The Chinese Elephant in the Living Room

China is in the news again. Tran Sient has one story:

Tran Sient's Watch

Essentially, China may purchase Unocal Corp., which is only the ninth largest oil and gas company here in the U.S.

For those who aren't worried that a Communist Regime may control a good part of our energy, Bill Gertz may change your mind:

Bill Gertz

"China is building its military forces faster than U.S. intelligence and military analysts expected, prompting fears that Beijing will attack Taiwan in the next two years, according to Pentagon officials.
U.S. defense and intelligence officials say all the signs point in one troubling direction: Beijing then will be forced to go to war with the United States, which has vowed to defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack."

I know many of us just love Walmart's low prices, but it seems America's dependence on China for cheap goods has been fueling their economy quite nicely. The trade deficit of 160 billion is one big reason that the Chinese economy has been growing for 10% a year for the last ten years.

More from Gertz:
"For China, Taiwan is not the only issue behind the buildup of military forces. Beijing also is facing a major energy shortage that, according to one Pentagon study, could lead it to use military force to seize territory with oil and gas resources.
The report produced for the Office of Net Assessment, which conducts assessments of future threats, was made public in January and warned that China's need for oil, gas and other energy resources is driving the country toward becoming an expansionist power."

So are we going to give them Unocal so that they don't attach Taiwain. I don't think it's so simple, though certainly fears of China have rendered Americans a bit gunshy on this one. Talking ill of Saddam and Osama is cupcakes compared to dealing with the red power from the East. Still, appeasement didn't work for Chamberlin. We'll see how it goes this time around.

Essentially then, China will need to be confronted. I'm certainly no war hawk, but we have agreements with both Japan and Taiwan in case China goes to war with them. We need to act soon to avoid a showdown with China, that, quite frankly, will be a bloody mess that severs the life of this Republic.

"Richard Fisher, vice president of the International Assessment and Strategy Center, said that in 10 years, the Chinese army has shifted from a defensive force to an advanced military soon capable of operations ranging from space warfare to global non-nuclear cruise-missile strikes.
"Let's all wake up. The post-Cold War peace is over," Mr. Fisher said. "We are now in an arms race with a new superpower whose goal is to contain and overtake the United States.""

Indeed we need to wake up. Let's equalize this trade deficit, keep our energy companies in the hands of Americans, and do something to prevent war with China.

At the very least we need to formalize this nation's policy on China. The time for tepidity has long passed.