Beijing ain’t exactly Mr Nice Guy these days:
Japan Caves In on China; Looks to U.S. [with video]
Japan’s new foreign minister, hours after his country blinked in a standoff with China and released the captain of a Chinese fishing boat, said Tokyo is looking to strengthen strategic and economic ties with the U.S., as Japan contends with a rising China.
The fishing-boat spat had escalated into the most serious dispute between China and Japan in recent years, with Beijing threatening retaliation after Japan detained the captain, whose craft slammed into Japanese coast guard patrol boats in waters off disputed islands in the East China Sea.
Associated Press
Japanese prosecutors announced they will release a Chinese sea captain who has been in Japanese custody since a ship collision earlier this month.On Friday, Seiji Maehara said Tokyo would participate in a broader “strategic dialogue” with the U.S., “cooperating more closely” on policy toward China, North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan and other countries.
“Countries the world over watched how China reacted” to the incident, Mr. Maehara told The Wall Street Journal in an interview on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
China rejected a proposed summit meeting, canceled cultural exchanges and energy-development talks, and warned of economic damage. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao threatened “further action” against Japan if Beijing’s demands for the release of the captain weren’t met…
The dispute over the fishing vessel, which was operating in waters that Japan considers part of its territory, comes against a backdrop of concern in Japan and elsewhere about China’s growing military power. China’s navy, especially, has become stronger and is ranging further offshore, causing some at the Pentagon and in Tokyo to reassess the potential threat posed by China.
Mr. Maehara said that China’s rising military spending is a cause of concern…
Will all those Canadians who call for us to upsuck madly to the Dragon take note? See the links at the end of this earlier post
Obama and the Dragon: Standing up, not upsucking…
Update: More on the ocean blue:
While U.S. is distracted, China develops sea power
Mark
Ottawa
Remember Mark, we are all the way over on the other side of the world, safe from the Chinese aggression. No need for a military here
No ships, no planes, no guns… just peace and love and soft power. Oh, and the UN, yeah, the UN will protect us.
Actually the US will, as it has done for many years, out of simple self-interest.
If you want Canada to be able to contribute militarily in any substantive/substantive way to dealing with future possible Chinese threats, then this government should at least double, if not triple, defence spending from 1.2 per cent of the GDP. Instead the Conservatives are cutting back on the small increases they had promised. Please read the whole piece at this link:
http://www.themarknews.com/articles/1194-don-t-undermine-the-canadian-forces
Lots more here on international military spending (China is a distant #2):
http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending
Mark
Ottawa
The answer to China is not to buy more useless aircraft we will NEVER use at a cost we should not be paying. They are a toy, in any objective sense.
The answer to China as Japan has just shown us is a VIBRANT and VARIED economy with MANUFACTURING as its base. And OTHER markets for your exports. Japan kowtowed to Beijing not because of China’s expanded navy or air force but because it could not afford to lose the Chinese markets and/or Chinese raw materials.
Don’t trust China ? Stop buying everything from it. That will leave a mark. More token defense spending while exporting jobs and cash to the heart of the problem — not so much.
Money talks. Especially with the Chinese leadership. That said, I’m not too concerned about Chinese expansionism. Give the leadership a bow or two when appropriate(and NOT like Obama has done–see the groveling caveat), but don’t grovel and you should be fine. They want and demand what they consider to be respect, and are now in a position to get what they want. It’s that simple, imao, anyways.
Ah the power of sarcasm is weak without voice inflection and body language.
My poor attempt was a jab at all of the people who use excuses not to spend on defence at all, not just the paltry amount that Canada actually spends without focus (like a real white paper on defence for example).
dougf your blowing smoke. I have a stick, you have money. I take my stick and hit you with it and take your money. Simple… a vibrant and varied economy cannot defend itself without troops and equipment. Economic defence, lol, you’re killing me!
Sheesh, how the hell do you think wars start? Someone wants something bad enough, and thinks it has the force to take it and that no one will stand in the way. You can’t believe how lucky we have been that the USA has been a benevolent superpower. Look at the neighbors of China and wonder how we would have faired as a country living next door to those despots.
And what crystal ball are you gazing in to determine if we will ever use a military resource? Do you have insurance because you are forced to have it or because you know that a little up front will save you in the long run JUST IN CASE? You don’t know what the future will bring, not having insurance when you can afford it is just stupid.
As a Chinese-Canadian, and as a long-time Conservative supporter and volunteer, I greatly resent this rhetoric about China being some sort of myserious, evil “dragon” empire. It’s insulting to my culture and ancestors who built the railroads of Canada and rose out of poverty to contribute a lot socially and economically to Canada.
This issue has to be looked in historical context. It isn’t so much about the “fishing boat” per se; it’s about a deeply-rooted resentment against the Japanese for their historical wrongs (which they have never apologized for) — even before the rapes and massacres during WWII, there was constant pirating, looting, pillaging, invasion attempts, etc. In fact, those islands under dispute have historically been China’s until they were ceded to Japan in WWII. Why should China be “Mr. Nice Guy” when they has suffered so much under Japanese occupations and invasions?
It makes sense for China to demand the release of its fishermen in territory that has historically been under their control. It would serve you well to not forget Japan’s historical grievances towards other Asian countries.
Sorry, wasn’t quite sure what your line was, quite agree.
Mark
Ottawa
JJ: The Chinese (Nanjing just for one) and just about everybody else in the former Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere (Koreans, Vietnamese, Filipinos. Allied PoWs, et al.) have huge grievances against China.
The fact remains that in many ways modern China is a place with some fairly nasty and specifically Chinese Communist characteristics that other peoples in the area seem to have largely moved away from. The increasingly hyped-up nationalism is also a worry.
Glad you’re here.
Mark
Ottawa
MarkOttawa,
Please inform me of these “huge grievances” other Asian countries have against China. Are these grievances as intense as the ones Japan committed in the past?
No doubt China’s rise makes neighbouring countries feel threatened. However, taken in a historical context, I don’t think China demanding the release of its fishermen in disputed territory is “nasty,” considering how those islands used to be China’s until they were taken by Japan.
P.S. Under the euphemism of “Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere,” thousands of people were raped and killed. It is negative term that refers to the former Japanese imperialistic empire.
Ooops! Of course those countries’ grievances referred to are indeed against Japan/Japan and its GEACPS. My apologies.
Mark
Ottawa
[...] Earlier: Japan feels the Dragon’s fiery breath [...]
[...] remains focused on two narrow concerns: territorial issues like Taiwan and Tibet [and others: "Japan feels the Dragon’s fiery breath"], and resource extraction in Africa or Central Asia [see below]. And [...]