China's Long-Term Strategy

Short post under a big headline. My attention has been turned East after the Taiwan earthquake and submarine cable cuts. Two good references with perspective on Beijing's recently released Defense White Paper 2006: W$J editorial (subs only) and this morning's China Daily.

Official party line here ("purely defensive in nature")--a reminder that some kinds of transparency look good only because we've become accustomed to having none at all. A report out of the Pentagon that was this thin on data would be greeted by howls of protest.

Most interesting (though hardly new) factoid with a resiliency angle: "China receives about 63% of its oil through the Straits of Malacca -- which are protected by the U.S."

Surprisingly, nothing from Barnett on the paper (yet)--though plenty of other good stuff to chew on at his blog (as always), including the destabilizing effects of religion. (He means that in a positive sense.)
 

Comments

[Wiggins]

Hi Art,

Barnett actually commented on this paper last month:
http://www.thomaspmbarnett.com/weblog/2006/12/article_china_offers_glimpse_o.html

He comments on the energy angle as well - though I hadn't known that such a significant percentage of China's oil passed through the Straits of Malacca.

I'm a big fan of the blog, by the way. I've been reading for a while and am happy for the opportunity to chime in.

cheers,
Wiggins