2 Comments:

Ever heard of a country named China?
Sometimes your commentary is insightful, thoughtful, and worthwhile. Other times . . . . Old saws about misspent dollars on defense matters are typical liberal claptrap, however, and really are beneath you.

By  Anonymous, at 1:30 PM  

China owns billions and billions in U.S. debt. China sells us billions and billions of dollars of goods every year. RAND (hardly known for its liberal claptrap) describes the Chinese air force thusly:
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) does not constitute a credible offensive threat against the United States or its Asian allies today, and this situation will not change dramatically over the coming decade. If anything, its overall capabilities relative to most of its potential rivals will diminish over the next ten years. These circumstances are a product of constrained strategic thinking in China about the role of airpower, the lack of funds needed for a comprehensive modernization program, logistics and maintenance problems, the limited training available to its pilots, and the absence of a capability to develop and manufacture advanced airpower weapon systems. Although some modern aircraft will be introduced into the PLAAF inventory during the next ten years, the rate and scale of these acquisitions will remain incremental and demonstrably insufficient to redefine the regional airpower balance.
China relies heavily on its J-7 and J-8 fighters. Both are 1960s era aircraft. The Chinese do have a small number (approximately 100) of more modern fighters.
No one knows how much China spends on its military. China's official estimates are about $30 billion annually, but the actual figure is probably multiples of that. The U.S. and its allies are planning to spend more on one aircraft class than China spends on its entire military -- over 3 or so years.

By  Hammer, at 1:58 PM  

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