different type of war, unrestricted warfare.

The next article focuses on PLA's maritime militia, or little blue men.

https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/04/ar...uth-china-sea/

Beijing’s maritime militia, the scourge of South China Sea
China uses hundreds of fishing trawlers, manned by military-trained sailors and modified for ramming and spying, to seize islands

For two years, scores and sometimes hundreds of Chinese fishing ships have been harassing, swarming and spying on Filipino construction crews upgrading infrastructure on the island of Thitu, known as Pagasa in the Philippines. This is the second largest naturally occurring island in the Spratly archipelago, and is home to about 100 Filipinos and a small military detachment.

[davidbfpo]

An event in London last month @ Policy Exchange (a UK think tank) on this topic, albeit with a reference to the internal Conservative Party competition for the next Prime Minister. The panel has an Australian, Alex Downer, an ex-Foreign Minister; ret'd US General Petraeus; two UK SME and a former Conservative Minister of Defence, Ivan Fallon. The podcast is 71 mins long and I am currently listening to it.
Link:https://policyexchange.org.uk/pxeven...rise-of-china/

[davidbfpo]

A rather good article IMHO on this vexed issue by Gerard Baker, of the WSJ, now two weeks ago in the British weekly magazine 'The Spectator'. He outlines the Trump approach, drawing attention to his VP's speech in October 2018 - which I had not heard of - and concludes with:

No one thinks a war with China is either desirable or likely. But what’s changed in the US since Trump came to power is a belief that, just as with the threat from the old Soviet Union, peace is more likely to be achieved through enhanced US strength and a willingness to project it than through accommodation and vacillation.

Link, which includes a podcast discussion between the author and two Brits:https://www.spectator.co.uk/2019/06/...actually-work/

[davidbfpo]

An opinion piece in The Sydney Morning Herald by an Australian Federal MP and chair of the Intelligence & Security Committee; identified by a "lurker". It is strongly worded and was condemned by the PRC (see BBC report).
Link: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fede...07-p52eon.html and a related BBC News item: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-49273989

Note the later identified the author as being an ex-Australian SOF officer 2010-2015 His official bio:https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_...an?MPID=260805 and another:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew...e_(politician)

[Bill Moore]

An opinion piece in The Sydney Morning Herald by an Australian Federal MP and chair of the Intelligence & Security Committee; identified by a "lurker". It is strongly worded and was condemned by the PRC (see BBC report).
Link: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fede...07-p52eon.html and a related BBC News item: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-49273989

Note the later identified the author as being an ex-Australian SOF officer 2010-2015 His official bio:https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_...an?MPID=260805 and another:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew...e_(politician)

Finally some leaders, though not in key positions are beginning to view China as it actually is, instead of the way they want it to be. The Australian Embassy comment condeming his remarks was cowardly. The Nazi comparison is apt, but there are differences. Instead of a Blitzgreg, they are expanding their territory via military and non-military coercion incrementally. If China conducted these activities over a 6 month period, instead of 10 plus years, there would be no doubt in anyone's mind it was naked aggression. Xi has much said he seeks to radically transform the international order to make it safe for authoritarian governments. Inside China, the racist communist party is conducted its own "final solution" for minority groups. We don't even need to discuss the unfair trade and intellectualy property theft. It is a shame that some Australian politicians would defend the communist party's behavior, but not surprising. The free world can and should work with the Chinese people, but the Chinese Communist Party is another matter.