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Man the US had better look the hell out! Now we are going to know what happens when the one and only superpower pisses off everybody else!

China to 'boost' military spending, Reuters, Feb 28

"China is likely to announce yet another year of double-digit growth in its defense budget in the next week.

The move would feed a modernization drive that is sparking concern in rival Taiwan of invasion, and U.S. worries about stability. . . .

But analysts say the official numbers are an incomplete indicator of the actual scale of resources China is pouring into defense.

Many estimate real expenditure is likely to be two to four times what the government says.

Even so, the official growth figure is a stark reminder of the ambitious buildup by the 2.3-million-strong People's Liberation Army, the world's largest standing army but one that would have to pay dearly to retake a well-armed Taiwan. . . .

Among the clearest signs of that plan are purchases from Russia of advanced fighter jets, submarines and destroyers. . . .

Officially, defense spending grew about 11 percent last year from 2003, hitting 211.7 billion yuan ($25.6 billion), according to the white paper.

By comparison, the U.S. defense budget is about $400 billion this year and Japan's is about $47 billion."
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/as...eut/index.html


India plans to expand military capabilities to match China and surpass Pakistan many times, India Daily, Feb 25

"India is planning a major upgrade in Military hardware, software and overall capabilities. The goal is to match China and not consider Pakistan as any point of benchmark. Sources close to the Ministry of Defense, defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Ministers office confirmed the fact that India’s current goal is to be a region power matching the strength of China, France and UK.

Reuters also reported similar analysis. According to Reuters, India is planning to increase annual defense spending by at least 10 percent, Reuters reported on Feb. 24 citing military experts. Expected purchases include six French submarines, 126 combat aircraft, Israeli airborne radar systems, Russian advanced rocket launcher systems and an Old Russian aircraft carrier.

What is not reported in mainstream media is the fact that India is planning an American style defense establishment. The private software and technology companies will be allowed to come and build weapon systems matching the best in the world. The Private industry will bring in Israeli, American, French and Russian companies as collaborators and build world-class joint programs. . . .

In addition to hardware acquisition, India plans to upgrade intelligence effort in a massive way. India understands the futures war in the war will be fought covertly, with field as well signal intelligence.

India plans to reduce the number of armed forces and make the forces technically capable to the level of NATO. That is the long-term goal. Current political and military leaderships understand that India will have to compete in the long term with China, America and Russia. Though technically the military may not match any of the three today, the goal is to turn the table over in ten to fifteen years."
http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/1707.asp

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Classic American liberal

And I would avoid comparing Asian defense spending to a Cold War-type arms race. After reading the report, I feel that the future the world will be more stable (the report says that it's unlikely that there will be a major conflict between the powerful nations...contrast this with the situation at the start of the 20th century) because of increased regionalization; as the world becomes more globalized and interconnected, major conflict has the potential to hurt everyone, hence the incentive not to start a stupid war over something like Taiwan.

Both India and China will be competing for a share in the global market over the next 15 years and I see them butting heads from time to time. I don't expect them to start a huge war, however, as their economic growth might collapse. Just look at what happened to Japan and Mexico when their growth suddenly stopped in the 1990s...

The report did say, however, that the U.S. will have to pay a greater price in future military actions as other nations become more modernized. In other words, don't expect easy victories like Desert Storm or even Iraqi Freedom.

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Proudly a "South Park Republican"

An arms race between China and India? It will be interesting to see who discovers the secret of fire first.

They have already fought an unofficial war over their mountain border. (Late 70's IIRC)

Nothing "new" about this. They both have huge potential, though looks like China is using hers more.

IF there were an efficient way to reduce the majority of the Earth's population and resources, a war between China and India would be it. It would turn into WWIII, but it would be fun to watch right at first...that is...until the nuclear weapons start firing. Then all hell breaks lose. Really, when you think about it, we have about five countries that are twenty times as powerful as the Nazis at the peak of WWII. It will be a very interesting "great death." I had someone tell me 2015 would be the end of the world, and I think that is a good estimate. Well, there may be a few scraglers, but not much else.

Um...were you dropped on your head as a child? Why would any war "be fun to watch?"

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"George W. Bush surrounds himself with smart people the way a hole surrounds itself with a donut." —Dennis Miller

that was sarcasm...kinda hard to get through on a computer though...