Cadence of Conflict: Asia, February 11, 2019

Trump fell a few dots shy of declaring all out war against China in his State of the Union address. He spoke kindly of China, then brought back Cold War era talk of “defeating Communism”. He also said he wanted China to have to play by the same rules as Russia and the US where nuclear missiles are concerned. The Chinese won’t like that because they genuinely believe they are better than everyone else.

China’s ancient, recently best-kept-secret, aspiration of saturating the world with the “Han” bloodline is in full swing. The recent spotlight has been the Han migration that threatens to dilute and eventually eliminate Uyghurs from the Xinjiang Uyghur “autonomous region” in China—one of many “provinces under protest” that reject forced assimilation into China’s bossy political ideology—an ideology Trump threatened in announcing his goal that China come down to the lowly level of having to play by the same rules as everyone else.

Then, there was military defense. Trump’s speech was patriotic. He celebrated “American exceptionalism” and the US’s role in helping save people in other countries from tyranny. Some call it a “messiah complex”. Some call it “American charity”. Whatever it was, Trump stirred the hearts of Americans to remember their roots of militarily helping those in need, announcing massive military investment, and reviving America’s old war on Communism.

The US is already preparing for war with China—in the old fashioned, soft, “humble” way, according to its Christendom roots of Chivalry. Without the pomp and parade, China’s imperialistic culture may not even notice. But, war drums are sounding on the horizon. Trump’s trade talks are either an irritant or a stall tactic—probably both.

China

China, Taiwan wage war online with dueling military propaganda videos | Business Insider

US and China don’t even have a trade deal draft yet as deadline nears | CNBC

Expect a messy end to Trump’s trade talks with China | Yahoo

The ‘new Cold War’ with China is way overblown. Here’s why. | WA Post

Abdurehim Heyit Chinese video ‘disproves Uighur musician’s death’ | BBC

12,000 Chinese blood plasma treatments contaminated with HIV | SCMP

Are Confucian China and the Christian West destined to clash? How religion can explain the new cold war | SCMP

Suspicion falls on China after cyber attack on Australian Parliament — and it’s not surprising | ABC News (AU)

China reports new outbreak of African swine fever | WA Post

Military

Behold These Incredible New Images of Dutch F-35s Soaring Over California | The Drive

Some F-35s could become unflyable by 2026 | Fox News

Is China’s ‘Guam killer’ missile all it’s hyped up to be? | Asia Times

The Ultimate Military “What If”: Imagine if the Stealth F-35 Never Happened | National Interest

The Air Force’s Looming F-22 Crisis (And the F-35 Could Fix It) | National Interest

Old School vs. Stealth School: Could an Old F-14 Tomcat Kill the F-22 or F-35? | National Interest