May 4, 2007: Canada admitted that about half its
counter-espionage efforts were directed at Chinese spies. China, of course,
denies everything. But as more reports of Chinese spying surface, it becomes
obvious that there's a major espionage effort underway, with particular
emphasis on North American.
May 2, 2007:
China is on track to surpass Germany as the second largest trader
(imports and exports) this year, with total activity of $2.1 trillion. China is
on track to grabbing first place, from the United States, in the next decade.
This is a dubious distinction from a military point of view, because China does
not have a navy capable of protecting all this sea borne commerce. Attempts to
built up the navy will take decades before they will become meaningful. If
Chinas trade was interupted for a few months, their economy would collapse and
there would be chaos. May 1, 2007: Once
more, someone hijacked satellite news signals and broadcast their own content.
The latest incident involved transmissions going into southern China. After
previous incidents, the government said it would make satellite communications
more secure. Apparently not. However,
the government did try to keep the news from getting to the mass media. But
with hundreds of millions of cell phone
and Internet users, that was impossible. April 25, 2007: China currently builds about a quarter of the
worlds merchant ships. South Korea
builds about a third, and is the largest builder in the world. China, propelled by lower labor costs, is
working to increase its capacity over the next 3-5 years, and surpass South
Korea as the largest builder in the world. The growth of Chinas merchant ship
construction industry has been a big assist to its warship building efforts.
That's because the merchant ship construction business creates the craftsmen
and managers needed by yards building warships.
April 24, 2007:
In Ethiopia, rebels attacked a Chinese run oil exploration camp, and
killed nine Chinese workers. China depends on local governments for security in
dangerous overseas areas, but is considering forming its own security force.
Other nations hire mercenaries from firms that specialize in this kind of
security. China could work its way into this market, which is booming.
April 20, 2007:
After 45 years, talks are underway to settle border disputes with India.
Some 128,000 square kilometers of remote territory are in dispute. Discussions
began in the 1990s, paving the way for
the current talks to finally settle the border issues.
