US Navy proposing major show of force to warn China
The US Navy's Pacific Fleet has drawn up a classified proposal to carry out a global show of force as a warning to China and to demonstrate the US is prepared to deter and counter their military actions, according to several US defense officials.
The draft proposal from the Navy is recommending the US Pacific Fleet conduct a series of operations during a single week in November.
The goal is to carry out a highly focused and concentrated set of exercises involving US warships, combat aircraft and troops to demonstrate that the US can counter potential adversaries quickly on several fronts.
The plan suggests sailing ships and flying aircraft near China's territorial waters in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait in freedom of navigation operations to demonstrate the right of free passage in international waters. The proposal means US ships and aircraft would operate close to Chinese forces.
自立根生: Xi Jinping makes a Maoist bet on China's economy
When the president, who doubles as party chief, visited the China First Heavy Industries plant on Sept. 26, he inspected an independently developed 15,000-ton hydraulic press. He used the occasion to say it is becoming increasingly difficult for China to obtain advanced technologies on the global market.
"High quality development of the manufacturing sector, in particular that of equipment manufacturing, plays a major role in China's drive toward high-quality economic development and is indispensable for a modernized nation," Xi said. "China must stick to the path of self-reliance amid rising unilateralism and protectionism in the present world."
It was a surprise instruction, and it made Xi look as if he were putting an old policy -- zi li geng sheng, or self-reliance -- into action. Mao strongly advocated for zi li geng sheng all the way up to the Cultural Revolution.
Xi's call for China to survive on its own without relying on the outside world sounds anachronistic. It comes despite Xi's earlier call for the need to "steadfastly safeguard" the free trade system.
Furthermore, Xi's instructions were given from a factory of a state-owned company under the direct control of his government -- a plant next to which a towering Mao statue still stands.
By doing so, Xi sent an implicit message: "I will never bow to Trump."
Senior Communist Party members fear Xi Jinping is “sowing the seeds of chaos”
“I reckon Xi Jinping is trying to be like President Putin,” Li Datong said. “Putin said he wanted to rule for 20 years and that he would deliver a strong Russia. Xi wants the same thing. The country will be even more tyrannical, and the law will be more and more trodden underfoot. The outlook is completely gloomy.”
Would he keep on campaigning? “I will most likely be silenced in the end, because there are absolutely no positive signs.”
In talking to Chinese dissidents over the years, I’ve usually found them quite optimistic about the long-term future. Xi Jinping has changed all that, says Li Datong. The mood in the mah-jong room was irreconcilably bleak.
The US Navy's Pacific Fleet has drawn up a classified proposal to carry out a global show of force as a warning to China and to demonstrate the US is prepared to deter and counter their military actions, according to several US defense officials.
The draft proposal from the Navy is recommending the US Pacific Fleet conduct a series of operations during a single week in November.
The goal is to carry out a highly focused and concentrated set of exercises involving US warships, combat aircraft and troops to demonstrate that the US can counter potential adversaries quickly on several fronts.
The plan suggests sailing ships and flying aircraft near China's territorial waters in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait in freedom of navigation operations to demonstrate the right of free passage in international waters. The proposal means US ships and aircraft would operate close to Chinese forces.
自立根生: Xi Jinping makes a Maoist bet on China's economy
When the president, who doubles as party chief, visited the China First Heavy Industries plant on Sept. 26, he inspected an independently developed 15,000-ton hydraulic press. He used the occasion to say it is becoming increasingly difficult for China to obtain advanced technologies on the global market.
"High quality development of the manufacturing sector, in particular that of equipment manufacturing, plays a major role in China's drive toward high-quality economic development and is indispensable for a modernized nation," Xi said. "China must stick to the path of self-reliance amid rising unilateralism and protectionism in the present world."
It was a surprise instruction, and it made Xi look as if he were putting an old policy -- zi li geng sheng, or self-reliance -- into action. Mao strongly advocated for zi li geng sheng all the way up to the Cultural Revolution.
Xi's call for China to survive on its own without relying on the outside world sounds anachronistic. It comes despite Xi's earlier call for the need to "steadfastly safeguard" the free trade system.
Furthermore, Xi's instructions were given from a factory of a state-owned company under the direct control of his government -- a plant next to which a towering Mao statue still stands.
By doing so, Xi sent an implicit message: "I will never bow to Trump."
Senior Communist Party members fear Xi Jinping is “sowing the seeds of chaos”
“I reckon Xi Jinping is trying to be like President Putin,” Li Datong said. “Putin said he wanted to rule for 20 years and that he would deliver a strong Russia. Xi wants the same thing. The country will be even more tyrannical, and the law will be more and more trodden underfoot. The outlook is completely gloomy.”
Would he keep on campaigning? “I will most likely be silenced in the end, because there are absolutely no positive signs.”
In talking to Chinese dissidents over the years, I’ve usually found them quite optimistic about the long-term future. Xi Jinping has changed all that, says Li Datong. The mood in the mah-jong room was irreconcilably bleak.
