Those Russian claims date back to the 19th century at least. Part of the reason for the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 was Russian claims to the Kuriles which they began pressing as the Russian Empire expanded to and beyond Siberia starting in the 1880's.
Here is an interesting article I saw in the Financial Times today. The most telling quote from the story
Admiral Robert Willard, the top US commander in the Pacific, said the Chinese ballistic missile, which is designed to threaten US aircraft carriers in the region, had reached ?initial operational capability?. His remarks signal that China is challenging the US ability to project military power in Asia much sooner than many had expected.
At some point the political leadership will wake up and see that we have an interest in revitalizing manufacturing capability at home and can no longer depend on China as a reliable partner. All we are doing by buying so much Chinese merchandise is financing our greatest threat. There is no doubt in my mind that China would love to be the next hyperpower.
Well, I think the least we could do is stop buying from China by borrowing their money. The last time I checked they had increased their bonds to 950 billion US dollars. What do you guys think of their stealth fighter jet?
What do you guys think of their stealth fighter jet?
From accounts it is roughly 2 generations behind current US Technology and cannot evade the Aegis systems on the Vincennes class guided missile cruisers. It looks very similar to the American F-22 or JSF.
Time to remove your dollars from the mattress with yuans !Chinese President Hu Jintao has said the international currency system dominated by the US dollar is a "product of the past".http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12203391
It would be expected for an up and coming power to say something of the sort. Does he expect the world to trade in the artificially valued Renminbi instead?
What do you guys think of their stealth fighter jet?
From accounts it is roughly 2 generations behind current US Technology and cannot evade the Aegis systems on the Vincennes class guided missile cruisers. It looks very similar to the American F-22 or JSF.
That is a surprise? I would do the same if I were them, it only makes sense. It is much easier to reverse engineer something than to develop it in the first place. Come to think of it, the Russians did the same during the Cold War and for all we know they are still doing it. The article mentions that many countries besides china were trying to buy pieces of the downed F-117 including Russia.
That is a surprise? I would do the same if I were them, it only makes sense. It is much easier to reverse engineer something than to develop it in the first place. Come to think of it, the Russians did the same during the Cold War and for all we know they are still doing it. The article mentions that many countries besides china were trying to buy pieces of the downed F-117 including Russia.
So they are scr'wed but they just don't know yet ;D
I wouldn't say that. If I were to peer into my crystal ball, I would say that it is very possible nobody else can stop China from becoming the next hyperpower. Europe is not interested and America has so many structural problems that they are probably a power in decline. The only powers that might be a check to China would be somebody like India or perhaps Brazil.
That is a surprise? I would do the same if I were them, it only makes sense. It is much easier to reverse engineer something than to develop it in the first place. Come to think of it, the Russians did the same during the Cold War and for all we know they are still doing it. The article mentions that many countries besides china were trying to buy pieces of the downed F-117 including Russia.
Well, it does make practical sense, but it also adds to the mistrust that plagues China. Thinking back to the way they stole the Russian fighter jet plans:http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/22-04-2009/107437-fighter_jet-0/And the constant complaints about plagiarism that they face, do they have any true allies left? One of the things that's happening here is that inflation is taking off. It'll be interesting to see what happens when their exports reflect that. Then we'll see if the ladder they've made to climb has been well constructed. Fortunately they seem to be changing a few of their aggressive policies. I don't see them pursuing the Japanese islands these days, and they at least have announced that they'll clamp down on piracy. Let's see what they do. One of the measures they're taking is implementing taxes on property.
They are not pressing their claims so hard? I had not heard that over here yet. If so, that is an interesting development. China is nothing if not zealous about pursuing territorial claims. Here is the list of border and territory disputes china is involved in from the CIA World Factbook:
continuing talks and confidence-building measures work toward reducing tensions over Kashmir that nonetheless remains militarized with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; China and India continue their security and foreign policy dialogue started in 2005 related to the dispute over most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, and other matters; China claims most of India's Arunachal Pradesh to the base of the Himalayas; lacking any treaty describing the boundary, Bhutan and China continue negotiations to establish a common boundary alignment to resolve territorial disputes due to cartographic discrepancies; Chinese maps show an international boundary symbol off the coasts of the littoral states of the South China Seas, where China has interrupted Vietnamese hydrocarbon exploration; China asserts sovereignty over Scarborough Reef along with the Philippines and Taiwan, and over the Spratly Islands together with Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Brunei; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" eased tensions in the Spratly's but is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; Vietnam and China continue to expand construction of facilities in the Spratly's and in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord on marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; China and Taiwan continue to reject both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared equidistance line in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation; certain islands in the Yalu and Tumen rivers are in dispute with North Korea; North Korea and China seek to stem illegal migration to China by North Koreans, fleeing privations and oppression, by building a fence along portions of the border and imprisoning North Koreans deported by China; China and Russia have demarcated the once disputed islands at the Amur and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River in accordance with their 2004 Agreement; China and Tajikistan have begun demarcating the revised boundary agreed to in the delimitation of 2002; the decade-long demarcation of the China-Vietnam land boundary was completed in 2009; citing environmental, cultural, and social concerns, China has reconsidered construction of 13 dams on the Salween River, but energy-starved Burma, with backing from Thailand, remains intent on building five hydro-electric dams downstream despite regional and international protests; Chinese and Hong Kong authorities met in March 2008 to resolve ownership and use of lands recovered in Shenzhen River channelization, including 96-hectare Lok Ma Chau Loop; Hong Kong developing plans to reduce 2,000 out of 2,800 hectares of its restricted Closed Area by 2010