US, China Arms Race Has Begun

An arms race between the United States and China - reminiscent of the former Soviet Union Cold War - has already begun, a leading Australian academic says.

While Defence Minister Stephen Smith quickly ruled out a proposed US aircraft carrier battle group base near Perth, Australian National University (ANU) Associate Professor Ron Huisken said the fact the Americans were considering it was proof they were already locked in an arms race with rising superpower China.

Prof Huisken, attached to ANU's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, told AAP on Thursday both nations were making military decisions exclusively to counter each other.

This was borne out in China's decision to build its own aircraft carrier fleet, and the US's increasing presence in the Asia-Pacific.

Mr Smith said in April it was "impossible to contain China" and denied his announced increase in military co-operation between Australia and the US was a response to China.

Prof Huisken said it was clear the US was targeting China.

"China's potential is already being factored into key US numbers, like how many carriers they need in the western Pacific ... that was not there before," he said.

He added China would be tempted to bolster its military might to make up for its lack of influence on the political world stage.

"There's also what's called `soft power' - the ability to attract friends and allies," Prof Huisken said.

"The Chinese have a big void there.

"That frustrates the hell out of them. They reckon they should get more reward for what they've accomplished than they're getting - and that's dangerous."

www.news.smh.com.au

Comments

Pakistani JF-17 A Thunder OR A Blunder

Pakistan has witnessed new defense acquisitions in this decade than any other, and in the center of it all is the new fighter which was designed by China with partial funding from Pakistan. It is formally known as JF-17 Thunder. When the fighter was in development, Pakistani online communities were jumping with excitement comparing it with its arch rival India’s modern combatants Su-30MKI, Mig-29S & Mirage-2000H. There were claims of it featuring western Radars and long range missiles, & Chinese ordering some due to its superior capabilities. But the reality is far from it. China having spent significant amount of money into a fighter which it is never going to use, most probably forced Pakistan to accept its avionics to offset some its development costs. Chinese who are known for their self reliance first and quality next, are further downgrading JF-17s capabilities with their poorly copy-pirated avionics. Along with their dubious weapons, any chance of JF...

India Planned Attack On Pak Navy Mehran Base To Kill Chinese Engineers

The terrorist attack on Karachi's Mehran Naval Station on May 22 was conceived and launched by India with the primary objective of killing the Chinese engineers present there, a Pakistani newspaper has claimed, citing 'informed sources'. Four to six Taliban terrorists had entered PNS Mehran on May 22, destroying two maritime surveillance aircraft and killing ten military personnel during their 17-hour siege of the naval air base. "India is the only country in the region that feels troubled by the Pakistan Navy, which had awfully beaten the Indian Navy in Operation Dwarka of 1965. Since then, it has been an earnest desire of India to harm the Pakistan Navy but it was perhaps not possible on the battle front, hence it struck the PNS Mehran," The News quoted sources as saying.

Pakistani F-16s Shoot Down RAF Eurofighter Typhoons During Air Combat Exercises In Turkey

Pakistani pilots flying modernised versions of the 1970s-vintage F-16 Falcon fighter have beaten the RAF's brand-new Eurofighter Typhoon superfighters during air combat exercises in Turkey, according to a Pakistani officer. Analysis: The RAF Typhoon, formerly known as the Eurofighter, should nonetheless have been vastly superior in air-to-air combat whether BVR or close in within visual range (WVR). The cripplingly expensive, long-delayed Eurofighter was specifically designed to address the defects of its predecessor the Tornado F3 – famously almost useless in close-in, dogfighting-style air combat. The Typhoon was meant to see off such deadly in-close threats as Soviet "Fulcrums" and "Flankers" using short-range missiles fired using helmet-mounted sight systems: such planes were thought well able to beat not just Tornados but F-16s in close fighting, and this expectation was borne out after the Cold War when the Luftwaffe inherite...

ASIAN DEFENCE

Search This Blog