I'm not sure, but I think their interest is somehow tied to the UN Law of The Sea Treaty. They are strong advocates for this treaty. When I started researching this and trying to figure out why Bush is so bullish on supporting this, the only reason I could think of was to placate China.

my .02

There are open source images that show Chinese military buildup at choke-points in shipping lanes. That concerns me.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/funct...7-115550-1929r

Is China Gap, Core or Seam?

Globalization or Isolation
 

:confused: Trepatation...my very first thread on PS. Hope this is in the right area.

During a phone conversation earlier tonight ,GH and I were discussing the pros and cons of "globalization vs isolationizm. I was in a Thai bar and it was not the correct venue for discussion.

It is open...which way should we go?

No, but Thailand was a military dictatorship at the time.

Isolation is impossible.

Transportation and communications have shrunk the world. In addition we rely upon raw materials for domestic products as well as foreign markets. Someday Earth will be just one planet among many , :munchin

So the parallel to China's case is?

Is China a military dictatorship?

TR

One of the points I mentioned to Lancer had to do with the direction Western Europe has taken and my concern that the United States might follow the same road to ruin.

Western Europe as a whole has not created a new job in twenty years (not including the British Isles in this). A great deal of the reason is because the burden on companies created by government (socialized medicine, extensive social programs, etc.) and Unions that have made them increasingly unable to compete. The flagships of West European business, the various automobile firms, are almost entirely owned by US Automobile firms. Companies like Nokia, Siemens and Ericsson are in real trouble, finding it more and more difficult to compete in a business where small margins and creative innovation are the norm.

US businesses have done very, very well overall in maintaining a competitive lead worldwide and building it. One of the reasons they have successfully done so is because of the cultural focus of American culture on competitiveness and a willingness to take the actions necessary to be competitive. "Business is business" is an American concept, one that we have exported to the rest of the world, but much of the rest of the world really doesn't understand it. The United States has a cultural head-start on the rest of the world, IF we don't give it up.

We have all too many politicians and others who seem to want to give up that advantage (which is not about skills or resources, but attitude) by either being conservative in terms of continually moving ahead, or by burdeing the United States with a greater governmental burden in the form of social programs. Both (in my opinion) will hamstring the most important aspect of America, its ingenuity and "can-do" attitude.

No other nation could give rise to companies like Pfizer, or Nike, or IBM, or Microsoft. Companies that are not satisfied with what they have or the niche they fill, but are always innovating, improving, redefining themselves. That is the advantage America has, and the more Americans who use that advantage, the more dominating America will be. Not because of military power or economic power alone. But because of leadership.

Both were/are dictatorships that used military force to enforce governmental rule. Both had/have people saying:

Personally, I think no unions and few lawyers are good things. Unfortunately, there are unions and lawyers and none of the above is entirely true. Wasn't 100% true of Thailand 20 years ago and isn't 100% true of China now.

Is China a dictatorship? Looks more like an oligarchy to me. Who is the current dictator and how did he arrive in power?

Well, at least we have common ground somewhere.

Apparently, my sarcasm is wasted. Other than official government groups, what unions (as we know them) exist in China?

Why do you persist in drawing parallels between a small, pro-US country and the largest country on the planet which actively opposes of the US?

Not true. I have lawyer friends who have worked in Beijing and other parts of China doing foreign investment deals.

Good thread, but it is duplicative of another one, so I am merging them.

Review my subsequent comments and those of AL.

Try to keep up, Sir.

TR

Why do you persist in failing to recognize that there is a lot more validity to parallels between Asian countries than there is to parallels between China and the United States?

And if you prefer, you can use Indonesia or Malaysia instead of Thailand. And China does not actively oppose the United States. Hasn't for a long time. It actively pursues its own interests, just as the United States does.

Oh, and regarding unions? There are a number of unions operating in China, including unions in computer assembly plants, unions in textile mills, and unions in some bottling plants.

I'm going to split this thread and name the split "Are we at war with China?"