There are times when it seems as though US President Felonious Punk is itching for war. He’s threatened to make Canada the 51st state. He mentioned in last night’s speech to Congress that, “Greenland is ours.” Then, there’s the whole thing with wanting to turn Gaza into a giant resort area. None of those things are likely to happen, but the more they’re mentioned, the more they put world leaders on edge. No one knows what wild and crazy idea the US President might have next.
China has decided to let everyone know that they’re not messing around. In the wake of recent tariff increases, Beijing stated that, “If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.”
As Yosemite Sam once said, “Them’s fightin’ words.”
Fifty years ago, before President Richard Nixon’s famed visit to China began to thaw relations, China was seen as our biggest threat. While the Communist country didn’t have the largest standing army at any given time, there was the certainty that its population was strong enough to raise a fighting force capable of overwhelming any other army in the world.
Today, however, that may not be the case. Its military budget is significantly smaller than that of the US and it spends far less of its GDP on military costs. The country has struggled as its population has grown older, is spending less, is dealing with a property crisis, and unemployment. From a distance, it might appear that the country is hardly in a position to be fighting any kind of war.
However, analysts and others who watch these military things are quick to point out that on Wednesday, China’s Premier Li Qiang announced that China would again boost its defense spending by 7.2% this year and warned that “changes unseen in a century were unfolding across the world at a faster pace.” China has also been exerting its influence throughout the South China Sea for the past several years, prompting considerable concern on the parts of Japan and South Korea.
The closest the US military has come to doing battle with China was during the Korean and Vietnam Wars and, by most measures, we did not fare well. In neither instance was the US and its allies able to secure a definitive ‘win’ against the communist troops. While it doesn’t appear that China is anxious to engage in military action, there’s little argument that, if sufficiently provoked, they would take whatever measures they deem necessary to defend their country.
The US also has to concern itself with the fact that the Chinese intelligence community has been recruiting people and placing spies throughout the US for several years. Just this past Friday (February 28), the Air Force sent out a memo that private aviation companies with Chinese military ties are actively attempting to recruit current Air Force members, via emails, networking sites, or job listings.
The statement said, “To do this, the [People’s Liberation Army] has used private companies, like the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA), Beijing China Aviation Technology Co. (BCAT), and Stratos, to hire former fighter pilots from Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and other Western nations to train PLA Air Force and Navy aviators.”
Underestimating China’s war capabilities could be a severe mistake, the kind that the US President lacks the understanding to appreciate the seriousness of the matter. For all the effort made to hold China as a valuable trading partner, the current tariffs, and any additional tariffs, put that relationship at risk. There is little question that China will defend itself both economically and physically if necessary.
The US is hardly in a position to do a serious economic battle with anyone and the president is blind if he believes that US troops can fight off China in a direct confrontation. Once again, the diminished intelligence of the US Administration puts all the citizens of the United States in danger.
