On the last night of our visit to China a few years back, we took our crew out to dinner for a final celebration. Our Mr. Jong, our driver, told us that he had been one of China's few fighter pilots during the 1979 war with Vietnam. China's war with Vietnam did no go any better than ours.
Mr. Jong told us the Vietnamese beat the Chinese so quickly at the border that he and a handful of other pilots were ordered to Beijing to defend the city against the air attack the Chinese leadership feared would soon follow. It was another humiliation for a proud country where elites refer to the 19th century colonial period as a "century of humiliation."
After telling us this story, Mr. Jong grew wistful, telling us he hoped that one day he would live to see China build an aircraft carrier of its own so it could become a mighty nation.
Mr Jong may soon be getting his wish. The Chinese government today confirmed plans to develop into a naval power, complete with an aircraft carrier.
For years China has assured the world it intends a "peaceful rise." Developing what the military calls a "blue water navy" capable of operating far from China's shores will inject new uncertainty and tension into geopolitics. After all, the United States has a pretty big navy that operates around the world. What happens when these two navies bump up against each other?
I'm not sure I want to find out.
Republicans in the new Congress will take notice of China's ambitions. A complicated relationship is about to get more interesting. What do the Chinese say about living in "interesting times?"
Source: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/blog/2010/12/china_builds_an_aircraft_carri.html
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