Chinese Fire Drill, Part 2

Hey guess what kids?  Now we see why China's playing hardball with us on military cooperation.  It's because they have no real intent on that whole cooperation thing at all, but competition worldwide instead.  From the India Times:

China has signaled it wants to go the US way and set up military bases in overseas locations that would possibly include Pakistan. The obvious purpose would be to exert pressure on India as well as counter US influence in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"(So) it is baseless to say that we will not set up any military bases in future because we have never sent troops abroad," an article published on Thursday at a Chinese government website said. "It is our right," the article said and went on to suggest that it would be done in the neighborhood, possibly Pakistan.

"As for the military aspect, we should be able to conduct the retaliatory attack within the country or at the neighboring area of our potential enemies. We should also be able to put pressure on the potential enemies' overseas interests," it said.

A military base in Pakistan will also help China keep a check on Muslim Uighur separatists fighting for an independent nation in its western region of Xingjian, which borders the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Beijing recently signed an agreement with the local government of NWFP in order to keep a close watch on the movement of Uighur ultras.

"I have personally felt for sometime that China might one day build a military base in India's neighborhood. China built the Gadwar port in Pakistan and is now broadening the Karokoram highway. These facilities can always be put to military use when the need arises," Ramesh V Phadke, former Air Commodore and advisor to the Institute of Defense Studies told TNN. 

How very interesting.  More on this here.

Hey, what better way to bankrupt the US than to start a new arms race and force us to borrow money from the very country we're competing against?    Should the GOP ever get back in charge our little tiff with China is going to become front burner real fast.  If you think the Republicans are going to prctice fiscal discipline in the face of this, you're mad.  We're going to be adding tens of trillions to our debt in this little game.  Hell, even with Obama we're going to be forced to play the Build-A-Base game.  Brilliant move from the Chinese:  they'll bury us without firing a shot.

The 21st Century will not belong to the United States, folks.