China- Not an Expansionist Empire? Think again

Goober

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China- Not an Expansionist Empire? Think again.
But in the West we have the apologists that state China was never one to invade other countries.

Sino-Indian War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
India and China square off: High stakes | The Economist

The Most Dangerous Border in the World - By Ely Ratner and Alexander Sullivan | Foreign Policy

The night before Beijing released its biennial defense white paper in mid-April, avowing that it would not "engage in military expansion," roughly 30 Chinese troops marched 12 miles into Indian-controlled territory. For at least the last five years, the Chinese military has routinely made forays across the disputed 2,400-mile-long Line of Actual Control that divides the two countries. The Indian government counted 400 similar incursions last year, and already 100 in 2013.
But for the first time since 1986, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops refused to return home after being detected. They instead pitched three tents. New Delhi quickly summoned the Chinese ambassador, and Indian military officials protested to their Chinese counterparts. The Chinese soldiers responded by pitching two more tents, and erecting a sign, in English, that said "You are in Chinese side." Three rounds of unsuccessful negotiations broke off May 1, with Beijing demanding that New Delhi unilaterally withdrawal from its own territory before it would consider removing its encampment. Meanwhile, China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman denied that PLA troops had even penetrated the boundary, paradoxically noting, "China is firmly opposed to any acts that involve crossing the Line of Actual Control and sabotaging the status quo."

On April 25, India's External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid situated the crisis in the context of Sino-Indian relations: "One little spot is acne, which cannot force you to say that this is not a beautiful face. That acne can be addressed by simply applying ointment." Khurshid will likely regret this remark, not only because it is a bad metaphor, but because it is wrong. Initial diplomatic efforts have failed, and even though war is unlikely, the standoff is a reminder of the deep and potentially dangerous rivalry that simmers below the Sino-Indian relationship.

It is a strange time for China to pick this fight. With potential instability on the Korean Peninsula and sovereignty disputes in the East and South China Seas, it belies strategic logic for Beijing to open a new front of territorial revisionism. And it seems India agrees: One Indian general called the move "an inexplicable provocation."

Perhaps it was a case of a PLA officer going rogue. Perhaps China wanted to send a message of strength in advance of high-level visits in May, when foreign minister Khurshid goes to Beijing and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang visits Delhi on his first official trip abroad since taking office in March. Or perhaps, as many in the Indian media are speculating, Beijing is signaling it will no longer tolerate India's stepped-up patrols and infrastructure development along the border.

While China's motivations remain unclear, the potential implications are massive. The Sino-Indian dynamic is often seen as a sideshow to Beijing's more immediate rivalries with the United States and Japan. But more intense strategic competition between India and China would reverberate throughout the continent, exacerbating tensions in Central Asia, the Indian Ocean, and Southeast Asia. Disruptions to the Asian engine of economic growth caused by these tensions could debilitate the global economy.
 

mapleleaf

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China has invaded its' neighbors many times. China is trying to control the whole South China Sea an causes many problems in Asia right now
 

darkbeaver

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they would have called it The Just South Sea then I'm sure. It's not worth arguing about but I would have thought the sea touching China to the south of would be Chinese waters. Or does the sea actually not touch China but just lingers south of it?
 

Blackleaf

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Why is it called the south China sea?

For the same reason that there's an Irish Sea, a Caribbean Sea, an East Siberian Sea, a Timor Sea, a Catalan Sea, an Argentine Sea, a Sea of the Hebrides, a Sea of Japan and a Solomon Sea.
 

Trex

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I really haven't heard from too many Chinese apologists.
Even when I was in China working for the Chinese.
I thought everyone knew they were expansionist.
India and the rest of their South Asian neghbors certainly know they are.
Where was the confusion?
 

darkbeaver

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The part that touches China would be called "shore"; hence the term "seashore".

I disagree in that I don't think China and it's shores are normally thought of as distinct land masses. I maintain that the China shore and the abutting sea are separated by a thin film of fish slime and kelp normally evidenced at the beech.

For the same reason that there's an Irish Sea, a Caribbean Sea, an East Siberian Sea, a Timor Sea, a Catalan Sea, an Argentine Sea, a Sea of the Hebrides, a Sea of Japan and a Solomon Sea.

And will you now elaborate as to the specifics of the as yet unarticulated reasons which you claim are the same. I think your logic can be demonstrated to be flawed simply by saying the reason for the naming of the Irish Sea and any other sea certainly cannot be the same. For instance the sea touching Nova Scotia is called the Atlantic Ocean while the other side of that body of water is called the Irish Sea. I propose that there does not exist any reason in the matter whatsoever.
 

Goober

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I really haven't heard from too many Chinese apologists.
Even when I was in China working for the Chinese.
I thought everyone knew they were expansionist.
India and the rest of their South Asian neghbors certainly know they are.
Where was the confusion?

Many in the West were and are still confused.
 

darkbeaver

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Japan has their own sea.

That's about finished Lester's theory.
 

Goober

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As long as they stay out of Peter the Great Gulf, all is good.

Assimilation is well on the move- Same as what happened in Kosovo. Do the Russians still have only 1 rail line, single track to the east?
 

petros

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Siberia is booming with lots of emigration eastward. Theres' gold in them thar hills. LOTS of it. Enough worth fighting for.
 

petros

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Under permit like here. China doesn't want Siberia Goobs. We let them have the prize of the planet. Africa which is going to become one giant farm.
 

Jonny_C

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Siberia is booming with lots of emigration eastward. Theres' gold in them thar hills. LOTS of it. Enough worth fighting for.

I read not long ago (but too long ago to dig up the link) that Russians near the Russia-China border are poor compared to the Chinese just across the border. It was a very detailed article and I think it mentioned Russians crossing the border to work for the Chinese.

Remembering that makes me think that not all is rosy in Siberia.
 

petros

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They come across the river to shop on the cheap. Access to goods from Western Russia is limited and expensive.