All major powers be they China, USA or USSR/Russia, have their agendas and can and have been ruthless in their defense throughout history. Your view of China being innocent of military aggression and merely benevolent in it's allocation of aid is simply devoid of any evidence or credibility.

Difference being , China doesn't get involved militarily way beyond its region, something the other major powers you quoted have found irresistible and you have failed to produce "evidence" that China was an "aggressor" by having patrols on the Mekong, something that stretches "credibility"

Looks like the Seychelles will be the Chinese navy's first stopping-off spot (cannot call it a base as the Chinese don't do overseas bases), for resupply and recreation, and what a great spot for R&R. See attached piece:

http://www.washingto...5lqO_story.html

From the Mekong to the Seychelles force projection will be a growing activity for China as it takes up the mantle of a great power.

Yes "considering an invitation" something that a North Atlantic Power never bothers about before venturing out of its territory.

All major powers be they China, USA or USSR/Russia, have their agendas and can and have been ruthless in their defense throughout history. Your view of China being innocent of military aggression and merely benevolent in it's allocation of aid is simply devoid of any evidence or credibility.

Difference being , China doesn't get involved militarily way beyond its region, something the other major powers you quoted have found irresistible and you have failed to produce "evidence" that China was an "aggressor" by having patrols on the Mekong, something that stretches "credibility"

Looks like the Seychelles will be the Chinese navy's first stopping-off spot (cannot call it a base as the Chinese don't do overseas bases), for resupply and recreation, and what a great spot for R&R. See attached piece:

http://www.washingto...5lqO_story.html

From the Mekong to the Seychelles force projection will be a growing activity for China as it takes up the mantle of a great power.

Yes "considering an invitation" something that a North Atlantic Power never bothers about before venturing out of its territory.

So China is extending its military reach beyond SE/E Asia as predicted by Global Times?

BTW did China wait for an invite before wading into into Tibet, Russia, Vietnam, India, the Paracel or Spratly islands, or even the Mekong beyond the Lancang?

Notice your focus on N.Atlantic powers, is Russia another innocent party who only waits for invites to foreign adventures?

All major powers be they China, USA or USSR/Russia, have their agendas and can and have been ruthless in their defense throughout history. Your view of China being innocent of military aggression and merely benevolent in it's allocation of aid is simply devoid of any evidence or credibility.

Difference being , China doesn't get involved militarily way beyond its region, something the other major powers you quoted have found irresistible and you have failed to produce "evidence" that China was an "aggressor" by having patrols on the Mekong, something that stretches "credibility"

Looks like the Seychelles will be the Chinese navy's first stopping-off spot (cannot call it a base as the Chinese don't do overseas bases), for resupply and recreation, and what a great spot for R&R. See attached piece:

http://www.washingto...5lqO_story.html

From the Mekong to the Seychelles force projection will be a growing activity for China as it takes up the mantle of a great power.

Yes "considering an invitation" something that a North Atlantic Power never bothers about before venturing out of its territory.

Here's China's latest "we don't do no intervention" toy, doing work-up trials in the Yellow Sea. At least they won't be able to sail it up the Mekong.

I agree. China has an agenda when it gives " aid ", and that agenda is the well being of China. It is a bit like borrowing money from a mafia chieftain. In the end you will be paying back a hell of a lot more than you borrowed. I am amazed that any country would accept aid from China, when in the end it is nothing more than a Trojan horse. So this current strategy of running gun boats on the Mekong is simply to throw a bit more fear into Thailand and Laos. China may seem far away to Thais, but it will seem a lot closer when they see armed boats flying a red flag running up and down the Mekong.......

China has behaved with restraint since their sailors were killed. Lets remember Thailand accepted it was their soldiers who were the perpetrators, but acting alone and not under any orders (see news link).A bit different to how Thailand and Cambodia behaved over a temple on their borders.

As far as accusing China of acting as a "Mafia Chieftain", China doesn't interfere in foreign countries unless asked to, certainly not militarily, as many world powers do, and it gives aid when requested. Leave the Mafia style interference to other so called world powers.

http://twocircles.ne...se_sailors.html

Quite who was doing what in that interesting little junction of China, Myanmar and Thailand will probably remain as murky as any of the activities there in the last 60 odd years. All sorts of very unpleasant players playing a brutal, high stakes game with little quarter expected or given.

"China does not interfere in foreign countries...." almost made me choke on my bottle of Tsingtao, and then the somewhat weasly "unless asked to". Many foreign interventions use the fig leaf of "being asked". The US went to Vietnam as "advisors" requested by S.Vietnam, the Soviets were "asked" to intervene in Afghanistan and so on.

China is little different.

It sent almost a million troops into N. Korea in late 1950, of course having been asked (begged) by the Great Leader.

Earlier that year 40,000 troops of the PLA invaded and crushed the Tibetans (not sure if they found someone to ask them in that time).

In October1962, taking advantage of the world's attention on the Cuban Missile Crisis, 80,000 PLA troops invaded 2 areas of India in the Aksai Chin and South Tibet, and they were certainly not invited by anyone that time.

China continues to claim ownership of the Indian province of Arunachal Pradesh and there were further border clashes in 1967 and 1987. In continuation of this and due to the fact that India gave sanctuary to the Dalai Lama, the "non-interventionist" PRC has been supporting the Maoist Naxalite insurgent movement in NE India for the last 50 years.

More recently and closer to home the PLA had another "school trip" into Vietnam in Feb 1979 with 200,000 troops and the subsequent fighting killed approximately 50,0000 on both sides (ie almost equal to total US deaths in Vietnam), in a month of hard fighting.

The unasked for aggression with Vietnam continued with more border skirmishes and culminating in a full blown naval battle off the Spratly islands in 1988 sinking 2 Vietnamese naval craft, killing 60 and capturing a further 40 (including a CIA agent). The PLA subsequently occupied (and still do) a chunk of the islands, and for good measure seized a Philippine island in the same chain (this time without any fighting as the Philippine military backed off).

From Mar-Nov 1969 the Communist brothers, China & the Soviet Union, fought a series of skirmishes with some 700 deaths on both sides over ownership of a river island.

Whoops almost forgot; the Chinese navy won their first battle in 300 years when they swatted the fading S.Vietnamese navy in Feb 1974, and occupied the Paracel islands (an illegal occupation which continues to this day).

So life isn't so simple and China is hardly a saint when it comes to flexing its military muscles. Its aggressive military build-up in recent years and its extraordinary claims to most of the South China Sea has helped make the US very popular in many capital cities of countries fearing a confrontation with a resurgent China.

very nice reply thanks

Here's China's latest "we don't do no intervention" toy, doing work-up trials in the Yellow Sea. At least they won't be able to sail it up the Mekong.

they will when they widen it a bit and put in a few locks

they will when they widen it a bit and put in a few locks

But getting it up the fish ladders around the 11 dams to be built on the mainstream of the Mekong might present a few challenges!