The China Threat.
Author- Van D. Hipp Jr. Tuesday, August 23, 2011
There is a bear in the woods. For some people, the bear is easy to see. Others dont see it at all. Some people say the bear is tame. Others say its vicious and dangerous. Since no one can really be sure whos right, isnt it smart to be as strong as the bear? If there is a bear?
Sound familiar? The paragraph above accompanied a video ad made famous by President Reagans reelection bid in 1984. The bear, of course, represented the Soviet Union and its threat to the U.S. and the free world during some pretty chilly days of the Cold War.
President Reagan and the ad were ultimately proven right. For more than any other single reason, the Cold War was won because of the firm foreign relations and aggressive investment in military might that took place on his watch.
These days, the bear is long gone. But that doesnt mean the woods are empty. Indeed, there are some pretty frightful creatures that continue to roam through the thicket. One mythical beast that continues to lurk is the Middle Empires Red Dragon. And when it comes to our complicated relationship with the Dragon, theres one question that matters most: is China our friend or foe?
At the heart of the issue is how our nation and China are engaged economically. To say thats a complex subject is quite an understatement. There is, however, one undeniable fact that drives the discussion: Americas historic and growing trade deficit with China reflects a relationship thats out of whack.
By most accounts, our national trade deficit with China is somewhere north of $270 billion. Whats heartbreaking about this astronomical imbalance are the jobs, businesses and entire industries that have completely vanished here at home. Whats infuriating about this astronomical imbalance is how China tilts the table to ensure it and how our country does precious little to stop it.
For years, China has artificially kept its currency, the yuan, below value and propped up the U.S. dollar by gobbling up as many greenbacks as possible. The tactic, called currency manipulation, yields cheaper prices for Chinese products exported to the U.S. and higher prices for American products exported to China.
Thanks also to Washingtons addiction to spending (and Chinas affinity for buying so many U.S. treasury bonds), we owe China more than $1 trillion. Are the numbers starting to scare you? They should. Its hard to see China as a friend on the economic front. Chalk this one up in the foe column.
When it comes to cyber relations between the two, things are even worse (if thats possible). In a nutshell, China has some pretty nasty hacking, phishing, and spying habits and the U.S. is one of its favorite targets.
Maybe the most infamous example of Chinas penchant for cyber attacks in our direction occurred in 2004. Thats the year details came to light regarding an aggressive Chinese cyberspying assault nicknamed Titan Rain by U.S. federal investigators. Titan Rain successfully targeted American government and defense contractor computer systems and is believed to have left serious damage in its wake.
Then there was the summer of 2007 when the Chinese military hacked into the Pentagons computer system and brought the DoDs email system crashing down. And who can forget the fall of 2010 when reports surfaced of an episode months earlier at the hands of Chinese state-controlled Internet provider, China Telecom? Thats when email traffic from a number of federal sites (including DoD, NASA and the U.S. Senate among others) was rerouted through Chinese servers.
Last month, Google reported that Chinese hackers had recently broken into hundreds of Google email accounts. And wouldnt you know it, many of those accounts belonged to top U.S. Government and military officials, political activists and journalists.
Are you beginning to detect a pattern? Thats another one for the foe column if youre scoring at home.
Then theres the issue of human rights. With 22 years having passed since the Tiananmen Square Massacre, youd think Chinas leaders would have come around in this area. Sadly, thats not the case.
According to the Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders, last year alone there were 3,544 incidents of individuals arbitrarily detained for exercising or defending their own or others human rights; 118 cases of torture; and 36 cases of enforced disappearances. Again, all of that taking place just during 2010.
When it comes to protecting human rights, China is no friend of the U.S. and the free world. Thats another one for the foe column and the third strike is in the books.
President Obama and his administration have done a poor job of pressing China on each of these issues over the past two and half years. Rather than taking Beijing to task in a serious and consistent way, Obama instead welcomed Chinese President Hu Jintau to the White House for a formal State dinner earlier this year. Thats simply unacceptable.
Recently, presidential hopeful Mitt Romney called out the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for his weak performance in dealing with China. Make no mistake, Romney is right. Whoever takes the oath of office on January 20, 2013 as our next Commander-in-Chief must replace the current administrations incoherent foreign policy in addressing China with a tough tact across the board and real action if necessary. Hopefully, he or she will recognize the Dragon in the woods for the formidable foe it is.
The China Threat
Author- Van D. Hipp Jr. Tuesday, August 23, 2011
There is a bear in the woods. For some people, the bear is easy to see. Others dont see it at all. Some people say the bear is tame. Others say its vicious and dangerous. Since no one can really be sure whos right, isnt it smart to be as strong as the bear? If there is a bear?
Sound familiar? The paragraph above accompanied a video ad made famous by President Reagans reelection bid in 1984. The bear, of course, represented the Soviet Union and its threat to the U.S. and the free world during some pretty chilly days of the Cold War.
President Reagan and the ad were ultimately proven right. For more than any other single reason, the Cold War was won because of the firm foreign relations and aggressive investment in military might that took place on his watch.
These days, the bear is long gone. But that doesnt mean the woods are empty. Indeed, there are some pretty frightful creatures that continue to roam through the thicket. One mythical beast that continues to lurk is the Middle Empires Red Dragon. And when it comes to our complicated relationship with the Dragon, theres one question that matters most: is China our friend or foe?
At the heart of the issue is how our nation and China are engaged economically. To say thats a complex subject is quite an understatement. There is, however, one undeniable fact that drives the discussion: Americas historic and growing trade deficit with China reflects a relationship thats out of whack.
By most accounts, our national trade deficit with China is somewhere north of $270 billion. Whats heartbreaking about this astronomical imbalance are the jobs, businesses and entire industries that have completely vanished here at home. Whats infuriating about this astronomical imbalance is how China tilts the table to ensure it and how our country does precious little to stop it.
For years, China has artificially kept its currency, the yuan, below value and propped up the U.S. dollar by gobbling up as many greenbacks as possible. The tactic, called currency manipulation, yields cheaper prices for Chinese products exported to the U.S. and higher prices for American products exported to China.
Thanks also to Washingtons addiction to spending (and Chinas affinity for buying so many U.S. treasury bonds), we owe China more than $1 trillion. Are the numbers starting to scare you? They should. Its hard to see China as a friend on the economic front. Chalk this one up in the foe column.
When it comes to cyber relations between the two, things are even worse (if thats possible). In a nutshell, China has some pretty nasty hacking, phishing, and spying habits and the U.S. is one of its favorite targets.
Maybe the most infamous example of Chinas penchant for cyber attacks in our direction occurred in 2004. Thats the year details came to light regarding an aggressive Chinese cyberspying assault nicknamed Titan Rain by U.S. federal investigators. Titan Rain successfully targeted American government and defense contractor computer systems and is believed to have left serious damage in its wake.
Then there was the summer of 2007 when the Chinese military hacked into the Pentagons computer system and brought the DoDs email system crashing down. And who can forget the fall of 2010 when reports surfaced of an episode months earlier at the hands of Chinese state-controlled Internet provider, China Telecom? Thats when email traffic from a number of federal sites (including DoD, NASA and the U.S. Senate among others) was rerouted through Chinese servers.
Last month, Google reported that Chinese hackers had recently broken into hundreds of Google email accounts. And wouldnt you know it, many of those accounts belonged to top U.S. Government and military officials, political activists and journalists.
Are you beginning to detect a pattern? Thats another one for the foe column if youre scoring at home.
Then theres the issue of human rights. With 22 years having passed since the Tiananmen Square Massacre, youd think Chinas leaders would have come around in this area. Sadly, thats not the case.
According to the Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders, last year alone there were 3,544 incidents of individuals arbitrarily detained for exercising or defending their own or others human rights; 118 cases of torture; and 36 cases of enforced disappearances. Again, all of that taking place just during 2010.
When it comes to protecting human rights, China is no friend of the U.S. and the free world. Thats another one for the foe column and the third strike is in the books.
President Obama and his administration have done a poor job of pressing China on each of these issues over the past two and half years. Rather than taking Beijing to task in a serious and consistent way, Obama instead welcomed Chinese President Hu Jintau to the White House for a formal State dinner earlier this year. Thats simply unacceptable.
Recently, presidential hopeful Mitt Romney called out the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for his weak performance in dealing with China. Make no mistake, Romney is right. Whoever takes the oath of office on January 20, 2013 as our next Commander-in-Chief must replace the current administrations incoherent foreign policy in addressing China with a tough tact across the board and real action if necessary. Hopefully, he or she will recognize the Dragon in the woods for the formidable foe it is.
The China Threat
