Sign of the times

Posted By Daniel W. Drezner Thursday, April 23, 2009 - 8:22 PM Share

Hmmmm.... let's see what is on the commentary page of the World section of the Financial Times website. See if you can spot the trend:

"China sees European Union as a mere pawn: Viewed from Brussels, China’s importance to the world’s security and economic systems has never been greater, writes Tony Barber. Viewed from Beijing, the European Union’s importance has rarely been smaller."
"Why brands now rise in the east: For a long time, global products have been made in the image of what US consumers wanted, or dreamed. But what will western consumers make of it when Asia’s influence becomes apparent in products other than games consoles, asks John Gapper."
"Beijing flexes new economic muscle at sea: If Beijing continues to expand its seapower until it has a navy to match that of America it will raise awkward questions of the postwar balance of power in the Pacific that has been kept largely thanks to the US presence, writes David Pilling."

EXPLORE:INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, CHINA, HEGEMONY, POWER TRANSITION

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3:37 AM ET

April 24, 2009

# "Beijing flexes new

# "Beijing flexes new economic muscle at sea: If Beijing continues to expand its seapower until it has a navy to match that of America it will raise awkward questions of the postwar balance of power in the Pacific that has been kept largely thanks to the US presence, writes David Pilling."

Please. This isn't happening now, and it won't happen for decades short of a total economic collapse and the US more or less abandoning its goal of naval superiority.

Aside from the fact that they don't have much of the hardware, they don't have the ability to maintain the hardware (when China said they were considering building a carrier to US officers, the US officers more or less said "Knock yourself out"), they more or less don't have the infrastructure to maintain a blue-water navy capable of challenging the US at sea, and they don't have the skilled personnel (particularly the skilled non-coms) that make a modern navy work effectively on a large scale.

They have some destroyers, and submarines, but nothing resembling the above necessary to support a blue-water navy of large scale. That's why they've been looking at less than conventional methods for stopping US fleets in the area, such as cruise and ballistic missiles, and submarines.