A sane defence policy is ... Not Made In China

I got excited when I saw the words trade, defence, and China in the one article. But alas, I should have known better.

Greg Sheridan, Trade and defence: our China line

It is worth pausing for a second to consider the scale of China's military expansion... now the world's second-largest defence spender.

... China now deploys the largest fleet of attack submarines in the world... has commissioned more than 40 new subs since 1995, and has nearly 500 fourth-generation fighter-bombers now in service... China's first aircraft carrier, a succession of advanced stealth combat aircraft and a range of extremely sophisticated missile systems and huge numbers of missiles...

... never in human history has a navy fleet as big as China's been built but not used in battle...

It is not remotely inconsistent to respond in different ways to different aspects of a great power. Australia seeks to partner China economically. It seeks to draw China into rules-based and norms-based regional and global organisations ... It won't compromise on the US alliance and builds up its own military capacities, and solidifies the position of the US in the region, to cope with the possible difficulties if China should ever cut up rough.

These are not inconsistencies on Australia's part. They are sensible measures to deal with widely divergent aspects of an emerging great power.

Really? It's not remotely inconsistent to economically aid China's military buildup and then spend buckets to arm ourselves against it?

When you add up the costs of defence spending to combat China, not to mention the fear of being attacked, does that negate the benefits of trade? I think it does. Chinese goods are not cheap, after all. And what price can you put on peace of mind?

So to continue trading with China is not in our interest, it's only in China's interest. Sheridan is therefore presumably not acting in the national interest, but acting as a one-worldist, believing it's the right of China to modernise, and our duty to make it happen. I disagree.

Our economic and defence policy should be one of containment until China stops acting like an imperial bully itching for a fight.



Gerald Celente: You're going to see "Not Made in China" become a slogan around the world ... We're going to see this anti-China backlash coming up. It's the golden rule: those who have the gold rule, and a lot of people don't want to see China rule ... We're going to start seeing trade barriers go up more and more ... This isn't isolationism, this is survivalism.


Thom Hartmann: The first political party that wakes up to cause of protectionist mercantilism ... and opts to drop out of these insane free trade arguments will be the first party to win big at the ballot box, and that party will help to reboot the American dream.

File under: Chinese goods are not cheap.