Sunday, September 18, 2005

Watch your back folks, China's flexing muscles.

Novellist Allen Topol agrees with me that there could be a storm brewing in the East. Last week, in a display of its new military power, China deployed a fleet near a gas field in the East China Sea. This area is rich in resources; notably oil and gas. Unfortunately China's claim over this area is hotly disputed by Japan so now there is a serious risk of war breaking out between them.

The economies of both China and Japan are now heavily dependent upon these resources. Beijing is playing a dangerous game of chicken. The Japanese are unlikely to back down and can also be expected to escalate the situation.

Unfortunately with US forces stretched so thin over Iraq, Afghanistan and the Katrina aftermath, any threats that the US make to China are likely to be ignored by Beijing. Similarly, pledges of support made to Japan will not be seen as credible.

We can hope, however unlikely that calm minds will prevail in Asia, but I certainly think that it's time for the West to start worrying big-time.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"Unfortunately with US forces stretched so thin over Iraq, Afghanistan and the Katrina aftermath, any threats that the US make to China are likely to be ignored by Beijing", - really that all depends on your point of view, From the Beijing Top Brass POV the precent circumstance looks exceedingly fortunate.