It's due time we recognize Taiwan as an independent and democratic country that should serve as an example to every nation in the world.
There is no time to waste, we need to reach out and remind people they have a choice.
Sadly, we might have to wait for a stronger administration.
15
@Eddie B: and will you be the first to volunteer to join the US Marines to fight a war against China? Taiwan is part of China. Most of its residents came from Fujian Province just across the sea in China.
This is exactly what happened in Hungary in 1956. The west led the cheerleading for the Hungarians to revolt. And when they did, all the cheerleaders found better things to do. The brave Hungarian revolutionaries got no support and were crushed.
10
Easier said than done.When the world gave up Taiwan's United Nation's seat or more correctly allowed China to be veto permanent member of the UN replacing Taiwan the game was over and won by China. Taiwan is now a sacrificial lamb. China will one day annex it as it happened for Hong Kong.
9
Read Churchill's timeless masterpiece called the "Iron Curtain" speech. It was true back in 1946 and it is even more true today: the only TIME PROVEN WINNING RECIPE against totalitarianism, which today's China and Russia are.
"We cannot be blind to the fact that the liberties enjoyed by individual citizens throughout the United States and throughout the British Empire are not valid in a considerable number of countries, some of which are very powerful. In these States control is enforced upon the common people by various kinds of all-embracing police governments to a degree which is overwhelming and contrary to every principle of democracy. The power of the State is exercised without restraint, either by dictators or by compact oligarchies operating through a privileged party and a political police...
If the Western Democracies stand together in strict adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter, their influence for furthering those principles will be immense and no one is likely to molest them. If however they become divided of falter in their duty and if these all-important years are allowed to slip away then indeed catastrophe may overwhelm us all."
-- Winston Churchill, Iron Curtain speech, 1946
7
NO one is as good as the United States at enabling its own enemies. As Sir Winston Churchill once said, "You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing after they have tried everything else." The question with China is, will we have the time and chance to do the right thing with and by our greedy corporations?
7
‘ The lease agreement has shocked Tulagi residents...’ There is no quotes or anecdotal evidence to back up this generalisation. I wonder how the Sydney-based author came to this conclusion. Did he actually speak to a large number of residents of the island?
3
NYT headline states "residents" are worried about China, the article proceeds to quote two (2) businessmen, one of whom worked for unnamed foreign mining interests (presumably Australian, rivals to the Chinese). That's about as tendentious as it gets. I bet I could go to this island and find at least two people hoping to get employment from Chinese investment without even leaving the airport and in less than five minutes. By the way I also heard China is taking over Mars, which is rightfully American (and Australian, er well white in general). Aw heck, we know what we mean. Wink, wink.
16
President Obama stated that the most important strategic partnerships and US policies should be directed toward the east.
With a lame duck presidency and Senate in power, we can only hope that Republicans will wake up to the dangers of foreign policies that are misdirected, incompetent and a danger to our national security.
9
More fruits of vacuous Trumpian international policy? These developments are not new, but they certainly seem to be coming faster and getting bolder. The world shifts under our feet as this administration flails about gathering dirt on political rivals, trashing respected US institutions, and weakening our most important alliances.
4
For many years I thought WWIII would begin in the Middle East. But it's becoming clear that the next major war will be with China. As they insinuate control over a larger portion of the globe, American influence continues to diminish under a chaotic and leaderless government. There is little time to deal with the impending disaster of climate change and the growing menace of China. Vote Blue in 2020.
7
The big question is whether Trump intends to abandon their allies in Asia-Pacific too. China will soon have Carte Blanche in the region and the trade war being waged and economic sanctions will be an irrelevant distraction
3
I wonder why China didn’t try to buy Greenland instead?
11
What's China angling for? Strategic Location. Within military striking distance of our ally Australia. Deepwater port. Hurts Taiwan. 'nuf said.
Meanwhile, the White House clown is busy tweeting insults and burning bridges to allies across the world.
8
Instead of taking over Pacific islands by force, which insured the Japanese a necklace of protection for the their home islands during World War II, China is following a similar strategy using cash to buy/rent existing Pacific islands or powerful dredges to create new ones. Same intent different methods.
7
China has an agenda, money to back it up and no qualms, morals or laws restricting bribery.
It's a pretty sweet spot to be in if you're bent on global hegemony.
10
President Trump’s actions while in office, his fecklessness, his deceit, his unpredictability, and his untrustworthiness, undermine America’s ability to cultivate positive international relations. He claims to put America first, but only a jerk of the first order would believe that, when it is so painfully, embarrassingly obvious he confuses our national interest with his own personal interest. We do not need a king. We do not need a daddy. We do not need a beloved Leader. How can we explain to former allies in small South Pacific nations that this egomaniac had hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place, lied, cheated, and stole, yet still lost the game to bankruptcy, which he claimed was a smart move? China, if you’re listening: you don’t even need to waste money on bribes; Trump is pushing the world into your waiting grasp.
18
What has mystfied me ever since China initiated her Belt and Road Plan--which is thought to pose an existential threat to Western democracy--is why the Western world has never come up with an alternative to it. If the Chinese can bring development to Third World nations while turning a profit, why can't we?
19
@WmC There hasn't been the political will to do it. We can't even upgrade our infrastructure or create a satisfactory healthcare system.
9
Nature abhors a vacuum. As American power wanes — or, some might say, is squandered on narcissistic fantasies — other neo-colonial powers will start occupying recently vacated niches in the geo-political ecosystem. Thus Russia’s moves in the Middle East and China’s moves in the Pacific and Africa. Instead of alienating Mexico, Canada and Europe and complacently taking South America and its Asian allies for granted, the U.S. would be wise to cement alliances. Under the self-absorption of the Trump presidency, the U.S. seems to have lost sight of the geo-political puck. It’s when you get distracted by the player at the top of the crease and don’t know where the puck is that your opponents put it in the net, as any New York Rangers coach can advise.
8
This is extremely disturbing. But clearly while "Beijing’s ambitions in the South Pacific have economic, political and military ramifications,” nowhere in this article does it even mention the environmental ramifications.
6
I have a suspicion that as our level of trustworthiness decreases on the world stage the vacuum that is created will continue to be filled by others who may not have our interests at heart.
7
China plays chess while we are playing tiddilywinks! They are thinking years into the future, have a plan and are executing it all over the globe including in our own backyard while we flail at endless distractions.
11
And here in America, the politicians, left and right; always grin ear to ear when saying the word "partnership". You know; when the government puts up a bunch of money for a project and a corporations also puts up a bunch. The politicians act like they will retain total control, but you know they won't. The corporations may even exert some control after the project is finished. The whole thing is a bad idea. The advanced result is what is happening to Tulagi. "Be aware citizens; it is now illegal to till your own soil." Or gather rainwater on your property... or walk across the land, or launch a boat into the ocean. THIS is how 1984 comes about. Corporate control, not government.
6
Another failure for this administration's foreign policy. Let's face it folk's Mr. Trump as made American foreign policy a joke around the world. If I was a foreign leader I wouldn't meet with any American diplomats for the fear of being labeled corrupt and weak.
5
What made some British, American or Australian think they have rights to the island? All of South Pacific was colonize by force by massacring the local tribes and forced conversion to Christianity. Up until a few decades ago Australia forced Aborigines to hand their children to white couples for assimilation.
Whatever China have planned for the islands (if any) we cannot tell because it haven’t happened yet but the West including Australia have no rights to be outraged.
8
Absolutely correct. Pacific Islanders have suffered untold atrocities at the hands of the US, Australian mining companies, A-bombing, you name it. And the NYT writes as if it were the US backyard.
3
Tulagi is a tiny island just off shore other small islands. It is across the water of Savo Sound from Guadalcanal.
Tulagi is not big enough for an airfield, and never had one. It has no harbor either, although it is one side of some sheltered water.
Few people live there, just some local fishermen with local boats like canoes.
It was chosen as HQ of the British in the islands because it was easy to land there, and it is a milder and more healthy than the more tropical forest islands all around it.
The important island there, for its size and flat spot for an airfield, is Guadalcanal.
This story if important at all is important for the details not in it.
16
The United States seized Hawaii in a coup; it appropriated Guam after the Spanish-American War, and, in an action that killed as many as a million people, it appropriated the Philippines. Over the wishes of people in the Marshall Islands, who fought in the courts that the US essentially controlled, we staged more than sixty tests of nuclear and thermonuclear weapons. What China is doing pales by comparison.
26
@Kurt Spellmeyer
It seems a bit early to know what China is doing. They don't have a great humanitarian record either.
3
@Kurt Spellmeyer - The conclusion of the Spanish-American War resulted in Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines being bought from the Spanish Empire, with a payment of some $20,000,000. The Kingdom of Hawaii, along with its associated islands, was acquired in a coup by the Hawaiian haole planters, but while the action was finalised in 1898, it was begun closer to 1860. The Marshalls, also owned by Spain, were to the German Empire in 1885, and then became part of German New Guinea that year as a trading subsidiary. The Empire of Japan occupied the islands in WWI, and then under the League of Nations in 1920, were amalgamated with other previously German colonies to form the "South Pacific Mandate." The United States captured the Gilbert and Marshall Islands in 1944. I know all this empire stuff is tricky, but it's best to get the timelines straight.
5
@GWPDA I'm well aware of everything you say. And, actually, nothing you wrote contradicts what I argued. We did appropriate Guam and Philippines after the Spanish Civil War, and we did kill at least a million people in the Philippines when they resisted our colonial misadventure. We did seize Hawaii in a coup. And we did turn the Marshall Islands into our nuclear testing ground. It's not my facts that you dislike; it's the implication that we are not in a moral position to impugn China for behavior much less egregious than ours.
16
Americans need to just get used to being outmaneuvered by China going forward. Such is the price of the America First isolationist policies of the know-nothings who elected Trump.
Recocile yourselves to seeing this country eclipsed in many areas going forward. Learn to speak Chinese.
4
Hmm. How about the US leaving the island of Diego García, which it turned into a massive military base after ordering the Brits to deport all the native people? Or Guam? Or Hawaii? Or Okinawa? Or all the islands the US nuked and poisoned? Or all the other US bases around the world? The US has invaded more countries than any other, and has more military bases on stolen land than any other nation, by an order or magnitude. That makes criticism of China seem just a wee hypocritical. Objective reporting would start with those facts. Then the NYT could actually print this article with a straight face. Just another drum beat for war with China on behalf of the ruling rich. One group of mobsters is complaining about a competing group of mobsters. That about sums it up.
24
Those that don't know history are bound to repeat it. Conservatives kept the US out of international affairs after WWI and it helped lead to WWII. Sticking our collective heads in the sand will not help. The TPP was a good way to hem in China. It didn't have to be a perfect deal. Now, China is expanding and the US is simply idiotic.
6
Let 'em have it. Thanks to the Chinese (and us) the place will soon be under water. Too bad for the unfortunate natives.
3
The US had a viable strategy in the Pacific: it was called the Trans Pacific Partnership. Now the US has no coherent foreign policy, not only in the Pacific, but anywhere in the world. What does 'America First' offer to potential allies?
10
The only way to counter this hegemony is for the US, Japan, Australia and others to band together and offer small nations in the region an alternative to trading their freedom for an economic boost, which is all that China can offer.
Not joining the Trans Pacific Partnership was criminal negligence in my opinion, and a huge gift to China.
139
This isn’t unique; China has been silently yet aggressively doing this everywhere for at least the past decade. From Africa, South America, into Central America, China is building infrastructure or buying up real estate (Vancouver, NYC, London...). I don’t admire their methods or ways, so this is not said out respect or awe, just observation. They don’t look backwards to try to recreate the past; they are building a future. Their fingers are in many many pies and their influence and control will be on a global scale.
136
@Daniette All day I hear financial people on tv decrying the "trade war" and what it might do to Apple, GM's sales of Buicks or Catapiler or Boing. On China's side they are happy to have the US public see it as a trade war, they are focused on a foreign policy war which they are winning. Their intent is to neuter the U S and in 15 years they will control who can trade with the U S the way we can now influence, and is some cases control, a lot of international commerce because of our currency, banking system and the SWIFT operation. I don't think I am a crack pot or a radical (some would argue} when I say that in the Chinese view we are the enemy. They want commercial and military dominance over the US. period.
41
@Daniette
Chinese is buying properties and assets in order to diversify from US Treasuries that pay almost zero interest. People are dreaming up all sort or nefarious intentions that the Chinese buyers may have.
An island out in the boon docks somewhere that is in danger of disappearing as sea level rises because of climate change may or may not be a good investment, but no one else is going to go there to develop that island. So unless the US or the Australian governments are willing to offer Tulagi a better offer, this is the best the government can do.
5
Wake up America. China has a long range game plan to grow both militarily and economically. And we have......... plans to build a wall on our southern border and plans to bribe officials from other countries to investigate the president's opponents.
213
And we have the 116th ‘do nothing’ Congress that has done nothing about infrastructure, immigration policy or guns. They just spend precious time coming up with schemes to remove a duly elected President. What a waste of time & money. The voters will express how they feel about the ‘resistance’ in 2020.
3
Trump may be pulling back militarily from positions in the Pacific but he is personally investing in these areas. I recently read that he is investing heavily in casinos in the Northern Marianna Islands. Make no mistake, Trump does not have the best interests in national security for the U.. S. His only concern is what he can get for himself economically even though it puts the U. S. at a disadvantage and at risk Trump is no friend of the United States, nor does he work on its behalf. His oath of office to defend and protect the Constitution and the U.S. meant nothing to him.
11
Americans generally dislike foreign aid but this is an example of how small nations can be influenced. Help with medicine and education might grease the way for U.S. business to accepted.
4
The idea of a foreign government leasing land belonging to an island nation just off its shores is abhorrent. Particularly when that land is used for a military base, and when that land is used to hold and torture prisoners. And when that island nation wants the holder of that lease to leave. I'm not talking about Tulagi, of course. Their government apparently invited the Chinese to take the lease (with little input, apparently, from its citizens). I'm talking about the US Naval Base at Guantanamo. How many 'enemies' of the US are forced to host a naval base on their very shores, particularly when the base is used to commit acts that would be illegal on American shores.
21
China is marching ahead while US is fading away. Trump's America first - first among what?- is ensuring the downfall of American interest worldwide.Trump cannot understand that America cannot be " first" without other nations looking upto her as a beacon of strength and also backing when needed. The vacuum created by Trump due to his shortsighted views will be nicely filled in by China and Russia. Regaining lost ground will be a tough job. Welcome to the days of the new kings Xi and Putin. Goodbye America. From afar this is the clear picture.Syria and this Island are just snapshots.
11
Doubtless, China will be the next superpower while the US retreats in history. The process has begun.
Sadly!
7
How is this our problem?
6
It may not be but if America was what it was earlier - a true dependable leader - China would not have dared to do this. Trump's inward looking antics and withdrawal from world theatre at large has emboldened China here. And Russia in Syria. Such foolishness spells the decline of a great power.
3
China develops its own GPS system, strategically expands its geographic foothold in the Pacific, moves relentless forward with economic, social and cultural control of its enormous population, as well as those of the less-developed, but resource rich countries on other continents.
And the United States is a hot mess on all fronts.
The writing is on the wall and only brave Hong Kong residents seem willing to do anything about it.
12
Yes! Why no map?
7
Tulagi was the name of an iconic college bar in Boulder, Colorado, that sold vast amounts of 3.2 beer during the era when this was the only form of alcohol available in Colorado to persons under 21. It was only about a hundred yards from the University of Colorado campus.
They will decimate the ocean fisheries of the Solomon's. The extinction of life rages unabated.
27
I find it ironic that "Throughout the 1940s, Americans were strongly encouraged to view China as a friend and ally, worthy of both support and sympathy," according to one source, and that 122 Americans lost their lives wresting Tulagi away from the Japanese and some 1,077 sailors were killed in the night battle of Savo Island (near the island of Guadalcanal, in a place later nicknamed Iron Bottom Sound).
Woe betide any Chinese moving in to construct military bases in the Solomons; the ghosts of all those dead Americans (and native inhabitants who helped them) will surely rise from their sandy and watery tombs to haunt them.
9
This is a worrisome development. To a historian, Heligoland comes to mind. an island taken over from England in 1890 by Germany
China is increasingly behaving like Germany that before WW I started to build a Navy to counter the British one. That did not go down well with Britain - even though the Kaiser limited it to 2/3 of the size of the British
(The Chinese Navy is now larger than the US)
The US is increasingly behaving like Britain that made peace with long time enemies France (War of 100 year, Waterloo) and Russia (The Great Game) to surround Germany with a net of treaties. For the US it increasing ties to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam - all traditional enemies of China.
WW I started in third rank country Serbia and spread as the alliances on both sites clicked in.
All the same ingredients are building up in the South China Sea.
9
Given how America and Europe preyed on China and Asia in the past, and how America has bases around the world, I am not surprised that China would take this move for its self-defense. I am for global demilitarization, so that no nation need fear invasion or having its trade routes cut off.
10
This a military strategic move. China creates facts without going public. The west does the inverse.
6
@Rudi
Brilliant comment!
I was in Honiara diving 9 years ago, and witnessed via plaques on bridges and buildings the battle being fought between China and Taiwan. Too late our interest and that of the US. It’s a poor country, with little by the way of natural resources. The place was flooded with cheap Chinese imports, short on durability but as cheap as chips.
2
Tulagi Island was the base as well as the rest and recovery site for USN Lieutenant John F. Kennedy and his crew after they were rescued from the sinking of PT 109 by a Japanese destroyer, the Amagiri, during WW II.
1
Must be that extremely stable genius at work again on foreign policy. It's all going brilliantly. Just ask him. I'm sure he'll tell you so.
2
Trump picks a trade war with China, when we have much bigger worries and diplomacy challenges.
1
Beware Tulagi, the US leased part of Cuba and when Castro took over he ordered us out and we know how that turned out. Does a sovereign country have any control over who is allowed to use their land? Guess not.
8
Fascinating how "Make America Great Again" actually results in a great weakening of America.
9
The dismal US support towards the Soloman Islands predates DJT. That said too little and too late is the mode of operations for the DJT administration's two years of chaotic, confused foreign policies. This particular example culminating in Pence's anemic efforts to retain the Solomon Island support for Taiwan by offering on and of again meetings while China tempts with offers to improve long-neglected infrastructure.
2
"China’s investments have provoked worries in the United States..."
The US is just jealous that China can be the US of long, long time ago........other countries don't need its help anymore and that worries them.
3
Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were some kind of formal, state-run organisation within the United States which could discuss such things with the 'government' of Tulagi? After all, the President can't be everywhere, all the time.
5
@GWPDA The United States used to have a Senate, consisting of representatives chosen by the State governments, to which the Constitution assigned the role of providing advice and consent on treaties with other governments. The Founders, unfortunately, did not foresee the degeneration of this body into what it is today. So perhaps it’s time for a New Senate.
2
So much winning.
Trump was right. I am getting tired of it.
6
After what China tried to pull in Kenya - apparently bribing its way to a coal-fired power plant in a country with abundant alternatives - I hope the islanders are up for getting this overturned.
4
A special economic zone, or any other industry suitable for development. Having just read The lengthy, but eye-opening companion article today, “The China Connection...”, maybe this island with a great shipping harbor could set up a new fentanyl production plant. Shang Jian, having been released from arrest (after an exhaustive global investigation), might bring Zaron back from secretarial shell company hiding and really put Tulagi on the map.
Zaron, billed as a food additive conglomerate- imagine the opportunities.
In our new global world, where we’re still recalling legal medications for contamination, adulteration, this island presents all kinds of ‘special’ opportunities. Military concerns? China wanting to be a responsible global citizen? Ha!
Forget tariffs. Ban all Chinese imports.
4
China is playing GO. We're not.
6
How did this happen?
Another simple case of follow the money - starting with the so called "provisional government"..........
4
I'm soooooooooooookio confident that the Trump administration will have the foresight to look to the future uses of this Chinese maneuver on this island and secure our interests. But back to reality Trump and his cronies will be dead and their kids rich from selling American out when 50 years from now the Chinese moves its brand new navy there. The red army to soon follow.
2
China has done this before internally and is expanding the idea. The South Pacific is fertile grounds for election medialing and for bribes.
1
This is stunning and excellent reporting. Thank you NYT. And where is the Trump administration while China is swallowing the world? Tariffs.
I’m sickened.
58
Hey, let's use our lever in the TPP to keep China out of these nations, then we could, , , hey wait!!
Oops.
The wise and stable genius backed out of that one.
More Trump caused damaged.
It will take decades to fix this Trump mess, if ever.
5
Why are Americans outraged and mystified when other countries engage in the same behaviors we have been doing for 75 years? Ignorance? Hypocracy?
23
@Chris Smith: case in point, Guantanamo Bay.
2
Excellent report that would have been better with a map illustration.
4
China expands, the US contracts. Sad
10
@Howard
And what good did all the "expanding" do the USA in the long run? Think what good could have been done when the USA was strong and rich to build a better America.
Instead, many trillions of dollars thrown away on endless wars in nameless places that accomplished little or nothing.
To some degree, I think China should be allowed a chance to bleed as we have done since WWII.
1
The western countries and in first place the United States of America have given China free “ know how “ , just out of greed , ruining the economies of their own nations .
The Chinese have been disciplined students and learned and copied quickly.
The robust combination of communism and capitalism has been conquering the world with no fighting ( we don’t know much about the Chinese internal struggles ) , and silently they are little by little invading the entire planet.
5
Another link in the belt and roadway. China is eating the planet.
9
This sounds like a lot bigger threat to me than Northern Syria.
6
@Michael Livingston’s
Neither are a threat to you in Pennsylvania. Unless your interest involves some shady dealings in the Middle East or South Pacific, this shouldn’t affects you at all
Re; China leases an entire island
It is the logical step after building the world's largest blue water navy. (Yes larger than the US) Navy's need supply points
NY Times Aug 29, 2018 -
"With Ships and Missiles, China Is Ready to Challenge US Navy"
That is where China spends the dollars it earns from her trade surplus with the US
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/29/world/asia/china-navy-aircraft-carrier-pacific.html
And yet, there are still economists that bewail as a trade war efforts to turn that money stream off
4
And so trump supporters are you ready to give up all of the hard fought victories of the past for your fearless leader's nonsensical foreign non-policy of capitulation?
9
The pot calling the kettle black.
What did the US pay for the entire land mass of Alaska?
6
this is another trumpian international relations failure ...
6
Sleeping dragon is gradually waking up..........
5
Leave our "deal maker" with the "highest IQ ever" Trump settle it down. Hasn't he said they are such good friends....?
3
An insert of a world map to locate this Tulagi island of 1,000 people could help folks (like me) to grasp this geo-political situation, without opening a tab to Google Maps ;-)
17
No need for a corporate giant like Google; just type into the search function for Wikipedia, a non-profit.
3
I wonder if the politicians of the Solomons understand anything about Chinese racism toward cultures of color?
19
@John Harrington
The apparently corrupt politicians on the island understand the color green. They've made a devil's bargain with a despotic regime. Another victory for Trump's policy of withdrawal? Will US Marines be fighting thee again in 50 years?
3
@John Harrington
Do you not find it ironic of adapting a racist view towards the Chinese while lamenting Chinese racism?
1
@John Harrington OR, religion..... The islands are basically Christian.,...but, hey, I guess it is better than being Muslim? Although I think not, as churches are also under "Attack" from the government.
"...the way in which this engagement is taking place, being lubricated by elite capture and corruption” ...A concise formulation of Putin's takeover of a major American political party.
I'll memorize and use "elite capture".
13
China needs to procure food to feed her mainland people. They are leasing South Pacific Islands to provide fishing grounds till those fidh are gone in the near future. China's leaders recognize Climate change (ridiculed by America's president). They are paying attention to alternative means of providing food (and water?) for their vast population.
China has been busy for decades on their Pacific Rim building fortified islands in the South China Sea, where islands didn't exist. Trying to strangle Taiwan and Hong Kong. America and Europe are consumed today by their own nationalistic worries. Will China surprise all of us by becoming the axis of evil Japan was 100 years ago? The possibilities are endless.
6
@Nan Socolow
How can a single nation be an axis?
To answer your question, before the US was in the top 10 nations it already adapted the Manifest Destiny ideology to expand westward and Monroe Doctrine to expand southward. China is #2 now and it haven’t adapted anything close to the expansion ideology the US did.
China is unsustainable. They cannot sustain anything approaching their current lifestyle without massive inputs from somewhere else. In my opinion, you have to consider this any time you try to understand their actions and craft a response.
Should we let them run roughshod over Tulagi and other places because of this? Can we slow them down or even stop their expansion? It's certainly up to debate, but remember their imperative; they can't stay where they are without expanding and taking new resources.
15
@mlbex Malthus! I thought you were dead - good to have you back. We should start looking for Mrs. Mercantilist because if you're here she should be right around the corner.
@mlbex
What is China’s current lifestyle? Take subway or share bike to work? Travel on high speed trains between cities? Consume 60% the meat American are eating? Live in apartments and not sprawling suburbs?
5
@AmateurHistorian Us too but there are more of them, and our country could sustain itself for now. China can't. Besides this article is about China.
1
When the people of these islands hear how Trump behaved with the Kurds, will they really want to align with us?
124
Good reporting. Excellent to get this out into the local and international community before the deal is made fully official and literally “sealed.” With deals like this—and moreover with an expanding economy and the capital to throw into deals such as this—who can doubt that the flag of the 50 states if falling as the red star is rising? 2050-2150 belongs to one-party China, if there is still breathable air, potable water, and life in the oceans to care about.
12
"Vice President Mike Pence also pressed Mr. Sogavare to hold off on deciding about Taiwan, promising infrastructure investments and making plans for an in-person discussion in September around the time of the United Nations General Assembly."
Infrastructure investments? What kind of fool would believe Pence? The Trump administration has done zero for infrastructure here in the US despite declaring an "Infrastructure Week" every week. Hard for us to invest in another country's infrastructure while ours falls apart and we prioritize tax breaks for those least in need of them and pile on the national debt.
82
@Blair --- Someone needs to talk to Puerto Ricans to see if they believe the American government is trustworthy in its commitment to US territories and investing in infrastructures. God forbid a hurricane might hit one of them.
43
I still blame Bill Clinton for most of the China issues. So concerned about helping China, and so little foresight.
5
@Sophie
China is going to re-emerge either way so should the US engage China constructively like Nixon, Bush Sr and Clinton did or butthead like Obama and Trump did?
2
The art of the deal.
The betrayal of a nation.
Once the apetite is whetted
when will it end?
10
China knows they will need massive massive amounts of resources to grow and feed their future empire so they are taking all the steps necessary to have that supply chain ready and in place.
12
@Biz Griz : I said that too but you got there first. Agreed.
@Biz Griz
That’s true of every country isn’t it. Secure supply contracts and have means to protect the shipment. The Navy wouldn’t have a fleet permanently stationed in the Persian Gulf otherwise.
1
US builds handreds of military bases all over the world, and bring wars and death to many nations, why we think China is a threat to do the same thing? is there something deeply hidden in our mind that can never be changed?
23
@andrew Has US bribed the local officials to have its things built? Does US need to have its budget plans passed by the Congress before it plans to build its things? Can US's opposition party have a say about its government's spending plans?
3
@Awesome of course we 'bribe' local officials in order to get them to sign SOF agreements and long term leases for military bases. We call our bribes 'foreign aid'. See recent events in Ukraine.
Our republic is barely a democracy at this point, but yes it is more open than China. Not clear why that matters since there is no significant opposition to any of our vast military expenditures.
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Another use is for a space listening post. The US has posts in Spain and Australia so it can continuously monitor telemetry from space probes as the Earth rotates. China has one in Argentine. I thought a 3rd location could be in Africa where it has many commercial ties.
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Trump's reckless actions at home and abroad have world consequences that will be with us for generations. While Trump puts "America first" our global influence is diminished and Russia and China are moving in.
2020 can't come fast enough.
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The Trump administration's reckless actions at home and abroad have world consequences that will be with us for generations. While Trump puts "America first" our global influence is diminished and Russia and China are moving in.
2020 can't come fast enough.
5
China clearly is leasing this island for military use. The question is, why? Who are they going to fight? Taiwan? Japan? Us?
The real global challenge is runaway global warming. Neither China nor the United States have spent many resources on that task.
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@Mike Roddy
China have actually spend far more than the US on fighting Climate Change. 97% of electric buses in the world are on Chinese roads. The least efficient coal power plant in China is more efficient than the most efficient coal per plant in the US. China is adding 4x as much nuclear power capacity as the US and in 2018 4x as much solar power capacity.
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@Tim Also, Tim, the earth is flat, and was created in seven days.
The CHinese has a saying: the officials are allow to light fire, but the people can’t light a lamp.
This is how they will feel with any western powers or media commenting about their bases when the US has effectively surrounded them with bases.
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"China goes where there’s value and interest. With the United States pulling back in much of the world under President Trump’s America First policy, Beijing is often knocking on doors left open." I'm encouraging my grandchildren to learn Mandarin and Cantonese. Thanks President tRump.
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How about encouraging all Americans not to buy Chinese?
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@John Locke
Pointless to learn Cantonese. The only place that exclusively speaks Cantonese is public schools in Hong Kong. Chinatowns in the West are often Taishanese and not Cantonese.
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@AmateurHistorian
Amateur historian alright...!
1) Check out the population of the Canton Province, near Hong Kong, in South East China; and
2) I am giving you the second answer: Most, if not all, of the population speak Cantonese...!
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The Chinese ARE everywhere around the world. Have seen their influence first-hand across Africa, the Near East and throughout Latin America in areas including agriculture, transportation, sports facilities, hotels, communications, and other parts of many economies. There may be some secret deals, of course, but in most of the above sectors, Chinese companies are openly active, although they may not issue news releases in every venture.
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The US has over a hundred military bases in other countries. We have economic ties with practically every nation. We've invaded and decimated countries in our hemisphere and the middle east.
The Chines make economic ties with an island of 1,700 people. They're immediately criticized for nefarious dealings.
What?
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@JFP I totally agree. I'm disheartened with how we project American imperialist values onto China. They aren't America.
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Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States have all redoubled their focus on the Pacific Island countries. While the openly expressed view was to improve development assistance to these countries, the clear subtext was to counter China's expansion in the region. The leasing of Tulagi marks a dramatic shift in these small island countries. It has been said often in Washington that countering the Chinese among the Pacific island states would be easy. This is, of course, nothing short of hubris, as the leasing of Tulagi demonstrates. I would argue that if the old ANZUS plus Japan cannot match China's outreach, then the policy settings of the Western states is wrong. Time to tweek the policy, and you had better be quick.
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You can't sink an Island.
Isn't this what Japan was attempting to do?
In addition to having physical control over natural resources, China will have a sphere of military control over a region with aircraft, drones and missiles. In some ways, much better than a blue-water navy, in that you can't sink an island and you avoid the massive costs of supporting a fleet(s) each with an operational aircraft carrier. Sure, you lack mobility but over time you can grow bases strategically, with both economic and military gains.
Not to mention the fact that should we ever go to war with China, I suspect we would likely not bomb an island full of innocent islanders.
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@Ian "...we would likely not bomb an island full of innocent islanders."
In WWII, we bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with lots of civilian casualties. A good reason for the locals to fear a Chinese military installation!
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@Ian - But we have....look up the "Pacific Proving Grounds"
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@Ian
Okinawans have tried to get the US base off their islands for decades so they won’t be the front line in any conflict nor have to tiptoeing around the nukes the US stationed there. They are still trying but highly unlike the US would give up occupying the islands.
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"Signed on Sept. 22, the agreement includes provisions for a fishery base..."
The local fishery will be fished out in 5 years, and the locals will have to import their food.
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@mlbex - which is pretty much what Hawaii does now...when Hawaiians lost their sovereignty with the illegal taking of their nation, they lost their cultural agricultural practices and the lands that supported them. When large global powers exploit small groups of peoples, those groups become subordinates of the powerful.
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@Lisa: The definition of "the powerful" is that they subordinate everyone else.
The underlying assumption seems to be that because we did it to Hawaii, that we should let the Chinese do it to Tulagi. I don't agree.
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@mlbex Yes. Same thing is happening to the Philippines as we speak.
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