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| FLASHBACK: Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong and Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Joseph Stalin attend a celebration for Stalin’s 71st birthday in Moscow, December 1949. Russia and China fell out due to ideological differences as Stalin’s eventual successor, Nikita Khrushchev, softened the Soviet stance toward the West, infuriating a more hard-line Mao. RUSSIA AND CHINA COULD SOON BECOME MORE POWERFUL THAN THE U.S. AND VALENTINE’S DAY IS TO BLAME BY TOM O'CONNOR ON 2/14/18 AT 2:25 PM Nearly seven decades after Russia and China struck their first major alliance, an expert analysis showed Wednesday just how powerful the U.S.’s two leading military rivals have become. Despite setbacks over the course of their relationship, recent initiatives have allowed China and Russia to once again shift global military strength from West to East. On February 14, 1950, the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance. Less than five years after World War II and only months after the guerrilla forces of Mao Zedong expelled the Chinese nationalist Kuomintang government to Taiwan, the world’s two largest communist powers joined forces at the onset of what would be a nearly half-century Cold War between Moscow and Washington. Already wary of growing U.S. influence in Asia, the two nations vowed to defend one another in the event of an attack from U.S.-backed Japan or any of its allies … for more, go to http://www.newsweek.com/russia-china-bring-valentines-day-treaty-back-life-military-power-806950 |
A desperate US is super dangerous to the rest of the world …
https://youtu.be/bA2s84teos0 (Putin Unveils Russia's Newest Underwater Drone)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYBhfXqIn_Q This Russian Weapon Can Destroy an Entire Army | WORST NIGHTMARE for US Military
KUALA LUMPUR (May 2018): Can the war-waging US military take on the Russia-China Combo?
That’s a multi-trillion-dollar question for the rest of the world.
Given the US’ continuous global demonising of Russia and China, it sure looks like the American military is confident of taking on both Russia and China simultaneously.
The US confidence is just that. What is the reality in this 21st Century digital world of economics and technology?
It certainly appears the US is still living in a world of its own, waging war as it had been doing in the 20th Century.
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And that is exactly why President Donald Trump has to keep his electoral promise that he will “Make America Great Again” by a “closed door economic policy”, dumping free trade and level economic playing fields to protect American business interests.
The pressure on Trump and the US is due to their national debt of between US$20 trillion and US$22 trillion (Read this for context: https://ilovemalaysiachinasilkroad.blogspot.com/2018/03/you-better-believe-it-desperado-us-and.html - You better believe it! Desperado US and Trump are more than prepared to rock the global economy.
The US desperation is showing and growing, and if it oversteps its boundaries, a military clash between the US and Russia-China would be disastrous to the rest of the world.
View the above two video clips on Russia’s military fire power and technology and the following Russian news reports that include the US Congress accusing Xi Jinping’s China of harbouring the dream of world hegemony:
"'Doomsday Machine': Russia's New Weapon Reportedly Gets Nuclear Warhead
© Photo: YouTube/Russian Defence Ministry
RUSSIA
18:27 17.05.2018(updated 18:31 17.05.2018)
During his state-of-the-nation address to the Russian Federal Assembly in March, President Vladimir Putin touted the country's newest weapons, including the Poseidon (Status-6) unmanned underwater vehicles.
Russia's state-of-the-art Poseidon (Status-6) naval system is expected to be equipped with torpedoes containing nuclear warheads, Russian media reports said.
Citing an unnamed source in the Russian Defense Ministry, media reported that the Poseidon system is composed of several high-speed deep-water torpedoes which will be carried by a nuclear-powered submarine.
"The system is designed to destroy the fortified naval bases of a potential enemy. Thanks to its nuclear power unit, Poseidon has a speed of up to 70 naval knots (130 kilometers per hour) and is capable of moving at a depth of more than one kilometer (0.6 miles) underwater," the source added.
President Vladimir Putin mentioned the Poseidon system when presenting Russia's most advanced weapons during his state-of-the-nation address to the country's Federal Assembly on March 1.
The technology website Business Insider called the system "Putin's doomsday machine" which it claimed could cause "a 300-foot [91-meter] tsunami if exploded in the right location."
US House Intelligence Committee declares China ‘pre-eminent threat to American security & values’
Published time: 18 May, 2018 01:53Edited time: 18 May, 2018 08:36
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| China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning takes part in a military drill /Reuters |
Having bitterly split along partisan lines in the probe over Russian influence and “meddling,” the House Intelligence Committee united in decrying the “pre-eminent threat” posed to the US by another rising power ‒ China.
“China has only become emboldened and now may be the pre-eminent threat to American security, our economy and our values,” Committee Chair Rep. Devin Nunes (R-California) said at the hearing on Thursday, even as US and Chinese diplomats began a second round of negotiations to stave off a trade war.
Ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) agreed, saying he hoped there would be more public hearings about China.
“We need to consider that the military challenge is part of a larger national strategy by China to project its power and to secure its national interests by whatever means necessary,” Schiff said, adding that this included sales of “potentially compromising” telecommunications equipment by companies like ZTE and Huawei.
Nunes is planning a series of hearings on China in the coming weeks, focusing on a variety of threats to the US, such as “aggressive territorial claims, unfair trade policies, espionage and cyber-attacks,” he told the Washington Free Beacon on Wednesday.
Former intelligence director of the US Pacific Fleet, retired US Navy Captain Jim Fanell, was one of the witnesses at Thursday’s hearing, along with China experts from the Council on Foreign Relations, American Enterprise Institute and the International Assessment and Strategy Center.
US intelligence agencies “had blinders on” for the longest time when it came to China, and misjudged Beijing’s activities, an unnamed committee aide told the Beacon. As an example, the aide cited China’s expansion of naval capabilities, which the US thought would be limited to regional conflicts but are increasingly looking global in scope.
“Our focus in the first hearing is to look at the military advances, quantitative and qualitative, and how it connects to China's broader strategy for force projection and influence,” he added.
Nunes has been focused particularly on the Chinese military base in Djibouti, recently built next to the major US base in the east African country. He argued that China is looking to invest in ports and infrastructure around the world, not just for military purposes, but as a mechanism of exerting influence and control over host governments.
Bill Gertz✔@BillGertz
Xi Jinping’s ‘China Dream’ is global hegemony, experts tell Congress …
4:40 AM - May 18, 2018
China’s President Xi Jinping/Getty Images
This assessment was seconded by the Free Beacon Editor Bill Gertz, who wrote a book titled ‘The China Threat’ in 2000. “The Chinese goal is to challenge the United States and coerce regional states into adopting China's vision for a new global order under an authoritarian, anti-democratic power,” Gertz wrote.
It is unclear, however, how much of this accurately reflects China’s military and economic expansion, and how much is the analysts’ projection of US behaviors and motivations on Beijing.
US President Donald Trump has campaigned on stopping “terrible” trade deals with China, accusing Beijing of disproportionally benefiting from globalization and free-trade arrangements. For many years, the US has been buying manufactured goods from China, while selling mostly financial instruments and agricultural products, making for a trade imbalance reaching over $350 billion in 2017. Trump has imposed tariffs on $60 billion worth of Chinese imports, while Beijing has pledged to retaliate against US soybeans and other exports. The current trade talks are aiming to address the issues before they escalate into a full-blown trade war.
'Chinese Were Prepared, EU Companies Were Not’ for US' Iran Sanctions - Analyst
© AP Photo / Vahid Salemi
OPINION
14:29 20.05.2018
China’s state-owned energy giant CNPC is ready to replace French energy company Total’s stake in the Iranian South Pars gas project. In 2017, Total and CNPC signed a 20-year contract worth 4.8 billion dollars to develop Phase 11 of Iran’s South Pars field. Sputnik spoke with political analyst Tom McGregor about CNPC’s acquisition plan.
Sputnik: How serious is CNPC about acquiring Total’s stake in the South Pars gas project in your opinion?
McGregor: Definitely if it’s available to them they will certainly look at the deal and the way the Chinese do business is that they don’t make an announcement unless they are going to do something. They are very secretive about this kind of stuff, so unless there is some weird bluff, there’s no reason for them to make an announcement unless they are very serious. Chances are they are already taking action and they have already moved forward on it and they are just waiting to sign the deal to see what Total does.
The Total energy giant in France and you do have these sanctions and then Trump has promised on campaign trail that he was going to create problems for Iran, so there should be no surprise. The European companies should have been prepared for this, years ago and I don’t know why they are overreacting. They knew what was going to happen after Trump was elected. So I think what happened was that the Chinese were prepared already and the European companies were not.
Sputnik: CNPC could not become the target of US sanctions against Iran?
McGregor: I am sure it might happen but I am pretty sure they are protected. You also need to realize that Total is doing business in America so they are just making a smart business decision. If we go forward with Iran we lose our American business. So they are going to have to throw someone under the bus and it’s going be the Iranian people, because they know that if they risk anything and they lose their American market, they are bankrupt. They can lose everything.
The CNPC they focus more on the emerging markets, on the Chinese market, so their connections with the Americans are not as strong as, say Total’s is. So there is less risk for them to do it even if they face any type of retribution or penalties from it. It’s just a smart business decision on all sides.
Sputnik: How would Total’s withdrawal from the South Pars affect the project itself and its future?
McGregor: Well CNPC would basically just take it over and reinvest and they will make money from it. It will be business as usual, it’ not going to be anything shocking or disturbing. Total will at least get some type of return on investment because they can sell it off to CNPC. So at least they can get some money from that.
The views and opinions of Tom McGregor are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik."
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| An F/A-18F Super Hornet jet flies over the USS Gerald R. Ford as the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier tests its EMALS magnetic launching system, which replaces the steam catapult, and new AAG arrested landing system in the Atlantic Ocean July 28, 2017. Picture taken July 28, 2017. U.S. Navy/Erik Hildebrandt/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY? - RC1C71D03A40 (REUTERS/Erik Hildebrandt/Navy Handout) The US is talking about “great power competition.” What does that mean? The US is creating a new naval command and redeploying the Second Fleet in the Atlantic, the department of defense announced yesterday (May 4), putting teeth behind a new national security strategy announced in January. “We will continue to prosecute the campaign against terrorists that we are engaged in today, but great power competition, not terrorism, is now the primary focus of US national security,” secretary of defense Jim Mattis announced. Specifically, the US will prioritize curbing the aggressions of China and Russia. If all of this sounds vaguely familiar, it should. It’s an echo of language that’s been part of geopolitics for two centuries. In 1814, towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars, five Great Powersemerged in Europe: the UK, France, Russia, Austria, and Prussia (which later became Germany). Those powers jockeyed for control of Europe—and through their colonial empires, the rest of the globe—and their rivalry eventually tipped into World War I. In the 20th century, new powers emerged, notably the US and the Soviet Union, and their Cold War defined global affairs from the end of World War II to the collapse of the USSR in 1991 … for more, go to https://qz.com/1271166/us-vs-china-and-russia-what-does-great-power-competition-mean/ |
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