The South China Sea's Gathering Storm
Both the the Govt in Beijing and in Taiwan agree on One China and that Taiwan is part of the mainland - they just disagree on who should be in charge............
Agree with a number of your points m0nkfish, however if the free world runs, China will follow through on it's threatening behaviour and murder the Taiwanese. Nobody is threatening China - absolutely no-one. This is Putler behavior all over again and it needs standing up to. I hope they don't make the same mistake.
I think that their continued blind-eye to product counterfeiting, theft of patents and state-sponsored spying on a grand scale in both industrial and military/scientific research represents serious wrong-doing and would have concerns about integrating Chinese products into strategic systems such as electricity generation, water-distribution, telecomms and many more. In fact the list is so long that one has to wonder if it would not be easier to ban them entirely : there might be problems with WTO on that, although I'm sure that China already does the same even though it may not be public.
I should have said nothing militarily wrong yet. I agree with you, we are in fact banning China by pulling out completely, it's just not politically or publicly acknowledged yet. No-one in the west is investing in China we are all packing up and going home. Macron tried to stop that but I doubt that will make any difference. If you look at the activity in China's main sea ports you can see it happening. There are a few countries in southern Europe, especially France which have some serious decisions to make. When the war in Ukraine is over those countries still sitting on the fence are going to get left out in the cold. It hasn't gone un-noticed which ones they are. It will be decades before we trade with China or Russia, if ever again.
IG
No-one in the west is investing in China we are all packing up and going home. Macron tried to stop that but I doubt that will make any difference. If you look at the activity in China's main sea ports you can see it happening. There are a few countries in southern Europe, especially France which have some serious decisions to make. When the war in Ukraine is over those countries still sitting on the fence are going to get left out in the cold. It hasn't gone un-noticed which ones they are. It will be decades before we trade with China or Russia, if ever again.
April 4th ".
https://www.ft.com/content/37b2d801-...1-3da08b609913
" Tesla has announced plans to build a factory in Shanghai to produce its Megapack energy storage system, as chief executive Elon Musk resists rising opposition in Washington to US technology companies investing in China. The electric-vehicle maker said at a signing ceremony in the Chinese city that construction of the plant was planned for the third quarter of this year, with production scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2024. Tesla expects the factory to produce about 10,000 Megapack units a year — reflecting Musk’s decision to deepen engagement with China just as his car business struggles to fend off growing competition from Chinese rivals."[/b]
China will allow Musk to first build his Megapack factory...............
but he's Tesla, not Teflon.
but he's Tesla, not Teflon.
We had a chinese importer recently wanting to import our products, we said well we used to do that but your government banned our products, we have moved on, we couldn't supply you now even if we wanted too, you have a nice day
It felt somehow satifying.As to relations to China: Yes, Germany get's a bit nervous and careful, but only a little bit. Volkswagen is mainly concerned at the moment that they aren't the best selling car company in China any more. The entanglements are deep. Look at BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, internationally e.g. Apple: up to 20% of their revenue is nowadays realised in China. They will do everything to keep that up. If China decides to invade Taiwan and NATO countries decide to stand by Taiwan, that will be very painful for everybody. So, we all hope that China stays wise.
Last edited by thf; 19th Apr 2023 at 13:27. Reason: Added second thought
We didn't do this, China did this, they banned our products, today we couldn't supply them even if we wanted to. We are not alone. It's only a matter of time before china can't get supply to manufacture those trinkets. The writing is on the wall and it's got nothing to do with what any countries government wants or has to say about that. Governments are reactive, not proactive.
We had a chinese importer recently wanting to import our products, we said well we used to do that but your government banned our products, we have moved on, we couldn't supply you now even if we wanted too, you have a nice day It felt somehow satifying.
We had a chinese importer recently wanting to import our products, we said well we used to do that but your government banned our products, we have moved on, we couldn't supply you now even if we wanted too, you have a nice day
It felt somehow satifying.
I believe he is referring to Australia. China threw a snit about coal, iron ore, wine, beef and other Australian products so the Australians looked for and found a lot of alternative markets. Well done to them. Loss of face for China.
I would say they are seeing which way the wind is blowing in light of Ukraine - that Russia is a weak ally, that opposing American-led global systems of free and peaceful trade (upon which China is absolutely dependent) is a non-starter, and that the free world is not about to roll over, now or at any time in the future, to the kind of repressive surveillance state that China represents.
I would bet AGAINST China invading Taiwan at any point in the foreseeable future. Their oil supply would be cut off at the Malacca straits on day one, and the kind of sanctions that are now in force against Russia would devastate China in very short order. On the other hand, SE Russia - once the Ukraine fiasco really hits home - could well be theirs for the taking. Who would care? Japan wouldn't be too pleased about Chinese ports closer to them, but that's about it.
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Correct. For years Australia saw itself as a beneficiary of, and to a large extent dependent upon, Chinese markets and was very lax about the development of Chinese influence within Australia itself. But the relationship deteriorated massively under Xi, and with our last federal government, for example after Australia called for an international investigation into the origins of Covid China banned a lot of Australian imports. Since the change to a Labor government the rhetoric has become more diplomatic - but rather than being Australian capitulation, the Chinese have used the change of government as an opportunity to reset things a bit and back away from some of their more extreme, nationalistic, "wolf-warrior" style of interaction.
I would say they are seeing which way the wind is blowing in light of Ukraine - that Russia is a weak ally, that opposing American-led global systems of free and peaceful trade (upon which China is absolutely dependent) is a non-starter, and that the free world is not about to roll over, now or at any time in the future, to the kind of repressive surveillance state that China represents.
I would bet AGAINST China invading Taiwan at any point in the foreseeable future. Their oil supply would be cut off at the Malacca straits on day one, and the kind of sanctions that are now in force against Russia would devastate China in very short order. On the other hand, SE Russia - once the Ukraine fiasco really hits home - could well be theirs for the taking. Who would care? Japan wouldn't be too pleased about Chinese ports closer to them, but that's about it.
I would say they are seeing which way the wind is blowing in light of Ukraine - that Russia is a weak ally, that opposing American-led global systems of free and peaceful trade (upon which China is absolutely dependent) is a non-starter, and that the free world is not about to roll over, now or at any time in the future, to the kind of repressive surveillance state that China represents.
I would bet AGAINST China invading Taiwan at any point in the foreseeable future. Their oil supply would be cut off at the Malacca straits on day one, and the kind of sanctions that are now in force against Russia would devastate China in very short order. On the other hand, SE Russia - once the Ukraine fiasco really hits home - could well be theirs for the taking. Who would care? Japan wouldn't be too pleased about Chinese ports closer to them, but that's about it.
When might makes right? "fair-minded poeple?" Who? The CCP?
Both sides of Taiwan Strait belong to Beijing: China’s FM | Politics News | Al Jazeera
Quote: “Recently, there has been absurd rhetoric accusing China of upending the status quo, disrupting peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Qin said. “The logic is absurd and the conclusion dangerous.” He added that “fair-minded people can see who is engaged in hegemonic bullying and high-minded practices”.
Both sides of Taiwan Strait belong to Beijing: China’s FM | Politics News | Al Jazeera
Quote: “Recently, there has been absurd rhetoric accusing China of upending the status quo, disrupting peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Qin said. “The logic is absurd and the conclusion dangerous.” He added that “fair-minded people can see who is engaged in hegemonic bullying and high-minded practices”.
Lesson from the Cold War: The status quo must be maintained.
China has a choice: Keeping things warm and fuzzy or unilateral moves, confrontation and end of its hard currency trade income.
China has a choice: Keeping things warm and fuzzy or unilateral moves, confrontation and end of its hard currency trade income.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine....ailgun-project
Japan Looks to Partner with U.S. on Railgun Project
CHIBA, Japan — It’s a “futuristic” technology that has been in development off and on for more than 100 years.
Electromagnetic railguns were first conceived in France during World War I. Since then, everyone from the Nazis in Germany, to China, Russia, India and the U.S. Army, have attempted to field the potentially game-changing weapon of war.
The U.S Navy, after spending some 15 years and $500 million developing a railgun for destroyers, gave up on the idea in 2021.
But the railgun concept is not dead. Japan’s Ministry of Defense is looking to partner with the United States on a railgun program that could be used to counter hypersonic weapons, a senior Japanese official told National Defense recently.
A railgun uses electricity flowing between two parallel conductors to shoot a non-explosive projectile at high speeds over long distances. The velocity results in such a powerful impact, explosives are not needed to cause considerable damage.
Despite the concept being around more than a century, no militaries have successfully fielded a railgun.
Shigenori Mishima, vice commissioner and chief technology officer at the Japanese Ministry of Defense’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, listed a railgun as one of the military’s top research and development priorities at the DSEI Japan conference recently.
When pressed for details, he said the agency has been doing basic research on the technology for the past 10 years, but it could use help bringing the technology over the finish line.
There is a possibility that U.S. defense contractors could join the program, he said in an interview. “We could use help with the guidance system and power storage,” he said. “Those are your strengths. We have strengths, for example, constructing the rails — in material sciences,” he said.
The primary Japanese contractor on the program is Japan Steel Works, and Mishima said he has encouraged its executives to reach out to counterparts in the United States such as BAE Systems and General Atomics to see if they could join the program.
BAE Systems was the primary contractor on the U.S. Navy’s attempt to field a railgun. The Army contracted with General Atomics to research land-based options, such as integrating a gun on a tank or for long-range artillery. But the Navy soured on the technology and cut off funding in 2021, and the Army contract expired at about the same time.
“The decision to pause the EMRG program is consistent with department-wide reform initiatives to free up resources in support of other Navy priorities [which] include improving offensive and defensive capabilities such as directed energy, hypersonic missiles and electronic warfare systems,” the Navy told Military.com upon the program’s cancelation in July 2021.
However, hypersonic defense is what Japan sees as the gun’s primary application, Mishima said. It could also be land-based for island defense and shore-to-ship applications, he added. Hypersonic missiles and aircraft are defined as highly maneuverable and can reach Mach 5 or higher, which is a speed that railguns could be expected to achieve.
“If we can demonstrate the railgun, the United States might change its mind on the technology,” he said. It would be a win-win for everybody, he said.....
Japan Looks to Partner with U.S. on Railgun Project
CHIBA, Japan — It’s a “futuristic” technology that has been in development off and on for more than 100 years.
Electromagnetic railguns were first conceived in France during World War I. Since then, everyone from the Nazis in Germany, to China, Russia, India and the U.S. Army, have attempted to field the potentially game-changing weapon of war.
The U.S Navy, after spending some 15 years and $500 million developing a railgun for destroyers, gave up on the idea in 2021.
But the railgun concept is not dead. Japan’s Ministry of Defense is looking to partner with the United States on a railgun program that could be used to counter hypersonic weapons, a senior Japanese official told National Defense recently.
A railgun uses electricity flowing between two parallel conductors to shoot a non-explosive projectile at high speeds over long distances. The velocity results in such a powerful impact, explosives are not needed to cause considerable damage.
Despite the concept being around more than a century, no militaries have successfully fielded a railgun.
Shigenori Mishima, vice commissioner and chief technology officer at the Japanese Ministry of Defense’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, listed a railgun as one of the military’s top research and development priorities at the DSEI Japan conference recently.
When pressed for details, he said the agency has been doing basic research on the technology for the past 10 years, but it could use help bringing the technology over the finish line.
There is a possibility that U.S. defense contractors could join the program, he said in an interview. “We could use help with the guidance system and power storage,” he said. “Those are your strengths. We have strengths, for example, constructing the rails — in material sciences,” he said.
The primary Japanese contractor on the program is Japan Steel Works, and Mishima said he has encouraged its executives to reach out to counterparts in the United States such as BAE Systems and General Atomics to see if they could join the program.
BAE Systems was the primary contractor on the U.S. Navy’s attempt to field a railgun. The Army contracted with General Atomics to research land-based options, such as integrating a gun on a tank or for long-range artillery. But the Navy soured on the technology and cut off funding in 2021, and the Army contract expired at about the same time.
“The decision to pause the EMRG program is consistent with department-wide reform initiatives to free up resources in support of other Navy priorities [which] include improving offensive and defensive capabilities such as directed energy, hypersonic missiles and electronic warfare systems,” the Navy told Military.com upon the program’s cancelation in July 2021.
However, hypersonic defense is what Japan sees as the gun’s primary application, Mishima said. It could also be land-based for island defense and shore-to-ship applications, he added. Hypersonic missiles and aircraft are defined as highly maneuverable and can reach Mach 5 or higher, which is a speed that railguns could be expected to achieve.
“If we can demonstrate the railgun, the United States might change its mind on the technology,” he said. It would be a win-win for everybody, he said.....