China's Peaceful Rise

[Simon Tan]

I am carrying a lot of me. Extra stuff just makes theings worse.

[KV7]

I think a bit of mass could be shaved at the expense of higher cost. The barrel appears extremely robust and the recoil action is still quite heavy, even with the use of recoil reduction. If they used a longer stroke it would be easier to fire and some of the mechanisms could perhaps be lightened. This would likely lengthen the gun though.

The more radical solution is to use a rocket assist and a weaker propelling charge, but accuracy might suffer and the firing signature might be greater, and the ammunition will be bulkier for a given performance. But this may be necessary if you want to go beyond 40 mm.

[chino]

22 hours ago, KV7 said:

The more radical solution is to use a rocket assist and a weaker propelling charge, but accuracy might suffer and the firing signature might be greater, and the ammunition will be bulkier for a given performance. But this may be necessary if you want to go beyond 40 mm.

That would make the ammo large and they have quite a number of rocket launchers already. The beauty of this system is the large ammo capacity the squad can carry, plus the long range and accuracy, over LV 40mm, and the lighter weight vs the non-man-portable AGL.

 

Edited February 3, 2022 by chino

[chino]

Just found out that for the Winter Olympics, China appointed one of the soldiers at the Galwan battle with India as a torchbearer. 😬
This is an extremely bad move that politicised a sports event that’s all about peace, and unnecessarily pissing off an India that looked ready to make conciliatory gestures. What were they thinking? 😂

[Josh]

Wolf Warrior (anti) diplomacy strikes again!

[BansheeOne]

Quote

Beijing Policy Slowly Crystalizes

Government in Berlin Classifies China as a “Systemic Rival”

Driven by its junior coalition partners, the Green Party and the FDP, the German government is adopting a tougher stance on Beijing. It wants to reduce economic dependence and strengthen relations with democratic states in Asia.

By Christoph Schult und Gerald Traufetter

04.02.2022, 19.51 Uhr

Recently, a reporter with the weekly magazine published by Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper asked Steffen Seibert, Angela Merkel's government spokesman of many years, which trips with the chancellor had particularly stuck in his mind. Seibert cited "the many trips to China" and gushed: "Full of megacities with insane motor dynamics, where you can physically experience the unleashed energy of this country." The former spokesman didn’t say a word about the dubious ways in which Beijing treats its citizens and neighbors and the rest of the world.

That fits with the policy that the Chancellery and the leadership of Merkel’s party, the center- left Christian Democratic Union (CDU), pursued for years toward the communist rulers. The repression of the Uyghur Muslim minority and the Tibetans, the treatment of opposition members, the attack on Hong Kong’s autonomy – Merkel preferred to address all of this behind closed doors. Trade was at the center of her China policy. Her government coalition agreement in 2018 with her conservative sister party, the Christian Social Union, and the center-left Social Democrats, even stated: "China's economic development is a great opportunity, especially for the German economy."

But the new German coalition government has announced that it will toughen its course toward the leadership in Beijing. The coalition contract between the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the Green Party and the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP) states that they will pursue cooperation with China, but "on the basis of human rights and applicable international law." This shift toward a more values-based policy came about primarily at the insistence of the smaller coalition partners, says Reinhard Bütikofer, a China expert and member of the European Parliament with the Green Party. "But the SPD foreign-policymakers have supported these principles," he says. "This was a welcome break with Merkel’s cozying up to Beijing."

Initially, the Greens and the FPD weren’t sure whether SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is known for his wait-and-see attitude, would actually take a firmer stance on China. In his first telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the chancellor still emphasized, much to Beijing’s delight, that he wanted to deepen the partnership between the two countries. But the messaging now coming from Berlin government headquarters is unlikely to please the Chinese leader.

The German chancellor has already said he will not travel to the Winter Olympics, which open today in China. But that’s not the only thing he is trying to steer clear of. Scholz wants to hold consultations with the governments of India and Japan before his first meeting with the Chinese leader – either by video or in person.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also has no plans to visit China anytime soon. The ministry she heads is currently preparing a "China Strategy." In it, the German government will consider "China as a partner, a competitor and a systemic rival," a spokeswoman for the German Economics Ministry told DER SPIEGEL. The joint paper is intended to prevent different ministries from bickering over specific decisions the way they did in the past.

But the new consensus in Berlin is also related to Beijing’s increasingly aggressive posture. When the European Union imposed sanctions on a few low-level officials because of the oppression of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region, Beijing responded by banning certain members of the European Parliament, including Bütikofer, from entering the country. "The Chinese party state is increasingly exposing itself for what it is," Bütikofer says. "There are no longer two opinions on that in the German government."

The Chinese trade embargo imposed on products from Lithuania after the country allowed Taiwan to open a representative office also helped to close ranks in Germany. The European Commission has proposed a new instrument to be used against coercive measures that authoritarian states use to change the policies of EU countries. Once in force, it would enable the EU to impose punitive tariffs against China or exclude Chinese firms from public contracts.

[...]

https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/germany-rethinks-position-on-beijing-government-in-berlin-classifies-china-as-a-systemic-rival-a-57cf368a-79e9-41f2-8121-73654f3c6c7c

[chino]

China experienced a “century of humiliation” at the hands of the Europeans and Japan. They know what to expect.

[Roman Alymov]

[futon]

A Chinese navy ship has used a laser on an Australian defence aircraft in flight, in what has been described as a “serious safety incident” that vindicates concern about the increased military presence close to Australia.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) said the Australian aircraft detected the laser coming from a Chinese vessel on Thursday while it was flying along Australia’s northern approaches.

“Acts like this have the potential to endanger lives,” the ADF said in a statement on Saturday night.

The Chinese vessel, in company with another People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) ship, was sailing east through the Arafura Sea, located between northern Australia and Western New Guinea, at the time of the incident.

The Luyang-class guided missile destroyer, which is armed with surface-to-air missiles, was travelling with a Yuzhao-class amphibious transport dock.

The ADF said its P-8A Poseidon detected a laser illuminating the aircraft while in flight over Australia’s northern approaches on February 17.

...

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/chinese-navy-ship-accused-of-unsafe-act-over-lasing-of-adf-plane/news-story/57db190ed8495acf78a977c487df1f32

 

[lucklucky]

China announce an official military budget increase of 7,1%. 

 

It was 6,8% last year.

Edited March 5, 2022 by lucklucky

[glenn239]

1 hour ago, lucklucky said:

China announce an official military budget increase of 7,1%. 

 

It was 6,8% last year.

  7.1% seems low for the circumstances.  Might actually be higher.

[sunday]

And, now, from a known usual suspect of conspiracy theories...

Quote

 

Peter Schweizer’s new bestseller Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win devotes considerable attention to the troubling relationship between Microsoft founder Bill Gates and the Chinese Communist regime. One of the most disturbing episodes in that relationship occurred when Gates stepped outside the realm of personal computers to help the Chinese improve their nuclear reactors.

In 2011 — after a decade of alternately predicting China would never be able to police the Internet and helping Communist officials do exactly that — a company called TerraPower that was cofounded by Gates began working with the Chinese National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) on a “next-generation” reactor.

The project was ostensibly civilian in nature, although Schweizer notes CNNC also works for the Chinese military — and the molten salt reactors TerraPower developed just happen to be “incredibly effective at propelling ships at sea, including military vessels.”

 

 

[Mikel2]

A week ago it was a given that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan was a matter of time.  This was followed by an unexpectedly competent defense of Ukraine, mirrored by apparent Russian bungling, and a surprisingly harsh reaction against Russia from the international community.

Where does this put China with respect to Taiwan?

[glenn239]

57 minutes ago, Mikel2 said:

A week ago it was a given that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan was a matter of time.  This was followed by an unexpectedly competent defense of Ukraine, mirrored by apparent Russian bungling, and a surprisingly harsh reaction against Russia from the international community.

Where does this put China with respect to Taiwan?

Same place it was a week ago - invasion unlikely any time in the next decade.

[Roman Alymov]

At about 3:30 there is Chinese (?) person talking to somebody - is it journalist, advisor or observer?

 

[Simon Tan]

Journalist. You can hear the camera going. He speaks later to the masked Russian.

[Roman Alymov]

44 minutes ago, Simon Tan said:

Journalist. You can hear the camera going. He speaks later to the masked Russian.

Thank you! Interesting Chineese have their camera crews at the very frontline on DNR side.

[glenn239]

Chinese J-20 apparently in guided intercept of F-35 in the South China Sea,

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202203/1255110.shtml

This is the most interesting claim embedded,

Judging from the remarks by the US general and the Chinese pilot, it is likely that the US F-35s first entered China's East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone and were picked up by PLA early warning systems, thanks to technologies like China's world-leading anti-stealth radars, a Chinese military expert told the Global Times on Thursday, requesting anonymity.

Upon detection, the PLA Air Force sortied the J-20s as part of their routine maritime management and control missions, the expert said, noting that since the US sent the stealth-capable F-35s, China needed to deploy aircraft with equivalent or better capabilities, which are the J-20s.

 

[futon]

Taipei, March 18 (CNA) Most people in Taiwan feel a sense of closeness to Japan, and they support close links with that country over any other, according a survey released Friday by the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (JTEA).

The poll showed that 46 percent of Taiwan's people, an all-time high, think the country should give priority to Japan in terms of forging closer ties, while about 15 percent think China should be given precedence.

Meanwhile, 60 percent of the Taiwanese public think Japan is a country worthy of trust, but 8 percent disagree, while 33 percent have no opinion on the matter, the poll found.

Generally, 77 percent of Taiwan's public said they felt a sense of closeness to Japan in 2021, compared with 70 percent in 2018, and 81 percent in 2015, the survey indicated.

Around 65 percent said they thought Taiwan-Japan relations had improved over the last years, while 33 percent said they did not see any changes, and 2 percent thought that the bilateral ties had worsened, according to the survey.

Among people under the age of 45 and those over 65, more than 50 percent said they liked Japan, with those in the 30-39 age group expressing the strongest preference, the poll showed.

Meanwhile, the percentage of people in Taiwan who said they liked China slid from 31 percent in 2008 to 15 percent in 2021, according to the poll.

The survey was conducted Jan. 5-20 among people in Taiwan, aged 20 to 80, the JTEA said. The poll collected 1,068 valid samples, and had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 3.06 percentage points, the association said.

https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202203180015

[glenn239]

And right on cue.  Paywalled, but the tiny non-paywalled bit suggests a link to the J-20 / F-35 interaction,

E-3 insufficient for timely detection of J-20: Pacific Air Forces chief | News | Flight Global

 

[TrustMe]

This just in. Japan and the UK sign defence agreement. Why in heaven this is being done I don't know. The UK should stay away from China. I mean sending troops to a possible war with China is stupid. I mean it's China. The worlds largest army and navy. It's just the British government trying to do something which we are no longer capable of doing. 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61329435

Edited May 5, 2022 by TrustMe

[sunday]

Preparing the Third Opium War!

[TrustMe]

36 minutes ago, sunday said:

Preparing the Third Opium War!

*with fingers crossed* lets hope they have forgotten about that 😀

[sunday]

3 minutes ago, TrustMe said:

*with fingers crossed* lets hope they have forgotten about that 😀

Absolutely not. The curbing down of opium addiction was one of the few good things Mao did, even if he used reeducation camps to do so. You may expect the Opium Wars and the Unequal Treaties are taught with the same emphasis your kids learn about Hawkings, Drake, and Elizabeth I.

[TrustMe]

As a country, with recorded history of around two thousand years, it's impossible to teach every school child about the fucked up things our nation has achieved in that time. In history class I learn't about the Roman invasion, the Norman invasion of 1066, the Spanish Armada and Britain as the world's first industrial powerhouse.

In Spain, do they teach you about the New World and how Spain and Portugal divided up the Central and South America. And how you more or less wiped out the native population and took their gold.

Shit happens.

If there's one thing that dominates country's relationships with other countries, is that the stronger prey on the weak. It's that simple.

 

To go back onto topic. China is powerful and the UK is weak. We shouldn't get involved.

 

 

Edited May 5, 2022 by TrustMe