As I suspected -- the People's Republic of China has pushed Japan too far, now they're pushing back

Story dated 23 February 2005

It's been my theory since last year that China has been testing the line with Japan to see how far they could push. Kudos to the Japanese for putting their foot down.

"To the east of Taiwan, Japanese islands already feel Chinese pressure: drilling last fall for gas in an area claimed by Japan; a Chinese submarine caught in November trying to slip through Japanese territorial waters; and a continuing effort by China to have a Japanese island declared a rock, a legal strategy that would deprive Japan of thousands of square miles of economic rights."

"Discarding the language of diplomacy, Hatsuhisa Takashima, the spokesman for Japan's Foreign Ministry, said in an interview on Monday that the inclusion of Taiwan in the security list was a consequence of these actions. China has been increasing its military budget by 10 percent annually in the past 10 years, said Takashima, whose government is actually cutting its defense spending this year."

Those in the EU who want to lift the embargo on selling arms to the PRC are basically opposed to the security interests of Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. And even Australia, if you want to get right down to it. Why aren't these people being criticized? What if the United States had decided to freely sell arms to Hitler during World War II? Do you think the Allies would have been pleased? The selling of arms to an imperialistic, tyrannical power should not be tolerated.

posted by The Sovereign Editor | 10:01 AM

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