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Thursday, October 18, 2012

That Gigantic Sucking Noise …

by Sam Huntington


China has been as busy as a little bee flitting around the globe, making friends, asserting interests in other people’s business, intimidating neighbors, threatening others with their new navy, demanding access to oil reserves that clearly do not belong to them. They are even beginning to establish military advisory groups in some countries, providing arms and munitions to others, and selling modern military equipment to their new friends.

The Chinese appear involved in every region, on every continent, including the Middle East. Long before the scheduled withdrawal of US/Coalition forces from Afghanistan, China sent Zhou Yongkang to meet with President Hamid Karzai. This is significant because Mr. Zhou is China’s second most senior politburo member, China’s Security Chief, and China’s first high-ranking official to visit Afghanistan in almost fifty years.

Why is China interested in Middle Eastern politics? I believe China has a keen interest in widening Chinese markets, and is hoping for a western failure in its war on terror. Angry or frustrated radicals are always in the market for more arms and munitions. China doesn't mind terrorists, so long as Karzai precludes them from establishing terrorist training camps near the Chinese border; there is a small matter of some 20 million Muslims living in China, after all. This helps to explain why China has distanced itself from the west’s so-called war on terror.

China would also prefer not to see any permanent western military bases in Afghanistan —for obvious reasons.

China fears that a rapid draw down of NATO troops in Afghanistan could lead to a return to bickering among warlords and complex tribal alliances. Civil war among Afghanistan’s neighbors would not be in China’s long-range commercial interests, nor does it want to see a further destabilization of Pakistan.

While notoriously reluctant to dirty its hands in such matters (above), withdrawal of coalition forces in 2014 may leave China no other choice. The problem is that China isn't quite as sophisticated as everyone thinks. It cannot compete at the same level as the United States in terms of nation building, economic aid, military assistance, and peacekeeping. China simply has no tradition for such endeavors, and in order to find success in Afghanistan, it must rely upon its regional surrogate: Pakistan.

The development of closer ties between China, Afghanistan, and Pakistan is a clear sign that China is seeking an enlarged political role after 2014. Our evidence appears to be these two things: in February, China agreed to a trilateral meeting process with Afghanistan and Pakistan, which increases China’s role in that region, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Central Asian Security, and Economic Bloc admitted Afghanistan as an observer in June 2012.

Mr. Zhou's trip to Afghanistan was no coincidence; as one of China’s senior politburo members, Zhou went to Afghanistan to discuss terrorism, border security, and to announce a new deal for China’s Ministry of Public Security to “train, fund, and equip Afghani police officers.” This demonstrates China’s goal of becoming a significant player in Afghanistan’s unsettling culture, and its commercial interests.

Encouraging China to take a more active role in the affairs of the Middle East has been the goal of US diplomats for quite a number of years. These diplomats naturally say that once China gets its nose under the tent, it isn't likely to withdraw any time soon. Good. That gigantic sucking noise you are about to hear is the sound of Afghanistan and Pakistan helping itself to China’s treasury.

24 comments:

  1. Only one candidate is aware of this.

    Meanwhile we cut drilling in the Gulf and gave inroads to other countries to drill there.

    Pray Romney wins.

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  2. Interesting take, Sam.

    The world dynamic is indeed in flux -- more flux than we have seen for a long time.

    "May you live in interesting times." A blessing or a curse?

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  3. Business in the Middle East is always risky, I don't know. I don't know what the answer is. I'm looking forward to the debate Monday on foreign affairs, I'm sure China will be one of the topics.

    Debbie
    Right Truth
    http://www.righttruth.typepad.com

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  4. Whether it is a good thing that China surrenders its wealth to the cave men is one perspective; there are others. China is a traditional competitor of the United States, and of western values, we should be curious whether China will attempt to manipulate Moslem extremism to its own purposes.

    @AOW … I think the words were spoken as a curse, although I admit I wasn't present when those words were spoken.

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  5. An interesting perspective, Sam. Afghanistan has an aboundance of rae earth and other strtegic minerals which are important to the US. China has their eye on these minerals as well. I see, as a rsult of past and current policies in the Muslim world, serious tensions building between the US, China, and Russia. This is why I am hoping the US doesn0t get invilved in the Syrian conflict, It is Russian that has strategic intterest there,

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  6. "China would also prefer not to see any permanent western military bases in Afghanistan —for obvious reasons."

    I disagree. Was this a misstatement? It kind of goes against the rest of the article.

    China wants us to pay the freight and provide security while it reaps profits. That needs to stop. We need to get out and leave it to China. As you make a good case for, China is ill-equipped to perform at the level we have, and they will ultimately fail.

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  7. China will always mind its own business. It will only help anyone, if it benefit them.
    WLIL

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  8. I agree with you Silverfiddle. China should provide for its own security instead of depending on the West.
    WLIL

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  9. China must soon be on the move. Their one child policy has left millions of unhappy men, empty cities. Expansion has always been the easy way to solve social unrest, and that they have and much under reported.

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  10. I always interpreted "interesting times" as a curse. I long for a more mundane world.

    We need a president who will look out for American interests in the way the Chinese always look out for theirs.

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  11. Good article, and I think spot on. China does not want a NATO military force right next door. The only reason China is sending it's second ranking party member to Afghanistan is because China has plans for Afghanistan. Pakistan must be excited beyond description.

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  12. That's a good map, as it is correct and shows Taiwan as a separate nation, which it is.

    It would even be better if it showed Tibet as not being part of China, since it isn't other than through an illegitimate claim.

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  13. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  14. Au contraire, moron. It is the map where GM “redistributed” American taxpayer’s money, and where Jeffrey Immelt (CEO of GE) moved American jobs. You do remember Jeffrey Immelt, right? Barack Obama’s Job Czar?

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  15. I couldn't help seeing that the description of China's likely present ambitions bears a striking resemblance to the role played first by Great Britain and then by the United States in dominating world affairs.

    If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, perhaps we should feel more affirmed than threatened by current Asian Ambition? After all they're just trying to adhere to the template we created, and walk in the shoes that once belonged to us before the West gave away the Panama and Suez canals and ceded Hong King to mainland China without a murmur of protest or resistance.

    Our own adventurous instincts and aggressive, acquisitive impulses took off where Britain's were waning. With that in mind it seems only natural that another potentially gigantic force -- in this case China -- would rush in to fill the vacuum our progressive policies have busily created.

    I'm very much afraid that when in ceases to conquer, one will in turn be conquered.

    Isn't that the way of the world?

    China may not be any more evil than we have been. She is just eager to step into our shoes.

    Just another possible perspective, that's all.

    ~ FreeThinke

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  16. Very Good article Sam
    We have a lot of threats in the world at present, and China is one of em.
    Everybody is watching the middle east with a close eye, and we should.
    But make no mistake, China is also a major threat, economically, militarily , and national security wise.

    Have you read the book Death By China ? Very in depth read and informative.
    I was in the Phillipines back in 95 when they landed an Amphibious ready group on one of the Spratly Islands, and by the time the Philipinos could rspond , all they could do was fly over in a C-130 surveilance plane.
    It was only the threat of economic sanction that got them to leave.
    You can thank Clinton who they bank rolled for his re-election for their boldness. ( read year of the Rat 1997)
    Now it looks like they are bakrolling Obummers election with illegal contributions (recently read @Breitbart )

    I firmly believe a confrontation is coming with them soon.
    As i've said before, Now the dragon is at slumber....soon he will roar.

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  17. On topic related to China, I think China and Chinese people set too many bad examples in the asian region, as well as in other parts of the world and also is not as reliable as the West or Europe, in maintaining freedom or in opposing islamization in the world.
    WLIL

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  18. Sam,

    I'm glad that you mention "Government Motors"(GM). I think that Romney missed a couple of opportunities, in the last debate, when B.O. made seperate comments about Romney's 'off-shoring' and that he (B.O.)saved the Auto Industry. According to GM's CEO, 70% of that corporation's production now takes place off-shore.

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  19. WLIL,
    Phillipines, like all the Asian countries and Middle East countries are an extremely nasty lot...

    Really? I hope that you'll elaborate on what you said.

    I'm not doubting what you say. However, all the Filipinos whom I personally know are wonderful people. I know that I sound like an idiot for saying so because I am reminded that wonderful people Muslims and Arabs are.

    The Filipinos whom I personally know are in the context of teaching in a small Christian school. In fact, Filipinos was the largest ethnic group in that school -- except for white Americans, of course.

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  20. Jack,
    I don't view WLIL as racist.

    He is, however, politically incorrect and calls 'em like he sees 'em.

    I can't recall where WLIL is from, but it's not from the United States. I believe that he lives in an Asian country, but I could be wrong about that.

    Perhaps WLIL will return to this thread to give us a further explanation.

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  21. If I have the time, I would also like to find out why asians, of all types of ethnic background and from all types of faith or nonfaith tend to be more unreasonably abusive and more intolerant.

    I am from an asian and of nonreligious christian background(
    My parents were and are abusive to me in various typical unpleasant asian verbal ways and I was unable to communicate anyting of important with them. I am now more of a freethinker, which is another abnormality in Asia where people are pressured to belong to a religion. It is difficult to survive as an independent perosn in a sea of abusive asians.Therefore it comforted me very much to be able to communicate in a decent website such as AOW.
    WLIL

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  22. I would also like to find out why asians, of all types of ethnic background and from all types of faith or nonfaith tend to be more unreasonably abusive and more intolerant.

    Do you mean like that statement?

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  23. Sam Huntington,

    Other people may or may not share or agree with my statement or statements, as they may not have the same unpleasant experience as mine.
    Anyway, I agree very much with another one of your interesting, well written article above, which reflect very much close to one of the many unpleasant facts about China and Chinese people in general.
    WLIL

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