China PLA officers urge economic punch against U.S.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

BEIJING (Reuters) - Senior Chinese military officers have proposed that their country boost defense spending, adjust PLA deployments, and possibly sell some U.S. bonds to punish Washington for its latest round of arms sales to Taiwan.

"Our retaliation should not be restricted to merely military matters, and we should adopt a strategic package of counter-punches covering politics, military affairs, diplomacy and economics to treat both the symptoms and root cause of this disease," said Luo Yuan, a researcher at the Academy of Military Sciences.

"Just like two people rowing a boat, if the United States first throws the strokes into chaos, then so must we."

Luo said Beijing could "attack by oblique means and stealthy feints" to make its point in Washington.

"For example, we could sanction them using economic means, such as dumping some U.S. government bonds," Luo said.

The warnings from the PLA come after weeks of strains between Washington and Beijing, who have also been at odds over Internet controls and hacking, trade and currency quarrels, and President Barack Obama's planned meeting with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader reviled by China as a "separatist."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6183KG20100209

[The_Dude 1,142]

LoL, the two biggest kids at at the playground having a pissing contest in the sandbox......

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

LoL, the two biggest kids at at the playground having a pissing contest in the sandbox......

Sooner or later, someone is going to land a blow.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Sooner or later, someone is going to land a blow.

Each side needs the other. I dont' see them landing any real blows anytime soon.

[Pooky 3,787]

LoL, the two biggest kids at at the playground having a pissing contest in the sandbox......

Trouble is, it's not funny

When the military has a say in government policy and strategy, that policy and strategy tends to edge toward military involvement faster than a government where the military is under civilian control. And look how quickly this country can, under either party, engage in military action.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

China wants to rival our non-productive (read: military) spending? Great. That would equal the playing field some. As for the bonds, they can't. If they hurt the US economy, they inevitably hurt their own. Not sure the Chinese would want to take that shot right into their own feet.

[luckytxn 2,264]

Have to agree. China better hope that the U.S. is as healthy as possible. We hurt and they hurt tenfold.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Have to agree. China better hope that the U.S. is as healthy as possible. We hurt and they hurt tenfold.

Granted it's a lot of shadow boxing for now. But, China has something the US never had: Long Term Planning.

It may take ten, twenty, thirty years, but China has patience, and the comforting knowledge that they will be the world leader eventually, and surpass the US. There is a ruthless determination there, and five millenia of culture, that has to be respected.

Meanwhile, the US, well, the empire is crumbling...