The rope with which to hang us…
Oh, and they already own much of Hollywood.
This is dicey. We want their cooperation re North Korea, another regime that was given way too much leniency Before Donald.
But Rowland, this is all impossible because they’re Communists, remember?
Don’t make me call Professor Jotham! 
Anytime I see any armed forces general, admiral, etc. or CIA, NSA or whatever at some committee hearing go off on the dangers in the world blah blah blah blah. They’re supposed to say that. They want budget money. The alphabet agencies and armed forces will always cry out about the boogie-man and have a sky-is-falling mentality. ZZZZzzzz.
This is more in reply to the topic than the actual article linked. But it’s too brilliant not to share. I want to be clear… I did NOT WRITE THIS. Don’t want anyone to think I’m taking credit for someone else’s words. A quite brilliant friend of the family who happens to work in SE Asia wrote this to me recently about the current state of affairs. It’s long, but worth reading through.
Chinese tour buses bellow down the streets, speakers blasting, bright as a jukebox on acid. They fill the restaurants and shoulder people aside. All Asia is becoming Baja China. We read about it in America but here is fully apparent. We’re heading into the Chinese Century and Washington’s policy of alienating every ally in sight is helping. There is Chinese version of Manifest Destiny which is to truly dominate Asia… They have bought Laos, Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka creating a resurrected Chinese hegemonic empire. They are building reservoirs and supplying infrastructure from Tibet to the Spratlies. They buy the Generals, buy the land, then build the roads and rails that tie everything to China. Then they dictate.
**
The Chinese are behind the Rohingya crisis. It’s brilliant strategy. It is all tied up with India. Read naval strategist US Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, the most important naval strategist of the 19th century on the influence of sea power — China wants a naval base as close to India as a missile-loaded Cuba would be to the US - directly opposite and that part of Burma is perfect for a major nuclear projecting military port. A few tens of millions in the right pockets, a little genocide, a promise of more industry, maybe the exploitation of some natural resources too and it’s a tidy package. China to Burma: autocracy shake hands with kleptocracy.
Remember, China has already fought two wars (since the Vietnam War) with India and, do you remember that China invaded and staged a war with Vietnam in 1979?
Too late for America to wake up; wrong leadership to understand this problem. Besides there is little you can do to stop an avalanche. So what do we expect? The Chinese will own all the chokepoints for shipping. Their building up of atolls like the Spratlies and the Paracels, neither of which they have any legal claim to at all, lets China’s overwhelming might pressure the Philippines and its 7,100 islands and the east coast of Vietnam as well as giving it the ability to claim fishing rights, minerals rights, potential oil rights, rights of passage.
China isn’t an enemy. It’s a rival and we will have to face this new China-centric world. China will continue to claim territory and if history is the judge, be willing to invade for it. The Chinese strategy is to strike first, then negotiate against a fait accompli - make a sudden land-grab, then stop while India or Vietnam were reeling and having to decide whether to deal with a Chinese occupation of the disputed land or declare an all out war.
In any event China is flowing over Southeast Asia like a melting ice cream cone.
Communists with huge amounts of American investment.
Oh, and special economic zones. They’re not stupid. They’re capitalistic enough to pay the bills, and as communist as they can get away with.
Because it’s all about what you can get away with.
China is solidifying its long-term material resource needs so as to not have any social upheaval (which would happen if they had to rely solely on domestic supplies). That’s why China is going to all the third-world countries signing contracts for metals, food commodities, etc. Sometimes, like in Africa, they do it under the auspices of trying to help the poor countries’ infrastructure, etc. Not much difference from what the European powers did in the 1800s. Africa and South America have a bulls-eye target for exploitation, unfortunately.
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No they’re not, but anyone who still thinks the SEZ’s are quaint little clusters of factories is. We’ve been over this before! 
One of many reasons why debt is bad…
Are you saying nuclear weapons are bad?
The US government defaulting on loans is not a viable option for multiple reasons. That limits negotiating leverage. But there’s this…
How is it not viable for the US yet viable the other way around?
Have I missed something? Someone suggesting defaulting on loans?
Anyway, it’s not viable for the US because they are utterly dependent on imports, whereas China isn’t. Defaulting on debt would mess up a lot of trade deals. Temporarily at least.
China is somewhat dependent on food imports. Other stuff not so much.
true, but mostly from countries they already own.