China’s Ministry of defense warned the United States on Monday to be “careful in its words and actions” after announcing a defense rethink that stresses responding to China’s rise by shoring up U.S. alliances and bases across Asia.

The statement from the ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng was Beijing’s fullest reaction so far to the new U.S. strategy unveiled last week. It echoed the mix of wariness and outward restraint that has marked China’s response to the Obama administration’s “pivot” to Asia since late last year.

“We have noted that the United States issued this guide to its defense strategy, and we will closely observe the impact that U.S. military strategic adjustment has on the Asia-Pacific region and on global security developments,” Geng said in a statement issued on the ministry’s website.

“The accusations leveled at China by the U.S. side in this document are totally baseless,” said Geng.

“We hope that the United States will flow with the tide of the era, and deal with China and the Chinese military in an objective and rational way, will be careful in its words and actions, and do more that is beneficial to the development of relations between the two countries and their militaries.”

President Barack Obama’s vowed on Thursday to look beyond the wars he inherited to focus on Asian security risks — like China and North Korea — that took a back seat to Iraq and Afghanistan.

It marked a turning point not only for the U.S. military but also for Obama, entering the final year of his White House term.

Facing a re-election battle, the president declared success in Iraq and Afghanistan and took a forward-looking stance on the how to preserve American military pre-eminence.

“The tide of war is receding but the question that this strategy answers is what kind of military will we need long after the wars of the last decade are over,” Obama told a Pentagon news conference alongside Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday.

Under the new strategy, the United States will maintain large bases in Japan and South Korea and deploy U.S. Marines, navy ships and aircraft to Australia’s Northern Territory.

Meanwhile, troop- and time-intensive counter-insurgency operations, a staple of U.S. military strategy since the 2007 “surge” of extra troops to Iraq, would be far more limited.

The strategy calls for countering potential attempts by China and Iran to block U.S. capabilities in areas like the South China Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.

China has sought to balance voicing its wariness about the U.S. moves with its desire for steady relations with Washington, especially as both sides grapple with domestic politics this year, when China’s ruling Communist Party undergoes a leadership handover and Obama faces a re-election fight.

So far, Beijing officials have avoided the usual high-pitched assertions that Washington is bent on encircling China, a view widely echoed by popular Chinese newspapers and websites.

Growing concern
The expanded U.S. military presence in Asia is based on a miscalculation of Beijing’s intent to modernize its military defenses, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

“The accusation targeting China in the document has no basis, and is fundamentally unrealistic,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a regular news conference, in response to a question from state media about whether China poses a threat to U.S. security.

“China adheres to the path of peaceful development, an independent and peaceful foreign policy and a defensive national defense policy,” Liu added.

Still, there is growing concern in the United States and Asia about China’s military developments in recent years.

China has been expanding its naval might, with submarines and a maiden aircraft carrier, and has also increased its missile and surveillance capabilities, extending its offensive reach in the region and unnerving its neighbors.

The disputed ownership of oil-rich reefs and islands in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion dollars in trade sails annually, is one of the biggest security threats in Asia.

China is seen by many neighbors as increasingly assertive on the high seas, with several incidents in the past year in the South China Sea, waters claimed wholly or in part by China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.

But Chinese President Hu Jintao has made clear he wants to avoid repeating the rifts that soured ties with Washington in the first half of 2011. Hu retires from power late in 2012 and his almost-certain successor, Vice President Xi Jinping, is likely to visit the United States in coming months.

The Kings of the East are found in Revelation chapter 16:12 and in Revelation chapter 13:9-16. China is the leading nation candidate, Keep close watch on this developing.

Analysts are becoming increasingly concerned that China may launch a surprise military attack on India in 2012, based on conditions today that are similar to those present the last time China attacked India – in 1962, says a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

The concerns center on an ongoing border dispute between the two countries and joint energy projects that India has entered into with Vietnam in areas of the South China Sea which China claims as its own territory.

Even today, China continues to hold onto Indian territory it captured in 1962, and it continues to initiate troop provocations along the disputed border, warning India against taking it back, despite attempts at confidence building measures.

The Chinese actions suggest it has no intentions of reaching a peaceful resolution to the confrontation.

According to regional analysts, China claims that the India-China border is 2,000 kilometers long while India asserts that it is 4,000 kilometers. The difference is due to the Chinese challenge to India’s claim over territories from Sikkim to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, or POK.

“This is also a ploy to perpetuate the border issue indefinitely,” said Bhaskar Roy, regional expert with the think-tank South Asia Analysis Group. “There would be lasting impediments, however, even if the two governments agree to delineation through some small give and take.

“India cannot expect to get back Aksai Chin from China and China cannot expect to get Tawang which it had never held, let alone Arunachal Pradesh,” he added. Arunachal Pradesh is a region that also has seen significant military buildup on either side of the disputed border by Indian and Chinese forces in recent months, to the extent that the Chinese are building entire airfields for fighter aircraft.

There also are conflicting positions regarding Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, and those involve not only India and China but also Pakistan. According to regional analysts, the POK is Indian territory as defined by various documents from 1947. While this is a legal agreement, Pakistan nonetheless has been occupying the area.

“In 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded over 5,000 square kilometers of POK to China,” Roy said, “and China is currently making good use of it to reach the Arabian Sea and Gulf region through Pakistan.”

Another argument between India and China focuses on New Delhi’s “Look East” policy of an Indian-Japanese defense relationship. This is in addition to India’s longstanding interest in Central Asia, particularly Afghanistan, where it has heavy investments and recently signed an agreement to provide training for Afghan military and police forces once U.S. and coalition troops leave next year.

The United States has supported India in its claims along the border, something which has added to the tension in relations between the U.S. and China.

China’s navy should speed up its development and prepare for warfare, President Hu Jintao has said.

He told military personnel they should “make extended preparations for warfare”.

China is locked in territorial disputes with several other nations in the South China Sea. Political tension is also growing with the US, which is seeking to boost its presence in the region.

After Mr Hu’s comments, the US said China was entitled to defend itself.

“Nobody’s looking for a scrap here,” said Pentagon spokesman Admiral John Kirby in quotes carried by the AFP news agency.

“Certainly we wouldn’t begrudge any other nation the opportunity to develop naval forces.”

Senior US and Chinese officials are currently holding talks on military issues.

The one-day meeting takes place every year, with the stated aim of ensuring there are no misunderstandings between the two nations.

‘Sovereignty dispute’

China has recently acquired its first aircraft carrier and has been vocal about its naval ambitions.

But its military remains primarily a land-based force, and its naval capabilities are still dwarfed by the US.

Mr Hu told a meeting of military officials that the navy should “accelerate its transformation and modernisation in a sturdy way, and make extended preparations for warfare in order to make greater contributions to safeguard national security”.

The word “warfare” was used in official media, but other translations used “military combat” and “military struggle”.

Analysts say Mr Hu’s comments are unusually blunt, and are likely to be aimed at the US and Beijing’s rivals in the South China Sea.

Both the Philippines and Vietnam have repeatedly accused China of overt aggression in the region.

They are among the nations claiming sovereignty over islands in the sea in the hope that there could be oil and gas deposits there.

And US President Barack Obama announced last month that the US was boosting its presence in the region, and will base a full Marine task force in northern Australia.

Analysts say the US move is a direct challenge to China’s attempts to dominate the area, and is likely to bolster US allies in the South China Sea dispute.

 We need to be watching this news story very carefully as China is becoming the banker of the world. It is consolidating its end times position as the leader of the nations known in Revelation 16 as the kings of the east.

French President Nicolas Sarkozyconferred with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao as European policy makers seek to build support for an enlarged rescue fund designed to resolve the region’s sovereign-debt crisis.

Hu hopes that the measures will help to stabilize markets, state-owned China Central Television reported. The phone call between the leaders came hours after a euro-region summit ended with an agreement to boost the European Financial Stability Facility to about $1.4 trillion, leveraging existing guarantees by as much as five times. Japan plans to support the increase, and is waiting to hear from European officials on details for the program, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Sarkozy’s outreach precedes a Group of 20 summit he will host next week, with Europeans seeking to bolster the role of the International Monetary Fund in overcoming the euro-region’s woes. Australia’s finance chief said that while it’s“appropriate” to look at the IMF’s resources, Europeans must look to themselves first for bailout money.

“The Europeans have their back against the wall and China is the lender of last resort,” Patrick Bennett, a strategist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Hong Kong, said in a Bloomberg Television interview before Sarkozy’s call.

The French president’s office said in a statement that Sarkozy and Hu “agreed to cooperate closely to ensure the G20 can make a decisive contribution to ensure growth and global stability.”

Greek Deal

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has signaled willingness to aid the European Union as financial turmoil within the region threatens to crush export demand in China’s biggest market. The expansion of the rescue fund and a deal for bondholders to take 50 percent losses on Greek debt may help Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to convince the world that Europe is getting to grips with the crisis.

“China will need time to evaluate this plan very carefully,” said Shen Jianguang, a Hong Kong-based economist for Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. “What worries China is that there is so much disagreement among European policy makers. It doesn’t want to be seen spending money on a plan that even Europeans don’t want to support.”

Sarkozy and Hu’s conversation came a day before a planned visit to Beijing by Klaus Regling, chief executive officer of the EFSF, to court investors. China has the world’s largest foreign-exchange reserves at more than $3.2 trillion. Regling is also scheduled to visit Japan, Agence France-Presse reported, citing a European Union official in Asia.

Japan Waiting

Japan, the world’s second-biggest holder of currency reserves, anticipates waiting until November for specification of how it may be able to help Europe, a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity because discussions on the matter are private. Finance Minister Jun Azumi said the European statement today was a “big step forward,” speaking at parliament in Tokyo.

China “welcomes” the agreement reached by EU leaders, Jiang Yu, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, said at a regular press briefing in Beijing. “It is conducive to lifting market confidence.”

The European Union must ensure the safety of China’s investments, the official Xinhua News Agency reported today, citing Wang Hua, an official in the Western Europe division of the International Department under the Communist Party’s Central Committee.

Europe is facing international calls to end a debt crisis that President Barack Obama has said “is scaring the world”and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has described as a “catastrophic risk.”

With the G-20 leaders gathering in Cannes, France, Nov. 3-4, euro-area government heads gathered in Brussels yesterday for the 14th time to tackle troubles that began in Greece two years ago, then engulfed Ireland and Portugal and now threaten Spain and Italy.

Wen’s Message

Premier Wen said last month that while China was willing to help, developed nations also needed to put “their own houses in order.”

In Canberra today, Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan echoed that sentiment. “In the first instance, any bailout fund in Europe is a responsibility of the Europeans,” he told reporters. Swan said in a statement later that global markets will demand details of the European plans. “Europe is building its war chest, but the war has not yet been won,” the statement said.

Stocks rose in Asia after the euro-region meeting, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index advancing 3.1 percent, the most since September.

“This morning we saw broad positive reaction from the market — but as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating,” Amando Tetangco, governor of the Philippine central bank, said in a mobile-phone text message to reporters today.

The Bible talks about the role the Kings of the East will play in the events of the last days. These kings are mentioned in the book of Revelation in chapter 16 in verse 12 as the sixth bowl is poured out on the earth in judgment from the Lord. The Euphrates River is dried up and the way is laid open for these kings to come into the battle in the Middle East. So we do know that these kings are eastern nations. The largest most powerful nations east of Iraq are China and India.

There has been a rapid emergence in the power that these Asian nations play on the world scene in recent years. These two countries are following on the heels of Japan and South Korea and are becoming Asian economic dynamos. They are large countries with extremely large populations and they are now fully awake.

This rapid rising has occurred in the space of the last 40 years. They are impacting the world on a large scale from a military, economic and a financial perspective.

When the last days time clock begin again with the forming of the nation of Israel in 1948 after almost 2,000 years, this rise of these Asian behemoths took place after this in conjunction with all the other events that have unfolded.

The key questions that we need to be asking are: are India and China the kings of the east from Scripture? And number two is will it be benefical to the world?

The rise of Asia has all the earmarks of an endtime financial phenomenon in addition to all the Scriptural alignments. All of the five telltale characteristics of a last day phenomena can be seen:

1. An accelaration of observed after 1948

2. A seeming improbability and inexplicably of its occurrence

3. Godlessness (Buddism and Hinduism)

4. A scope of worldwide impact

5. Suddenness and rapidity

The economic impact of these two countries is scary: they are dominating the global market.  They are sitting at the global policymaking tables of the G-20 and other transnational organizations.

These two countries comprise roughly 40% of the world’s land mass and approximately 60% of the earth’s population.

Napoleon predicted over 200 years ago after returning from a trip to China “when China awakes, it will shake the world”. Well the world is shaking at this power!

China can today field an army of 200 million men just by itself, when you add India to the mix can you say scary?

The kings of the east are on the rise and will be prepared to march soon. I will provide periodic updates as we look at this phenomenon.

Keep looking up!

This is a Kings of the East article as China is rapidly putting alot of resources and focus on expanding and modernizing it s military. They are preparing for their move into the Middle East as foretold by John in Revelation chapter 16.

They will come to challenge the Antichrist to protect their natural resource needs, oil, in the Middle East. Enjoy!

US Concerned Over China Rapid Military Buildup

http://www.reuters.com/

China appears on track to forge a modern military by 2020, a rapid buildup that could be potentially destabilizing to the Asia-Pacific region, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

Fueled by its booming economy, China’s military growth in the past decade has exceeded most U.S. forecasts. Its aircraft carrier program, cyber warfare capabilities and anti-satellite missiles have alarmed neighbors and Washington.

Some China watchers, including members of Congress, note with apprehension that rising Chinese defense spending coincides with Washington’s plans for defense cuts.

“China clearly believes that it can capitalize on the global financial crisis,” said Representative Howard McKeon, adding the U.S. military presence in the Pacific must not be sacrificed in an attempt to control U.S. spending.

The Defense Department’s annual assessment to Congress on the Chinese military flagged all the major concerns about China’s growing military might, including Beijing’s widening edge over Taiwan. It also noted cyber attacks in 2010 — including those on U.S. government computers — that appear to have originated in China.

“We have some concerns (on cyber) about some of the things that we’ve seen. And we want to be able to work through that with China,” said Michael Schiffer, a deputy assistant secretary of defense.

The report focused on 2010, a year when the Pentagon said China’s military modernization program paid “visible dividends.” It cited China’s fielding of an operational anti-ship ballistic missile, continued work on its aircraft carrier program and the completion of a prototype of China’s first stealth fighter jet, the J-20.

The J-20 program, the Pentagon report said, would not achieve “effective operational capability” prior to 2018.

“Despite continued gaps in some key areas, large quantities of antiquated hardware and a lack of operational experience, the PLA (China’s People’s Liberation Army) is steadily closing the technological gap with modern armed forces,” the report said.

DESTABILIZING EFFECT?

The military buildup could have a destabilizing effect on the region, Schiffer said, calling for greater openness by the People’s Liberation Army and more bilateral military dialogue.

“The pace and scope of China’s sustained military investments have allowed China to pursue capabilities that we believe are potentially destabilizing to regional military balances,” Schiffer said.

The Pentagon said despite its progress at becoming a more potent regional military power, Beijing was not expected to be able to project and sustain large forces in high-intensity combat operations far from China before 2020.

That is something the United States, still the predominant military power in the Pacific, has been able to do throughout the world for decades.

One of the best ways for a military to project power is with aircraft carriers and China launched its first carrier — a refitted former Soviet craft — for a maiden run earlier this month. Schiffer said he believed Beijing was working toward building its own domestically produced aircraft carriers and sources told Reuters China was building two carriers.

Still, the report said any domestically produced Chinese aircraft carrier would not be operational until at least 2015, if construction were to start this year.

“Whether or not this (China’s carrier program) proves to be a net plus for the region or for the globe or proves to be something that has destabilizing effects and raises blood pressure in various regional capitals I think remains to be seen,” Schiffer said.

One of the biggest irritants in Sino-U.S. ties is Taiwan. The PLA suspended military ties with the United States for most of 2010 over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and warned that a renewed flurry of engagement could again be jeopardized by new arms sales to an island China sees as a renegade province.

Schiffer said the U.S. government has not yet made a decision on any new arms sales to Taiwan, comments echoed at the State Department.

A Reuters report this month said the U.S. sale of 66 new Lockheed Martin F-16 C/D fighter jets to Taiwan appeared unlikely.

A confrontation is looming between China and the United States over Beijing claims of sovereignty over the South China Sea in conflict both with U.S. assertions of its right to patrol there and claims from other nations that they, too, have rights in the gas- and oil-rich region, Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin reports.

Now, China has issued a warning to the U.S. against intervening in its conflicts with nations such as Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam that also have expressed claims there.

Tensions in the region have grown over the past month since China has become more assertive in its claims to the waters that reportedly are rich in natural gas and oil. Because of China’s burgeoning population and growing industrial needs, it is searching worldwide for all the oil and natural gas it can acquire. This includes making multi-billion dollar oil deals with Iran in violation of United Nations sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program and helping Brazil develop its oil and natural gas fields for future supply.

Some observers say that Chinese leaders can’t be seen to be weak on the issue, which they believe could lead to armed conflict.

To enforce its stance, China has sent in naval ships, which already have confronted warships from Vietnam. Also, the Philippines is building a runway and moving supplies to an island over which China asserts jurisdiction.

Both Vietnam and the Philippines have called upon Washington to support their cases. They have suggested a multilateral solution, but China is demanding that it be allowed to handle such disagreements on a one-to-one basis with the nations involved.

To China, the South China Sea region is its domain, and it wants recognition of its centuries-old claims on various atolls, reefs and islands in the region that are also claimed by other countries. China’s explanation is that the other countries have occupied the areas illegally.

“The United States is not a claimant state to the dispute in the South China Sea, and so it’s better for the United States to leave the dispute to be sorted out between claimant states,” warned Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai. “I believe the individual countries are actually playing with fire, and I hope the fire will not be drawn to the United States.”

The rising tensions could manifest themselves in an upcoming meeting of the annual Association of South East Asian Nations, or ASEAN, Regional Forum on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

All of the countries involved in the sovereignty claims belong to ASEAN, as does the U.S.

We need to watch China here. This is an important point of possible tipping in the relationship between the US and China.

We know that God is raising up an army from the east that will be 200 million men. China will more than likely be the head of that army.

Keep looking up!