China, Brazil And Aircraft Carriers -
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/11/30/the_top_10_stories_you_missed_in_2009?page=0,5
QUOTE
The
Beijing-Brazil Naval Axis
Ever since China not so secretly bought several aging Soviet aircraft
carriers during the 1990s, China's ambitious naval plans have been the
subject of fevered speculation by military analysts. In March, Chinese
Defense Minister Liang Guanglie offered the strongest confirmation yet that
China plans to embark on a major aircraft-carrier building program, telling
his Japanese counterpart, "We need to develop an aircraft carrier." The
Pentagon thinks that the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) could have
multiple carriers up and running within the decade, with construction costs
likely to run into the billions. With little in the way of naval aviation
experience, China would need to get its sailors and pilots up to speed in a
hurry to meet that timetable -- and that means finding an already
operational carrier to train on.
The trouble is, only four
countries still operate carriers capable of launching conventional aircraft.
The United States has little interest in helping the Chinese military;
France is prohibited from doing so by a European Union embargo; and Russia
has recently grown more wary about military cooperation with its powerful
southern neighbor. That leaves Brazil, which was only too happy to let PLAN
officers train aboard its 52-year-old carrier, the São Paulo (which it
bought from France in 2000). Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim
revealed the program in an interview with a Brazilian defense website in
May. Although the exact terms of the deal are unknown, it is widely thought
that the Chinese might be funding a restoration of the aging São Paulo in
exchange for the training program. A Chinese naval website also hinted that
China might be helping Brazil build nuclear submarines, and Jobim himself
said that he hoped the program would lead to military cooperation in other
areas.
The United States has long been the dominant naval power
in East Asia, but Chinese ships have recently been growing bolder about
shadowing and confronting U.S. vessels and launching legal challenges to
what Beijing views as unlawful intrusions into Chinese waters. With China
and India undergoing massive military buildups -- the Indians are working on
a plan to convert a Russian aircraft carrier for their own use -- U.S. naval
supremacy may be slipping.
Publicly, the U.S. Navy maintains that a Chinese carrier
wouldn't affect the military balance of power in the region, but this year's
annual Pentagon report on China's military capabilities warns that the
country's modernization campaign could "increase Beijing's options for
military coercion."
UNQUOTE
America tells the world it is a
superpower. It was once but with a spendthrift buffoon sending men to fight
in Iraq for a foreign enemy [ Israel ] and unimaginably gross waste of
money, bankruptcy looming it days are numbered. China has billions, lots of
them. Aircraft carriers indicate a major policy decision to expand. It could
be an interesting couple of decades. Australia looks big on the map but just
wait until you see how bleak the land is. New Zealand would be another easy
target when America collapses. Then there is India feeling belligerent.
Fortunately I can opt out. For the young ones it could be nasty.
