Pax Sinica

Paul Plowman makes an interesting comment on a post below about negative views on China, which I commend to you. His view is (partly) that Americans are worried that China’s economic strength will be followed by military muscle-flexing. I would say that the American view on China is always too simplistic and my guess is that this fear is unwarranted. That is not to say that China has no military related ambitions. Its relationship with Burma and its purchases of military technology from Israel, Russia and elsewhere indicate a clear desire not to fall behind. But the US, largely goaded and inspired by the war on terror, is so far ahead in military technology terms that no one is going to catch up with them in any foreseeable timescale.