We don't read much about Australia over here in the Western Hemisphere; but here's an interesting report. I guess it's not just Afghanistan that's on Australia's hit-list! Wow.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-1...-china-islands

Whole point is it's NOT sovereign territory; it's an attempt at a land grab (literally) by an emboldened china who thinks they can push it through. And since the US and the west have done very little to challenge it, they are probably right.

By the way, the Spratlys have been on the radar as a flash point for at least 20 years to my knowledge - one of those live wires that you don't touch unless you want to cause strife. China touched it.

That said if building artificial islands can win you territorial rights I see some fantastic expansion opportunities for countries with naval power and dredging equipment. Perhaps we should side with the Chinese?

As to the power of China it’s interesting to reflect that one of the most dominant features of the last two centuries has been an increasing divergence between the ‘developing’ world and the 'developed' world (measured by GDP per capita). In a way the aberration has been the last decade and a half in which developing countries have experienced higher growth rates than developed countries so briefly appeared although they were on a converging path with the developed world. However growth rates are not persistent and it appears the global situation is normalising with economies regressing towards the long term mean growth rates.

Storm in a teacup

China are acting like assholes - those reefs are not their sovereign territory

China will not go to war with it's own economy - and the US Navy could destroy it within a few months anyway

Zerohedge is a source of information for nutjobs BTW

Yup. The assertion that this is Chinese sovereign territory is just plan wrong. The entire international community is declining to recognise these islands as Chinese - as has the UN. There is no enduring claim to them, and all the dredging and building isn't going to change that.

The crucial problem here is exactly what the Pacific powers are going to do about it. These have been built essentially as static Chinese aircraft carriers in the Pacific. They only have one functioning carrier, and no real history of competence in carrier operations.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out - but I don't imagine that China will risk war. It will probably get as far as blustering and sabre rattling though.


S

I thought the runway looked long enough to get a conventional aircraft into the air? Either way as a strategic asset it seems unlikely to be of any value, it doesn't move so it'll have a crater in the runway before it can launch an aircraft.

Oil and gas, such an old fashioned reason to go to war.

There is no war

There will be no war

One wave of cruise missiles and it's a smoking ruin

Agree. That's why I said the USN, on their own would end China's economy in a few months

Anti-ship ballistic missiles? I think it's safe to say that the US would tell China that throwing those around would lead to a nuclear response - which I'm sure they would want to avoid

Was more a turn of phrase, but war's have been started over less, and with all and sundry laying claim to the islands, and brinkmanship being fraught with danger, ruling war out would be folly

Speaking of nutjobs, Zulu: what do you call someone who interprets the heading "Australia versus China?" as in some way meaning "USA versus China?"

BE readers would do well to take a look at some of ZeroHedge's contributors and their contributions, and assess the Zulu's judgment accordingly.

So despite all your moral posturing on here you're not above a bit of name calling yourself - but hey, that's the sanctimonious left for you

The problem with zerohedge is that everything the west does is bad, everything is a conspiracy theory, everything is the USA's fault, everything the 3rd world does is perfect etc

Believe what you want champ but it doesn't take much intelligence to realise that the world ain't quite like that

Thats the beauty of Nuclear weapons, the US may as well drop one on themselves.

Ergo there wont be a war.

Not sure why we get one sided reporting on this stuff.... Nothing about the islands that western allied powers build.