The Next Cold War?

One disturbing item that has not gotten a lot of press but has raised some eyebrows is the recent refusal of China to allow U.S. ships port entry into Hong Kong. Two of the ships were minesweepers trying to escape a cyclone. In cases where ships are trying to escape a storm it is customary for any country to allow ships into port no matter where they are from. Initially, the Chinese tried to say it was all a misunderstanding but soon blamed the U.S. for the slight. The Chinese claimed arming Taiwan and honoring the Dali Lama was behind their actions.

When you take a close look at what the Chinese have done recently, it’s clear they are looking to challenge the U.S. which could lead to the next cold war. This year alone the Chinese have continued to deploy missiles aimed at Taiwan, conducted a provocative satellite destroying missile test, and have started to pursue building aircraft carriers and stealth fighters. At the same time, China has allied itself with Iran and is cozying up to Russia.

While building up its military might be dismissed as the natural progression of a developing country, flipping off the U.S. Navy reveal a newly aggressive stance that the U.S. cannot afford to ignore.

Comments

[Senthil]

A very hostile post towards America's 'enemies'. Perhaps a better way to look for the next cold war, would be in the Islamic world also.
With China being a firm trading partner with the US, it seems unlikely that they would provoke a conflict with the US. It's just too far out of their economic interests.
How about this for provoking conflict instead:
The US declares a war on terror. The second stage is an invasion of a country with which you have economic ties. The third stage is economic sanctions against a country with which you have economic ties. Meanwhile, during the war on terror, the US funds a terrorist group known as the PKK, with links to the PJUK (their Iranian counterparts) who are supposed to carry out attacks against the Iranian government/infrastructure/nation, but instead decide to carry out attacks on you. Who are you? The nation is the often named bridge between the West and the East; Turkey.
Must it always be the simplified terms of Islamists/Communists/whatever-else-ists. Have you evere considered that the monster is a product of your own political machine?

[Reaps]

I swear I've said it before;

It's all America's fault.

There, see? Saves you a lot of typing!

But I suppose the whole point of dressing it up with posts longer than that is to ensure that it doesn't actually come across as being that simple..

[Senthil]

Once again Reaps, you're simplification shows the IQ level you're operating at.
It's not all America's fault, nor have I ever said it is. But supporting terrorists who subsequently turn around and start bombing allies is not the way to 'win hearts and minds' in the Muslim world.
These actions are what we expect and see from backwards regimes and despotic governments. For the United States, the leader of the free world, we should expect a higher standard especially in the conduct of the war on terror.

By the way, I'm living in Turkey. I don't particularly want to get blown up by the PKK, but since you're sitting in Australia, you probably know nothing of terrorism.

Is the reason you don't respond with any sign of intelligence because you've been confounded by matters you know nothing about, or is it just that you think it's just a good ol' laugh to fund terrorism and the deaths that result from it, while diminishing the opinion of a country that we should look up to?
Are you anything more than just plain ignorant?

[Scott Sheffield]

The commie Chinese are not the product of our political machine. We try to promote freedom. If you don't believe me why don't you visit Taiwan and South Korea and ask them if we should have given them up to the communist? We don't get it right every time but where we have been able to directly shape nations, we have left a good record of building free, prosperous, and peaceful nations which we do not dominate. The commie Chinese allow scum like Kim Il Jong to survive while he tortures millions. I’ll stack up our record against any other country anytime.

[Senthil]

No commie China is not a product of your political machine, but the capitalisation of China and the raising of wealth within the country is.
China moves towards modernisation almost too slowly to notice, and yet it is happening. Yes it takes a sometimes hostile stance and given the opportunity it may capitalise on American weakness, but with agreements such as China Trade, the US and China are almost locked into a mutual dependence.
This is why there are never more than strong words from China about the US helping Taiwan and there's never more than strong words about China's oppression of Tibet.

The point is, as I stated, we expect regimes like China's to deal with governments like Khartoum's, we expect actions that are morally reprehensible, but we should always expect better from the US. It's not a pissing contest to see who the more amoral country is. Simply put the US should strive to be above reproach.
Lastly, the label communist is about a political ideology. China barely qualifies as communist these days and as for North Korea, I think the term Gary Kasparov used was that it's 'one giant concentration camp.'