With the development of a new fighter jet, China's military is slowly growing stronger and stronger. Moreover, with the creation of a ballistic missile that could destroy an aircraft carrier 2,000 at sea, this could mean bad new for the U.S. as the communistic country is surpassing the U.S.'s estimates of how quickly China can develop certain military weapons. The nation's military budget is at 76.3 billion, but real spending is estimated to be twice that figure. The U.S. believes that real spending however, is double the amount.
On the other hand, China insists these military weapons are purely for the defense of its nation, partially because of Taiwan's recent claim as an independent nation. To further prove their claims, the nation has allowed videos and photos to be taken of the J-20 (the name of the fighter jet)--something the government rarely does as it usually censors politically-based information.
For now, the United States, concerned about these recent developments, is trying to stay on good terms with China by getting more contact with the country. Also, just in case, Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to invest in a long-range nuclear bomber, and enhance the Navy's weapons so that they can throw missiles off course.
Do you guys think the U.S. is being overly cautious? Or are they justified for being too concerned? Might China have an alternate reason for developing such weapons?
Saturday, January 8, 2011
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2 comments:
Wouldn't investing in a long range nuclear bomber create even more tension with China? If the US is getting worked up over a few planes and missile launchers, how do you think China would feel when they find out we're developing weapons that can blow up their capital city with one shot from miles away??
I don't know too much about the issue, but I don't think much concern is needed. Does China even have a reason to attack the US?(aside from the trillions of dollars we owe them)
I agree with Aaron. Wouldn't taking measures to "protect" ourselves from the weapons China is obviously letting us take a detailed look into be a sign of mistrust against the Chinese? China's on its way to becoming the world's next greatest power, and the U.S. might do better to just let it happen. If we look back to WWII, when the U.S. gained a lot of prominence as a world influence, the European powerhouses (Britain, France) were very friendly with the U.S. (for obvious reasons like fighting and winning the war and owing the U.S. a lot in loans made during the war - hm, I wonder what the U.S. has done?) and there has been very good connections to the countries that used to be in power before the U.S. had its heyday.
I mean, I don't know a whole lot about foreign politics, but I think that the U.S. needs to calm down and not assume the worst from China's obvious economic improvement over the past few years. Actually, it'd probably be better if we embraced it and strengthen our ties with them instead of potentially aggravating them.
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