Hmm .. is this different from Russian missles on Cuba?

Not purchased yet Dan and I appreciate what you say about western quality control in many Chinese establishments, seems to be working these days.

Cheers, Steve.

bigpearl said . . . .Not purchased yet Dan and I appreciate what you say about western quality control in many Chinese establishments, seems to be working these days.

***************************

I see where you coming from. You want a practical EV for transportation and customer service. I'm thinking your choice would be different if you were back in Oz.

When back in the states I went through two Toyota's, Camry XLE's. My last car was a Lexus Rx 350. Ever and time I shop at S&R we go past the Lexus showroom and I dream of another Lexus.

Sweet Bob, go buy a Lexus as a very nice set of wheels.

No if we still lived in Oz I would have kept my SL Merc and replaced the 508 Peugeot wagon with a new one by now, Bens daily driver and he is pissed off we don't have the same here.

Thing is Bob we purchased a Chinese SUV when we moved here 6 years ago Because it had all the Euro appointments that we were used to and a third of the price.

Same with the new car, Chinese but this time an EV SUV that has all the bells and whistles. Like always we have choices and for us this is a no brainer,,,,,, bit like solar.

I am getting older and the funds are there, can't take it with you and the kids won't notice the difference with what they get when I kick the bucket.

Also no fuel bills and free charging at home and yes having to drive long distances to get a service? Over that and want local. BYD stepped up to the mark with 2 locations half an hour away. We are in a growth area it seems.

Cheers, Steve.

@PalawOne
Ahh, but the cruise missilies installed can be nuclear and have been for years.
Right, however nobody, even China expects the Philippine strategic deployment to be for a first nuclear strike. Many missile systems can be fitted with nuclear warheads but most people agree that was not the purpose of thd basically defensive Philippines Biden admin deployment.

Personally, I am opposed to the US spending so much taxpayer money to defend the South China Sea shipping lanes which has such little benefit to the US taxpayers themselves or to their children who might die preserving the area on military conflict. Many mothers of these children could not even point out the South China Sea on a map much less support their kids defending it. I suppose missiles used defensively could save a few American military lives.

Although 25% or so of global shipping depends on those shippping lanes, almost none of the US shipping depends on it. Here again the USA is a Mr Nice Guy, actually an unappreciated chump, helping to defend European shipping originating from the Suez Canal and ANZ and Indonesian etc. Why, because no one else will? Probably Australia and the rest have the capacity to defend it by themselves. Do it!

I agree with y'all. Remove the missiles.

Yes, we have re-confirmed our MDT mutual defense treaty obligations to Marcos but we probably do not need missiles for that. provided the Philippines keeps up it's own military strength to defend its traditional boundaries. - @danfinn

  You are so wrong in that way you're thinking and looking. HOWEVER, you're the first to address the actually reality, which is that the US involvement is to defend the South China Sea shipping lanes. But lets NOT FORGET, China wants Taiwan! And these defenses help protect Taiwan, as well as add caution to China with their aggressiveness towards the Philippines and the Spratly's.

Now, where you're so wrong Danfinn. The annual trade passing through the South China Sea accounts for more than 60 percent of global maritime trade, more than 22 percent of total global trade, and one third of the global shipping. Apart from covering an estimated 40 percent of the global petroleum products, over 65 percent of total trade of China and over 42 percent of total trade of Japan trade passes through SCS every year. At least 10 of the major countries are dependent upon SCS.

While the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) states that a country's territorial boundaries are 12 nautical miles from its coast and the further 12 nautical miles is the area of contiguous waters, China presents its own view. It argues that a vast part of the South China Sea is the extension of the continental shelf of China and that China has been controlling the trade in this region in ancient times. Thus, Chinese officials claim, the sea belongs to China.

China proposed its “Nine Dash Line,” which also incorporates territorial waters of Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam as a demarcation line. These claims are made on the basis that the sea was the “ancestral property” of China and has resulted in Chinese claims over 80 percent of South China Sea. Since the South China Sea connects Pacific Ocean with Indian Ocean, it is an important transit area. Thus, controlling the South China Sea also means controlling a significant portion of global maritime trade and being able to partially close it off to other nations and making it an exclusive territory.

In pursuing this goal, China has occupied and militarized the Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands, Mischief Reef, Subi Reef, as well as the Scarborough Shoal. In response to China’s activities, South-East Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have rejected Beijing's nine-dash line claims and invoked both international law and the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling in support of their maritime sovereign rights. Since the various islands located in the South China Sea lie in disputed territory, they are also claimed by countries such as Vietnam or the Philippines.

According to writings on the South China Sea, about $5.3 trillion worth of goods transits through the region annually. Out of this total, $1.2 trillion accounts for trade with the United States.

If you don't think that's significant, you've  lost touch with reality.

@Larry Fisher

Yes, upon checking with China AI deepseek it would be confirmed that a lot of US China trade uses the shipping lanes. There are more expensive alternative routes. The US gets involved there for freedom of navigation. EU and UK only occasionally get involved. But again, the last thing I would want to see is US military involvement protecting *international* shipping lanes. American youth's lives should not be sacrificed in any naval conflict just to protect *international* trade. If China wants to militarily impose the 9-dash line, that should incumbent on the UN to fight it as illegal under UN CLOS and the 2016 ruling. If China disrupts international trade other than their own, it is bad on them but not worth risking war with a nuclear power.

Those damn missiles in the Philippines, said to be defensive only, are just another irritant towards a war with China. Get the US out of the discussion and replace US with the UN. Sure, China may ignore them and international shipping will be impacted greatly but I believe we must accept it if they succeed with imposing their 9, and now 10-dash line.

The 10th line surrounds Taiwan. Here in the 21st century I believe people should no longer try to prevent China reunification with Taiwan Province. Certainly it would not hurt the people on the island just as Hong Kong people continue to thrive although under fewer Westetn-style freedoms. Hong Kong and Taiwan are not Western and the West should not  impose or guarantee Westetn democracy for them. It is time for the Chinese to handle their own problems on both sides of theTaiwan strait. I'm not sure Trump would disagree with that but I am not aware of his position.

@Larry Fisher

Out of this total, $1.2 trillion accounts for trade with the United States.

If you don't think that's significant, you've  lost touch with reality.

New information to Larry's "reality":

ChatGPT says "Approximately $208 billion of U.S. trade passes through the South China Sea annually, accounting for about 14% of the United States' maritime trade. ​

ChinaPower Project"

OK, not insignificant but not $1.2 trillion either. Of course, a significant portion of that would be with China itself. And, of course... China "could" shut down their SCS shipping lanes that they would now control 100%, to the USA if they wished.

But I suspect it would be easier for them to simply embargo the USA if they wanted to shoot themselves in the foot, correct?

Again, the USA is there to enforce law of the sea, freedom of passage in international waters. But is it really a good idea to risk nuclear war with China over the 208 billion dollars minus x in trade, much of it which has alternative routes?

I once had kids of military age and, if I still did, I wouldn't think it would be honorable in the moral sense for them to die over SCS shipping routes. It may be "honorable" economically but that is not worth human life, not my kids or any ither American kids, just as Iraq and Kuwaiti oil was not morally justifiable to result in military fatalities a few decades ago.

Yes, it might well, but most of China's imported energy uses the same routes.

This is about preparing a blockade.

That would start a war, but that's what the US did to Japan.

Oh, that started WWII in the region, but I'm sure the same idiocy will work this time.

Trump Tries To Isolate China

Published Apr 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM 

By Micah McCartney, China News Reporter, Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/trump-tariffs-trade-talks-isolate-china-economy-2061584

A White House strategy to strong-arm trade partners into joining its efforts to isolate China economically is far from assured of success, economic analysts said.

President Donald Trump's rollout of "reciprocal" tariffs—or taxes on imported goods—has roiled markets, raised the risk of recession at home and sowed uncertainty around the world. Trump says the move is necessary to end "unfair" duties on American products, narrow trade deficits, and bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

Newsweek reached out to the White House and Chinese Foreign Ministry with emailed requests for comment.

Tariff Turmoil

The administration's tariff rollout has been inconsistent, with some tariffs walked back within hours and a 90-day window given to many countries for negotiations. China was the exception, hitting back with its own hefty tariffs and prompting Trump to announce a further tit-for-tat hike.

"In a fracturing global trade environment, America wants to check China's progress in creating a supply chain geography and trade arrangements that are more partial to China than the U.S.," George Magnus, an associate at the University of Oxford's China Centre and the former chief economist at UBS, told Newsweek.

Trump's Plan to Isolate China

[This projection map shows China in the center of East Asia. Newsweek]

Since Trump launched the trade war against China during his first term, the U.S. has sought to decrease its reliance on the manufacturing powerhouse, which has considerable control over key supply chains from pharmaceuticals to minerals critical to defense technologies as well as consumer goods.

Strategic Pressure

To further turn up the heat on China, Trump administration officials are pressuring over 70 U.S. trade partners to scale back trade with the world's second-largest economy and even introduce their own tariffs, The Wall Street Journal wrote last week, citing sources familiar with the discussions.

This strategy—reportedly backed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—is meant to be a force multiplier that could further bite China's economy—which has been grappling with slowing growth, lackluster domestic demand, and a long-running housing market crunch. That could force Beijing to negotiate.

Read more: Donald Trump

China Pressures US Ally to Block Rare Earths to US

China Tries to Turn Key US Ally Against Trump

China Responds to Trump's Softening Tone on Trade

Trump's Tariffs Slash Global Growth in 2025: IMF

But rather than negotiating, Chinese President Xi Jinping is in the midst of a charm offensive, seeking to rally support from nearby Southeast Asia to Europe.

After years of aligning more closely with the United States on China over concerns about national security and over alleged Chinese industrial oversupply, some U.S. allies in Europe are pushing back against Washington and even signaling they're considering a relative thaw in trade relations with China.

"China is the second biggest economy in the world, and it would be, I think, very foolish to not engage. That's the approach of this government," U.K. finance chief Rachel Reeves told The Telegraph.

China Warns of "Countermeasures"

China's commerce ministry on Monday condemned Washington's "bullying" and warned: "Appeasement does not bring peace, and compromise is not respected."

"It should be pointed out that China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China's interests... If such a situation occurs, China will never accept it and will resolutely take reciprocal countermeasures," the spokesperson said.

"On the Fence"

Magnus pointed to a mixed response so far from major U.S. trade partners to efforts to isolate China.

He predicted they will adopt a "sit on the fence" approach—aiming to continue deepening ties into the China-centered trade and supply chain while at the same time retaining their access to the U.S., which accounts for nearly one-third of the world's consumer market.

"Trump is calling their bluff, in effect asking them to make their choices. Whether now or later, I suspect some, though not all, important countries from a trans-shipment and investment standpoint, will play along with Trump," Magnus said.

However, these nations have likely taken into account the risks of running afoul of both countries, he added.

Missed Opportunities

"The United States already missed a great chance to help form an anti-PRC [People's Republic of China] trade coalition when it left the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017," Sean King, Asia scholar and senior vice president at Park Strategies, told Newsweek, referring to a trade group Trump quit shortly after taking office.

While many countries friendly to the United States hope to reduce reliance on trade with China, they may not trust Trump not to reach his own bilateral deal with Beijing and leave them in the lurch "especially, as he so often reminds the world, how much he likes and respects Xi Jinping," King added.

"Until we stop picking needless fights with our friends and allies, I sadly think it's going to be every country for itself."

Independent economist Andy Xie believes China is better prepared to dig in for the long haul compared to during Trump's first term.

"Over the last six years, I think people have become more and more confident because there are all these tech sanctions. Most were broken through. And in terms of software, the substitutes for Android, for Windows...are all there," he told CNBC.

"[...] So that's why it's willing to negotiate, play hardball with the U.S. and it's willing to risk a complete decoupling with the U.S."

--

@Fred

Yes, it might well, but most of China's imported energy uses the same routes.

This is about preparing a blockade.

That would start a war, but that's what the US did to Japan.

Oh, that started WWII in the region, but I'm sure the same idiocy will work this time.

Nice try but that was limited to an oil and scrap metal embrago, not a blockade,  to prevent Mitsubishi from building and Japan flying  zero's. The problem was Japan's adventures in building an empire in Indochina, a war if conquest with China and probable invasion of your area in the Dutch east indies and the Philippines. The only physical interest we had was our colonies of Guam, the other Mariana islands and the big prize, the Philippines.

Basically what happened was: A USA embargo, a peaceful action, led to Japan's military reaction at Pearl. The USA could have stayed out of it; they could have said, 'well, these pacific islands and Philippines plus the Hawaii territory are not worth the trouble to fight a world War, so

Let's keep sending them oil and scrap metal so Japan can create their empire consisting in part of USA territory.

Why not, right Fred? It was America's fault, in Fred's twisted logic.

Why not, right Fred? It was America's fault, in Fred's twisted logic. - @danfinn

There was an effective blockade. Whilst it's clear Japan (A US allied nation) was empire building, raping, and murdering its way across China,  the US was a lot more interested in its own gain than saving anyone else from anything.

We should also remember that Roosevelt seized all Japanese assets in the US, and fed weapons to China.

Add the US had broken Japan's codes and were aware of an imminent attack on the US invaded, occupied , and militarised island of Hawaii, but held back the information in order to guarantee a US/Japan war.

Japan is of course a great friend to America, as long as you forget how they raped captured women, used captured soldiers and civilians as forced labour, and tortured pretty much everyone. The Japanese find admitting their horrible past rather tedious, but that's okay because the US needs a regional friend that owns a massive chunk of US debt.

However, Japan's mass murders of US citizens is all forgiven because China is the new enemy .... errr.....economic power.

The evil China must be stopped because they .... quick, think of a reason that hides the fact they are better capitalists than the US.

Fred said. . . .  However, Japan's mass murders of US citizens is all forgiven because China is the new enemy .... errr.....economic power.

**************************

This is a silly statement.

It's a historical thing that yesteryear's enemies are today's friends.

Fred said. . . . However, Japan's mass murders of US citizens is all forgiven because China is the new enemy .... errr.....economic power.
**************************
This is a silly statement.
It's a historical thing that yesteryear's enemies are today's friends.

- @Enzyte Bob

Not really.

Your friend who raped, tortured, and murdered, the one that has school textbooks the simply ignore the whole thing, is your friend because your political masters need them.

It's like Vietnam. You lost thousands of troops and got your arses kicked in a really embarrassing way, but you now supply arms to their communist government because you want them against China.

I wonder what the ghosts of your soldiers would say about that.

So what's the answer Fred? Isolationism? Please no bias or derogatory input.

Cheers, Steve.

https://armyrecognition.com/news/navy-n … hilippines

As I predicted, the US escalation has triggered a defensive response from China.

In order to allow the rapid destruction of the US first strike weapons in the event of the US starting yet another war, China has deployed forces to destroy them.

Of course that leaves the Phillipines open to massive damage, but the US never considers such things as it's flailing around trying to stop it's fall into the history textbooks.

As for expats, especially Americans, you might like to consider moving as you are likely to become very unpopular when the locals realise the danger your country is putting them in.

So what's the answer Fred? Isolationism? Please no bias or derogatory input.
Cheers, Steve. - @bigpearl

Well, I know this is outlandish and seriously out of the box, but the US could look at not threatening, attacking, and murdering en-masse.

Equally wild, the idea of assisting people by building hospitals and so on in places where they are most needed, might make countries love you.

I'm told a hospital costs 60 to 200 million US to build.  Lose a couple of F35s from your order list, and a whole bunch of people will be happy to see Americans instead of the more common, "an American - let's kill him?"

I believe the latest ICBM order comes to $140 billion - imagine the number of countries you could become friends with if you used that to assist people in need rather than kill randomly.

China assists and is growing a fanbase by doing so, but America is hated and only allowed in because of military threats.

The US wants Indonesia on its side, but the US has given bugger all except bombing this country and selling weapons to use in Tim Tim, but China is building highways, mass transit systems, and high speed rail.

The latest is the US wanting in on our banking system, and exemption from our food rules.

They are doing so with threats. Of course ordinary Indonesians are fed up with them.

Who is going to like the bully nation, and who is going to be happy with a country that rolls in with a massive development program that is costing us almost nothing?

Thanks to China, we have a modern, clean, safe, and chap MRT, new rolling stock on our railways, a terrific toll raods system, and a shiny new 300kph high speed rail that will eventually go all the way across Java.

We pay tolls and fares, but they are cheap. Chinese companies are profiting, and Indonesia has a system it couldn't have afforded with the Chinese. Everybody wins.

Who in their right mind would want anything to do with lovely America when we get so much from evil China?

The US needs to wake up and realise its policies just create hate and, as history shows us, is sending the US into bankruptcy.

If the US wants trade, they have to stop being a dick.

LOL Fred. Should we raise a couple of flagpoles and fly the Philippines and Australian flags?

I would suggest you stop bashing the US as all countries in many forms own very sordid pasts of genocides, wars, takeovers and control bids, one simply has to look at current events, Ukraine, Palestine, the list goes on and now more escalations between India and Pakistan,,,,,,,,, We humans are a rather sad species, no need for me to rant further.

I still never heard your version of a fix Fred.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

Sorry Fred, I was typing while you posted.

Outlandish, no as there is plenty of valid points in what you say but I will still admonish you for constantly blaming the US and their transgressions as though they are the only ones at fault, sorry but as an Aussie that's B/S. As I said no country is without sin at some stage of their history,,,,,,,, remember the bloke that was nailed to a tree 2,000 years ago for sprouting simple truths? While raised Catholic, now Atheist there is a whole lot of sense in those words sprouted and like always greed and control seem to win the day.

Validity in what you say, the cost of one nuke could cure cancers, 2 nukes could solve world hunger, another nuke birth control etc. but why pick on the US,,,,,,, I can't quite get my head around your thinking as there are plenty of other countries focused on nukes and oversized military personnel and armaments, simply comes back to greed and perceived control.

Fred I look at most Filipino people here and they earn so little, have little and what little they have is shared,,,,,,,, they are predominately very happy people living simple lives while the oligarchy here control them, set their wages and conditions no different to Indonesia, most countries so don't continually bag the US and I can see why many here take offence to your rhetoric no different to me getting pissed off if you started trashing Australia. We all have sins.

Cheers, Steve.

LOL Fred. Should we raise a couple of flagpoles and fly the Philippines and Australian flags?
I would suggest you stop bashing the US as all countries in many forms own very sordid pasts of genocides, wars, takeovers and control bids, one simply has to look at current events, Ukraine, Palestine, the list goes on and now more escalations between India and Pakistan,,,,,,,,, We humans are a rather sad species, no need for me to rant further.
I still never heard your version of a fix Fred.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve. - @bigpearl

As for genocides, wars, takeovers and control bid, the US is still doing it, as we saw in their pathetic attempt to take over Indonesia in the last presidential election, and the US backed Dark Indonesia movement that is attempting to remove our democracy.

The past can left to history when it is no longer today's policy.

Ukraine and Palestine are also US wars. The CIA, using the NED, removed the legitimate, internationally accepted by undisputed, monitored election results, and put a puppet government into power that excluded all the people who voted for the democratic government. The US used the situation to stop cheap Russian gas supplies into the EU, replacing it with very expensive US shale gas. Look at the timelines between the US sponsored events in Ukraine, and US shale gas production and sales.

As for the genocide in Palestine, the US supplies the country that murders women and children with air dropped bombs with these very WMDs.

The US is just as guilty as Israel.

Imagine if the US aided Gaza instead of supplying the bombs that kill babies. I wonder if the US would be hated quite so much.

I recall my visit to one of the old communist villages the UK set up in Malaysia. In case you don't know, the UK sent forces to Malaysia to stop the communist insurgency. They quickly realised the commies were raiding Chinese villages in order to get supplies and force men to join them.

The Brits built fortified villages with new houses with water asnd sewage systems, and defended them.

You can imagine how that went down. I visited in 2005,and I am happy to report the goodwill from so many years ago was still alive. They refused to accept money for anything I bought. Everything was free, regardless of how much I insisted on paying.

Imagine an American visiting gaza in 30 years. His death would come pretty quickly because the US sows so much hate.

If you kill, or help someone else kill a man's child, he isn't going to love you. sadly, that is US policy.

Civilised countries such as China know that is self destructive, so they build instead of bomb.

Sorry Fred, I was typing while you posted.
Outlandish, no as there is plenty of valid points in what you say but I will still admonish you for constantly blaming the US and their transgressions as though they are the only ones at fault,

- @bigpearl

Of course they are not alone in blame, but the US has been involved in almost every major conflict since 1945, even the ones they didn't start.

I challenge all posters.

Name a war and I'll tell you how the US was involved. Don't start with the Falklands because that's one of the easiest to explain.

The US really should do what Japan has totally failed to do - admit its international crimes and, when possible, punish the guilty.

We can start with Obama and Biden for overthrowing Ukrain's democracy.

@Fred

As for expats, especially Americans, you might like to consider moving as you are likely to become very unpopular when the locals realise the danger your country is putting them in.

Most of us didn't come here to win any popularity contests 😆 but if the locals give me a problem I can simply speak Canadian English, eh? Or perhaps we could give up the good life and move to Indonesia.

As I mentioned earier, the US wants to interfer with and conrtol the Indonesian banking system, and bypass out food laws.

They  are using threats of tariffs to try to force it.

A the same time, China is building massive infrastructure projects that are nothing but good for ordinary locals.

Which country is building goodwill, and which is making itself hated?

I have changed all my bank cards to the Indonesian version so the US can't get near my accounts. The US is a dangerous country run by an idiot - I don't want anything to do wth them past what I have little choice in.

Most of us didn't come here to win any popularity contests. - @danfinn

You win first prize in the 'stating the bloody obvious' competition

Stop it Fred, your constant bashings of the US is certainly distasteful and sure while I have little time for the US especially the current administration I have to ask simply. WW2, if the US never got involved would you be speaking German or Japanese? You keep wrapping up China and at certain levels they have earnt accolades but also hold a sordid history with genocide and control over the decades, I have no doubt that eventually they will be the most powerful nation in the world and is the reason why many countries are pushing back, one does have to wonder the current US admins lean into autocracy which is generally followed by dictatorship. Out goes their constitution and many fools can't see that.

In the mean time as a retired old fart I will continue to live on the beach until the sh1t hits the fan, yes Fred we have the South China Sea as our front yard. Perfect every day.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

Stop it Fred, your constant bashings of the US is certainly distasteful - @bigpearl

I will be happy to stop bashing the US as soon as they stop bashing everybody else.

I'm miffed at them this week because they are bullying Indonesia into letting them into our independent financial system, and are trying to ignore our food laws.

They are a toxic nation and the world will be a better place when their empire of hate and killing ends.

Turn the other cheek rings a bell. Glass houses etc. If its wasn't the US could it be China, perhaps Russia, NTH Korea? Any different to the British running the world 200 odd years ago? The Romans 2,000 years ago? The Spanish efforts 500 years ago?

As for bashings perhaps look at what's happening within Russia and Ukraine and definitely many countries should have choked a dictators aspirations. You think Putin will stop with Ukraine? That's what caused that war because Ukraine wanted to join NATO and Putin is sh1t scared,,,,,,, like most dictators would be. China is more subtle while the US is like a bull at the gate and idiots like Netanyahu seem to be no different than the fools that also started many and bloody wars to what end?

I and the better half have plenty of skirmishes but always sort them out without bloodshed or death, communication wins the day.

Cheers, Steve.

Turn the other cheek rings a bell. Glass houses etc. If its wasn't the US could it be China, - @bigpearl

China builds instead of bombs.

I choose China.

`

Fred, with respect, one must ask, are you on an Xi retainer?

That is, does China pay you to act so thoroughly pro-China?

If you claim you're not paid, why not send us a post, totally

consisting of many many faults and errors China is making?

All countries have made mistakes. So, how harsh you allow

yourself to be might be quite indicative of your employment

status?  How about a totally negative post about China which

you post here, so to establish your non-paid observer status?

Happy trails to all Philippine expats .. rah, rah!

--

As for turn the other cheek? What ever happened to Uyghurs? How many exterminated? Simply for a different religion,,,,,, bit like the inquisition? China has its own sordid and sad history so stop making them out as the good guys simply because they built fast rail in Indonesia,,,,, the payback???????

Matters little Fred as a plebeian such as myself have no say in the machinations of a declining world and while sure the US put itself into trillions of dollars debt, self inflicted. China relies on the US big time for sales/trade and world trade to keep the factories and sweat shops running to sell knock off brands and keep the Chinese people happy. Xi has a good recipe and the 100 year plan is paying off. It's a worry.

Then we get the clown stating that he is doing trade deals with 200 countries, funny I thought there were only 195 countries recognised in the world and I simply wonder if his admin are doing business with the penguins living on uninhabited islands that make up pert of Australia.

Aussies won't put up with his rhetoric as well as other thinking countries are not stupid and all are moving away to other accommodating trade partners, talk about shoot yourself in the foot.

A somewhat sad world Fred and live in it we try.

Should we start learning Mandarin? Russian?

Cheers, Steve.

As for turn the other cheek? What ever happened to Uyghurs? - @bigpearl

I din't know.

Can you show evidence there is a problem that isn't from the US or Falun gong?

I tried but could not.

Links welcome.

China has its own sordid and sad history so stop making them out as the good guys - @bigpearl

Yes, but their history is not current policy.

That's the difference.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-22278037

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tian … d_massacre

Fred their history is current policy. Look at Hong Kong and what's potentially happening in Taiwan.

As said China is as bad as other countries but like Russia has controlled media and borders. Don't question, obey.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

I was banned for the following:

1 Trolling

2 Spreading hateful comments

3 Trump propaganda

4 Political arguements

5 Fake news

6 Flaming

160 complaints, how many was from you Fred?

Fred I personally have nothing against china and have many Chinese friends in Australia,,,,, the operative word is Australia,,,,,, would they go back? Not a hope in hell.

Don't be blindsided because China stuck a fast rail system in Indonesia, whoopee doo and simply ask yourself why. Open your eyes and look at the Belt and Road initiative.

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas … initiative

Why? Expansion and further control, putting the countries that can least afford infrastructure to get a foot in the door and control with debt.

10 or so years ago Australia leased the port of Darwin to a Chinese conglomerate and are now in the midst of rescinding the 50 year lease to put it back in Australian hands, I'm sure it's going to involve lots of court cases and eventually cost the Aussie taxpayer to get rid of them,,,,,,,, stupid government of the day.

Australia is also fighting the Chinese push into pacific island groups by offering financial and military input/defence.

Simply ask yourself how the UK became so powerful, push and shove, the genocide committed to the indigenous nations of Australia against a people that lived peacefully for 60,000 years, the stigma hangs with them to this day in many feeble minds.

History repeats and there is no need to argue over world events especially in our retirement years as it is out of our hands and follow along we do.

Don't get me wrong Fred as our first SUV 6 years ago was from China, the new EV we are about to purchase will be Chinese as they have upped their game and these days produce some quality but I balk at the 100 or 200 year plan that slowly slowly they are winning for world dominance. Many nations need to wake up and see the writing on the wall.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

I was banned for the following:
1 Trolling
2 Spreading hateful comments
3 Trump propaganda
4 Political arguements
5 Fake news
6 Flaming

160 complaints, how many was from you Fred? - @Enzyte Bob

Matters little Bob, put the boxing gloves back on.

Cheers, Steve.

bigpearl said . . . .Fred I personally have nothing against china and have many Chinese friends in Australia,,,,, the operative word is Australia,,,,,, would they go back? Not a hope in hell.

**********************

According to Gemini AI:

There are 60,000,000 Chinese Expats worldwide. Would they go back? Nope

I was banned for the following:
1 Trolling
2 Spreading hateful comments
3 Trump propaganda
4 Political arguements
5 Fake news
6 Flaming

160 complaints, how many was from you Fred? - @Enzyte Bob

None

As I was engaged in the discussion, I thought it was better to remain neutral.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-22278037https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tian … d_massacre

Fred their history is current policy. Look at Hong Kong and what's potentially happening in Taiwan.

As said China is as bad as other countries but like Russia has controlled media and borders. Don't question, obey.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve. - @bigpearl

We can look at Wiki, but anyone can write for it so 'facts' are subject to verification.

Did any foreign nations support the democracy demonstrators?

To the BBC - It cites two groups, but show no actual evidence.

Can you link to some actual evidence to support the US claims?

Yes Bob and I'm sure they have a better existence.

Fred, neutral is good as long as we exchange ideas/opinions freely amongst our fellow expats, great way to learn as well as help each other. No need for derogatory remarks or innuendos as that is a big no.

Cheers, Steve.

LOL, so you are pro communism Fred?

I watched what was happening in Tiananmen as it unfolded world wide as it was broadcast live.

Would you Fred sanction (what ever country you are from) the military killing protesters? If yes go and live in China.

As for Wiki? Yes anyone can have a submission but monitored and further corrections from other participants and is not designed to be bias, factual.

Any different to submissions here that get questioned/corrected? We all have different takes on life and while some have an open mind others have their heads in the sand.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.