More OT - China
Correct. We are in complete agreement regarding containment. I was drawing a historical parallel between the two sets of bogus territorial claims - and our eventual response to the first.
This is the Bush administration's first sticky foreign policy "crisis." As such, it will set the precedent for the future ones, and should be handled with that in mind. IMO, though admittedly amateur, there should be no apology or admission of culpability from the US. There should be a dialed-up effort using non-military sanctions until the sailors are released. We have a broad spectrum of possibilities: arms sales to Taiwan, withdrawal of MFN trade status, veto of WTO membership, non-support of 2008 Olympic venue, diplomatic recognition of Taiwan, trade boycotts or tariffs, and so forth.
Unfortunately, the higher the Chinese dial this incident, they stand to lose (as well as gain) significantly more "face," and thus will become more intransigent. We're still in a reactive mode here - the Chinese have the initiative.
- Mitch |
