China in the footsteps of the Kaiser

I thought this was a fascinating read and generally I agree with Mr. Mead's conclusions.

"Is China the best friend of American power?

Beijing’s recent missteps in Asia — moving ahead with reactor sales to troubled Pakistan and crudely threatening Japan over the arrest of a Chinese fishing captain — are swiftly solidifying America’s Asian alliances. The new Japanese government came into office hoping to rebalance Japan’s foreign policy and reduce tensions with China. That dream is now dead. And China’s deepening relationship with Pakistan, intended in part as a counter to America’s nuclear opening to India, is driving Asia’s other emerging nuclear power closer than ever into the arms of America (and Japan). South Korea, once drifting peacefully toward China, has moved back towards the United States following China’s support for Pyongyang after the sinking of a South Korean naval boat.

In all this there is one clear theme. America isn’t containing China. China is containing itself. As China’s economy grows and its military develops new capacities, it is looking for ways to turn that potential power into actual power over events. In the past, China has tried to attract its neighbors into its orbit with sweeteners like trade deals and aid."

Read the rest here.

Japanese-Chinese relations souring

And its all over Fishing boat. But often this little trivialities simple scratch the surface of deeper resentment and anxiety between two nations. According to the article, this is tied to Senkaku Islands dispute between Japan and China.

Read More.

Railroad Diplomacy

Apparently China is planning a high speed railroad to Bangkok. The link will connect Bangkok to a junction in Laos and then into South China and ultimately Beijing. Generally speaking, transportation is a symbol and reality of power. As they used to say, Mille viae ducunt homines per saecula Romam.

Read the article on Chinese Railroad Diplomacy here.

Lessons from China's economic ascendecy

I thought this article really summed up the important facts regarding China's overtaking of Japan as the world's number 2 economy. A number of lessons are going to be learned from China's rise, and even more mis-lessons are going to be taken from it as well. The most important mis-lesson is: Authoritarianism works.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/29/AR2010082902898.html

India is preparing for another war with China

Well, not immediately, but it is China they have in mind with the latest upgrades to their military. While India's primary concern is and will likely remain in counter-insurgency, they do need to be prepared for interstate conflict. Pakistan, obviously, seems to be the more likely candidate than China given their disputed occupation of Kashmir and the deteriorating situation in Islamabad. But let's not forget that China has obtained for itself a little chunk of Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. India needs to be prepared for China in any case.

Read the article here.

Is the US deploying misiles outside of China?

Possibly. Time Magazine has an interesting article on the Ohio-Class submarines now appearing on China's border. These subs are outfitted with Tomahawk Cruise missiles, as opposed to the Nuclear Trident missiles they carried during the Cold War war. According to Bonnie Glaser, cited in the article, the US is bolstering it's forces in the Pacific and naturally, the regional power, China, is going to notice.

Here's the article:

Is China's Politburo spoiling for a showdown with America?

China has succumbed to hubris. It has mistaken the soft diplomacy of Barack Obama for weakness, mistaken the US credit crisis for decline, and mistaken its own mercantilist bubble for ascendancy. There are echoes of Anglo-German spats before the First World War, when Wilhelmine Berlin so badly misjudged the strategic balance of power and over-played its hand.

More here...

Comments: Personally, I'm quite wary of the Chinese-American rivalry and, what many scholars and commentators point to, its path to conflict and possibly war. While the US and China may publicly differ on a number of subjects I think that these two countries have far more in common than they, or their people, would like to admit. Furthermore, they're economically dependent on each other as this article has astutely pointed out.

The article offers an interesting and largely accurate analysis of the current relationship, but comparing China to Wilhelmine Germany is perhaps too far at this point in time.