Summary: Holy hibachi! Japan is in a Pacific pinch, my friends! A collision between a Chinese fishing boat and Japanese coast guard vessels in September near the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands north of Taiwan set off a firestorm of diplomatic fury by both countires…only to be followed in November by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pissing off Japan by visiting the disputed island of Kunashira in the Kuril island chain north of Hokkiado. Damn! Battered from both ends! But these territorial squabbles centering around Japan have repercussions far beyond the borders of these dink-ass islands. In this plaid-cast, the Avenger high-lites some of the deeper ramifications of these Pacific geo-political problems.
The big annual Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit was held in Hanoi Vietnam on Oct 29/30, and an array of international stars were in attendance!!! Everybody wants to do business with ASEAN! From China to Japan to India to Australia to Russia, all major East Asian and Pacific regional powers want a piece of the action. On top of that, the East Asia Summit (EAS) now takes place directly after the ASEAN party, and it focuses on regional stability/defense issues…a group that includes the Russians and Americans too! Damn! ASEAN is the Asian shizzle!
Bottom line: As Asia’s star continues to rise and they become the center of international action, ASEAN is becoming the anchor for trade and regional stability…a combo EU and UN, but for East Asia!
Move over Godzilla; the Dragon has risen! It is now official for the Plaid Avenger: China has just surpassed Japan to become the 2nd largest economy on the planet, with a GDP in excess of $5 trillion/year. They still have a ways to go to catch the $14 trillion US economy, but the writing is on the wall! Listen as the Avenger explains why it is obvious that the Chinese economy will continue to explode, and why there is no hope that Japan will ever regain its #2 position?its all about the consumers, baby! Bye-bye Japan?.buy, buy, buy for China!
Synopsis: US-Chinese relations suddenly seem to be at a recent all-time low. The US arms sale to Taiwan, US President meeting with the Dalai Lama, Google China getting hacked, and US Secretary of State Clinton commenting on human rights in China, have collectively caused the Sino-Giant to super-size its rage against the US machine. But the Plaid Avenger tells you why there’s nothing really to fear from this…it is really just business as usual…and it won’t result in any big changes to the relationship between these two world titans. However, China’s fury will be causing impacts on the international agenda of the US and Team West, namely in regard to Iran, North Korea, and even global warming. Check it out!
Summary: Holy crap! The US is selling $6.4 billion bucks worth of arms to Taiwan….and China is pissed! This must be the beginning of WW3 and the end of the world! NOT. This arms deal, and China?s reaction to it, is a regular occurrence that has been happening for 60 years. The bigger story is why it is happening, and for that we need to understand the Taiwanese/Chinese relationship, and how the US got in the middle of the mess in the first place. The Avenger outlines how Taiwan got into this strange ?non-state? status, and how that relates to US/Chinese relations. Time for a Taiwanese tango!
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