The Road to War: China vs the US

 

In 2016 Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, declared that there was no doubt, in his mind, that the US would go to war with China in the South China Sea in the next five to 10 years.

A US-Chinese military conflict would be on top of a vow by Trump in his inaugural presidential address, to not only take on radical Islamic terrorism but to “eradicate it from the face of the Earth.” This would be done by building up America’s already supreme military. “Our military dominance must be unquestioned,” the billionaire businessman, who now controlled the most powerful political office in the world, declared in his first address to the nation.

A year and a half after that speech, the United States is not at war with China, but its economic saber-rattling is arguably the beginning of a confrontation between the world’s largest and second-largest economies. Trump’s tariff threats against not only China but Europe, Canada, Mexico and its other trade partners, are also symbolic of a shift in US foreign policy towards a more isolationist stance – one that may not strictly be due to Trump’s belligerent personality. This article will get into the antecedents of this economic and military showdown and point the way to some possible future scenarios, including a war in space.

Leaked Chinese Memo Warns Of “Thucydides Trap” With US, “War Is Unavoidable”

 

A series of leaked internal documents reveal that China’s military reforms are aimed at allowing Beijing to “manage a crisis, contain a conflict, win a war” and overtake the United States in military strength, according to the Express.

The leaked documents were published by the Central Military Commission in February for the purpose of spreading President Xi Jinping’s “thought on strengthening the armed forces”.

If the reforms go ahead, they will lead to heightened tensions with China’s neighbouring countries, including Japan, in the East and South China Seas and the US. –Express

Russia reveals fleet of ‘INVISIBLE’ supersonic stealth fighter jets as WW3 fears grow

The jet has another year of testing before units enter military service in 2019 [Getty]

 

RUSSIA has unveiled its first fleet of ‘invisible’ stealth fighter jets as the world teeters on the brink of World War Three.

The Sukhoi-57 will rival the American F-22 and Chinese Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-31 combat planes, the Kremlin has boasted.

Military officials claim “cutting-edge” stealth technology will make the £120million jet near-invisible to enemy radars.

China stole plans for a new fighter plane, spy documents have revealed

German magazine Der Spiegel has published new disclosures of signals intelligence collected by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and its “Five Eyes” partners, including the Australian Signals Directorate. The intelligence reveals new details of the directorate’s efforts to track and combat Chinese cyber-espionage.

According to a top secret NSA presentation, Chinese cyber spies have stolen huge volumes of sensitive military information, including “many terabytes of data” relating to the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) – also known as the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

China’s J-20 can beat F-22, Global Times claims unconvincingly

Taking off from Al Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates in late September, American F-22s from the 27th Squadron of the First Fighter Wing dropped 1,000-pound satellite-guided weapons against ISIS positions near the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates in northern Syria. This was considered the first combat mission conducted by the Raptors. Global Times noted however that the planes did not carry auxiliary fuel tanks and had to be refueled by a KC-10 tanker in midair.

Japan’s indigenous stealth fighter to fly this year amid arms race worries

 

Development of ATD-X jet part of Tokyo’s effort to upgrade its defence capabilities; analysts warn it could spark claims of arms race in Asia

A prototype of Japan’s first domestically produced stealth fighter will get airborne before the end of the year, a significant development in Tokyo’s efforts to improve its defence capabilities.

Known as the Advanced Technology Demonstrator-X (ATD-X) fighter, the aircraft is being developed by the defence ministry’s research institute and a number of private companies, primarily Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.