Calling All Geo-Politics Fiends. In the foreign policy/ geo-political world there is presently a raging debate on China. Contain or manage.

CPT Ahmed Faried — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 12:38:36 -0400

So I am in the camp that says to manage rather than contain. If we are dead set on containment then conflict is inevitable. If we help manage China's rise, however, we can allow it to be another responsible global power that takes some of the load of the United States. Imagine two world powers ensuring free passage of oceans, responding to global crises in tandem, and ensuring a world order where big countries don't bully small ones (Russia and Ukraine, and ironically China and Phillipines/Vietnam, Japan). In other words "Speak Softly and Carry a big stick". Our stick would be shoring up allies and planning for contingencies but not outwardly presenting that as the initial step. We are currently doing that with troop stagings in the Phillipines and increasing cooperation with India, the other big boy in China's backyard. So what are your thoughts?

http://www.defenseone.com/politics/2015/06/what-pentagon-sees-india-vice-versa/114496/?oref=defenseone_today_nl

What the Pentagon Sees in India—And Vice Versa

Not that long ago, Washington and New Delhi were deeply suspicious of one another. Now, they're talking about collaborating on an aircraft carrier and weapons production.

Response by SSG John Erny made Jun 5 at 2015 12:42 PM

SSG John Erny — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 12:42:57 -0400

If some younger people in China can get in to power I think change could take place. The thing with communist governments is that they tend to keep the old guard in power. The Mao generation is starting to decline. It is clear that the people of china want change.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 5 at 2015 12:43 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 12:43:44 -0400

We can't curb their growth, but knowing that it is a symptom of internal issues and understanding that the Eastern way of thought is different then ours is a big part of this.

Response by COL Ted Mc made Jun 5 at 2015 12:53 PM

COL Ted Mc — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 12:53:31 -0400

An extremely difficult question to deal with considering that US foreign policy towards China and the Orient has consistently misunderstood the Chinese people since 1853. [OK, if you consider that supporting General Cash My Cheque and sundry tin pot dictators while rejecting the proffered hands of friendship of the people who ended up tossing out General Cash My Cheque and the sundry tin pot dictators and whose successors are now running two of the three most thriving economies in Asia (China and Vietnam) - and forcing Japan into a position where its leaders believed that they had no choice but to wage war against the United States of America (even though they knew that they were going to lose before the war even started) as being "The Right Thing To Do" then possibly it wasn't CONSISTENTLY wrong.

The US governments have had a REALLY crappy record of "managing" other countries, but that could simply be because the US governments don't "manage" non-Americans as well as they "manage" Americans due to the fact that those US governments simply cannot internalize and act on the fact that people in other countries are NOT Americans and - while they might want the material benefits that the US can offer - they simply don't want to be Americans.

Response by LTC John Shaw made Jun 5 at 2015 1:01 PM

LTC John Shaw — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 13:01:13 -0400

CPT Ahmed Faried We need a strong bi-lateral relationship with China. China will soon as the world's largest economy and even if we chose Containment, the strategy will not work over multiple generations. It is a factor of population and standard of living.

The world will be different 30 years from now when the largest companies are in Asia and not the US and Europe. We need to figure out how to play in the sandbox now.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Jun 5 at 2015 1:13 PM

Capt Seid Waddell — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 13:13:23 -0400

CPT Ahmed Faried, do you really believe that we can contain China's rise?

China is building their military strength as we are cutting ours back. In the not-too-distant future the "big stick" will be theirs and we will have little to say about world affairs, if everyone continues on their current courses in the world.

American weakness is provocative to authoritarian regimes.

And the Chinese (and Russians) are showing a determination to push their power in the face of America's demonstrated lack of will in foreign affairs.

I believe that our weakness and lack of resolve rather than our strength and determination will be what leads us into war - as it did in the 1930s.

Response by 1LT Nick Kidwell made Jun 5 at 2015 1:17 PM

1LT Nick Kidwell — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 13:17:58 -0400

I have wondered for years why we've been sending our manufacturing jobs and dollars to China of all places. I mean sure, in the short term it costs less to produce. I got that.

But when I see the excess that the Chinese government went to in the 2008 summer Olympics, and I realize that with their inherent advantage in manpower, all the Made In China crap we buy at Wally World is at least indirectly going to fund the military spending for China.

Considering that the Chinese government doesn't necessarily like the US too much, I think this is a very short-sighted practice for American businesses and citizens.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 5 at 2015 2:24 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 14:24:24 -0400

There's a good book called "the Pentagon's new map". It was originally written in the early 2000's but for a while the author would update and print new editions. I have a copy of the third edition. The author is/was a naval analyst and he makes a point similar to your idea of managing China's growth.
He talks about China's gradual introduction of capitalist reforms as its economy grows to large to effectively centrally manage. According to him this (very) gradual relaxing of central control and greater trade allows for us to export our culture and ideas to into China further accelerating democratic/capitalist reforms within the country. He doesn't envisage China becoming another America, but believes in the potential of itI becoming another Europe.
China on the other hand has been building connections in the developing world. A few years back Reuters had an article on China's projects in Africa. Most notably China seems to be trading engineering and technical expertise and training for preferential trade treatment and long term contracts in infrastructure and natural resources.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jun 6 at 2015 2:05 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sat, 06 Jun 2015 14:05:31 -0400

The challenge is China claims such a huge swath of the South China Sea that they infringe upon several nations territorial rights and shipping lanes. I can see us rebuilding a naval and air force bases in the Philippines and conduction show of force missions.