Chinese Expansionism

China, our friendly trading partner, has of late begun pressing territorial disputes with a whopping 13 of its neighbors. While some disputes involve stopping illegal immigration or stopping those evil Taiwanese from being allowed to vote, the great majority are for energy: oil and natural gas. I’m hopeful that someone in the government might notice that China has a rapidly increasing demand for energy coupled with a willingness to aggressively seek to enforce land claims. Unfortunately, President Bush was too interested in selling cell phones to China and buying cheap consumer goods to even remain neutral in the recent Taiwanese election; he told the people of Taiwan that seeking independence “would appear to unilaterally change Taiwan’s status and for that reason we’re not supportive of [independence].” Bush, the hawk for whom I voted, chose the People’s Republic of China over Taiwan, one of the few countries that still likes us. (title links to article)