Mattis: China Trying to Intimidate Neighbors in S. China Sea

[ArizonaTank]

US Sec Def calling out Chinese "coercion and intimidation."  History may not repeat but there is definitely a rhyme.  1920s -> 2020s...  Replace Japan with China.

https://www.voanews.com/a/mattis-china-intimidate-coerce-neighbors-south-china-sea/4420455.html

[JasonPratt]

Not quite sure where else to place this, so:

I was 15 minutes late for church this morning. Pity, I thought, I hadn't been to that church for a couple months, and was afraid I'd miss the music. No matter: it turned out that the heads of the world's largest countries (aside from the US) were using the hotel in the basement of which the church usually meets, as part of their summit meeting here to plan the post-American world.

Either way you look at it, my timing was a little off.

(While not the official State-run church for Christians, this one happened to be legal, though only allowed for foreigners with passports. So my friend wasn't voiding an underground church's security.)

[JasonPratt]

Anyway, that's referring to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, "The SCO was launched in 2001 to combat radical Islam and other security concerns in China, Russia and across Central Asia. It added two new members, India and Pakistan, last year and Iran has been knocking at the door. Tehran is currently an observer rather than a full member of a bloc that also includes four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics."

(That's from a brief Reuters article today. I'll try to redirect but it may be behind a paywall: https://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/news/story/0002/20180610/KCN1J6047_3 )

[Gusington]

Shanghai Cooperation Organization reminds me of Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

[Staggerwing]

One that's looking for a new Southern Resource Area.

[JasonPratt]

Shanghai Cooperation Organization reminds me of Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

I suppose if they want to co-operate together without hideous invasions of each other, fine, more power to them! WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG FROM ALL (sorry, most of) THE WORLD'S CURRENT AND FORMER HARDLINE COMMUNIST REGIMES GETTING TOGETHER TO WORK WITH INDIA AND THE WORLD'S CHIEF EXPORTER OF TERRORISM?!

:hide:

[ArizonaTank]

I suspect there will be an ongoing and depressing drumbeat of China stories over the next dozen years. Territorial disputes...aggressive flybys...strong-arming neighbors with trade...

and cyber-theft of US military secrets...like this:

http://fortune.com/2018/06/10/chinese-hackers-steal-sensitive-data-us-military/