"China threat?" Topic

This is not new, but since the government is finally acknowledging it…..

Subject: Are the Chinese about to 'deal a devastating blow' to America?


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About time but probably too late.

As long as China continues to build their military as if on a war footing and the US is dependent on Chinese products … The PRC/CCP is a threat. Not only to the USA but the West, and many other nations etc.

We are totally screwed. I liked the "good old days" when it was acceptable to portray Steve McGarret's (original Hawaii 5-O) evil nemesis was Wo-Fat – a Chinese Communist agent. Try that today and a show would be cancelled.

LOL ! I loved that show ! And I remember Wo-Fat. He was an evil man !

But yes today only the White oppressors are the real bad guys…

I remember in the early 1970s maybe 60s an article came out where the Chinese claimed their land as everything in the old Mongol Empires. So no big deal. If they attack, it is not like they have not given us plenty of warning. Our government has long failed to prepare. I worked on a logistics project back in the early 1980s concerning logistics to Korea and Japan to counter an Asian Communist assault. It was the beginning of the transfer of most support functions from the active force to reserves and NG.

Our leaders don't know our history or forgot it. But most likely they just don't care. The US had to learn the hard way in 2 World Wars. There should be no excuse for being unprepared … again.

Given the source of this story, difficult for me to give it much credence. More an opinion "what if…?" piece than an analysis based on credible data. Paranoia based on Chinese students doesn't seem rational. Altho' I have no doubt China studies our weaknesses hard and will surprise us in many ways should a conflict ever break out. We are too used to comfortable wars that never involve any real hardship like we're accustomed to inflicting on others, in faraway places. war with someone capable of striking back, conventionally and asymmetrically, will be a different kettle of fish for the American home front.

Piper, did you look at the top of the article? It specifically says "opinion".

Yes, if it had been from CNN, MSNBC, NPR, ABC, NBC, CBS, NYT… I too would have difficulty giving much credence to the source. 😉

We need to be concerned, but I'll be the contrarian here: China is a big country, with enormous resources and a huge military, but it has a history of underperformance. I am open to the idea that the threat is exaggerated.

9PR +1

If nothing else China makes up 20% of the world's population. They have the bodies, and they are producing massive amounts of war gear. We know never fight the Chinese of their own turf. But the possibly of clashing with the PRC/CCP on Taiwan exists. And before they land, the battle will be on the sea and in the air… Plus they already have about 40,000 illegal aliens here which could act like the "Fifth Column" …

When I was stationed at Patrick AFB for five months, the security briefing told us that more than 10,000 enemy agents were located in the Cocoa area.

Well they must have liked the weather !

I really dislike articles like this one. They throw a whole load of topics at the reader to cause an emotional response, but fail to provide any in depth analysis or support for the position. A poorly written piece all around.

That is not to say that there aren't things to be concerned about from a military perspective with China. The most likely theater for a conflict with China is going to be near their boarders – Taiwan, South China Sea, East China Sea etc. The numerical manpower advantage that they have is likely to be of limited use as the US is unlikely to get into a protracted ground war with China, where this advantage would be most important.

The conflict is therefore most likely to be naval and air.

In this area there are a lot of unknowns. Ones that come to mind, in no particular order are:
- The performance of the IRBM /MRBM such as the DF.21/DF.26 operating in conjunction with the SAR satellites. Can these weapon systems deny access to the region by US Carriers? These systems are not combat tested so this issue is unknown.
- The performance of the latest Chinese subs – these are much improved.
- The Chinese and US anti-satellite capabilities and the corresponding defense of their own satellite network – again, not known.
- The latest jamming, spoofing and electronic denial technologies including hacking.

Many of the above are new capabilities that have not been used to the level they would be in a conflict with China.

We also often focus on the known US weaknesses, but forget the Chinese have many of their own, which add uncertainty to any conflict:
- The latest Chinese ships look excellent (Type 55, Type 52D, Type 54A) but are not combat tested.
- Chinese training and command and control are untested.
- The more ships that China introduces, the more strain it puts on finding educated trained crews and the need for co-ordination.
- As your fleet and air power grows, the cost of maintaining them increase exponentially putting increasing strain on defense budgets. A new fleet today, becomes an older fleet in the future with all the costs involved.
- The Chinese population is rapidly aging putting a financial strain on the budget and reducing manpower for the military over time – this could dictate a window for any offensive Chinese action.
- The Chinese economy is sea based both for raw material imports and sales to customers. The risk of economic isolation or a naval blockade is a major concern and weakness. Land supply lines through Russia are not going to come even close to helping.
On the US side:
- The LRASM supplies and how fast the US ramps up production will be critical.
- How quickly the US can harden aircraft shelters in the region will be critical.

The above items, plus many I have missed, make offensive action by China a very risky operation.

China claims to have "removed" a US destroyer from the South China Sea

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Armand

I have heard no reports of that, and I have been listening to CNN and FOX since morning …

I await more intel on this …

Good job Martyn

USN conducted Freedom of Navigation exercuse through waters PRC claims. US vessels do this all the time. It really spins PRC up, but other than shaking fists in anger not much happens

Yeah, it is all part of the old Cold War game. Like aircraft coming close to an enemy's border.

Also a good example of how language differences produce awkward results. Did they mean driven away? "Removed" is more like a game piece coming off the board.

The CCP is inscrutable, and they are in it for the game. Nothing really new …

Errata : "… they are in it for the long game …"

DOH !!!

China's new stealth warship spotted during sea trials

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Armand

China-Russia Axis Heralds an Ominous Future

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Armand