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Re <<It was the last gunboat we have sent to China, lesson learned the hard way, and a suitable outcome -g>>
:0))))
In very much the same spirit, I observe ...
Not exactly, for the British imperial gunboat Queen Elizabeth is on the way, unsure if elected so by the people for the people against other people, but definitely on the way, as its escort Defender broke away from its Russian Crimean near-adventure and rejoins the main fleet now steaming at speed towards the south CHINA sea.
There was an earlier episode, the same sort of lesson, but a lesson that apparently required repeat, as the pupil failed, failed again, then failed once more, and as we speak, the pupil is on enthusiastic way to yet another close encounter. I understand from the BBC that the encounter at Crimea was not encouraging.
I do not know what if anything would happen here in my neighbourhood. Whilst the entire imperial flotilla can be taken out in one single salvo of DF21 / 26 / 17 rocketry, I reckon the situation does not warrant anything more than for-sure a shadow op. Team China does have one option of escalation not open to the Russians, in that China sports a sizeable civilian maritime militia, chaperoned by white hull coast guard, and all watched over by grey hulled bigger brothers. Am highly suspicious, and wonder if the British armada will be welcomed by civilian maritime militia, and should there be any incident involving foreign navy against Chinese civilian ships, I further guess that trouble would be nearby. Unlikely that China will waste the opportunity to make a sharp point and blacken one of 5 eyes.
Nothing really new under the sun in the old script played out over and again.
and of course, always, the ZeroHedge take (love the comment section) zerohedge.com
HMS Defender Versus The Russian Military: The Danger Of Believing Your Own Propaganda
... Having had their bluff called, the UK government did what all governments do best: it lied. The Russians did not shoot at a UK warship, they claimed. It was a previously-scheduled Russian military exercise in the area ...
... Unfortunately for the UK government, in its haste to create good propaganda about standing up to Russia, they had a BBC reporter on-board the Defender who spilled the beans: Yes, the Russian military did issue several warnings, yes it did buzz the HMS Defender multiple times, and yes there were shots fired in the Defender’s direction ...
It all reminds me of an earlier era, when Team Britain saw threats everywhere because it itself was everywhere. Times change, characters swapped, story remains repeating euppublishing.com
British Conservatives, the Red Menace and Antiforeign Agitation in China, 1924–1927
... British anti-Soviet hysteria increased further when reports about anti-British agitation in Hankou reached Britain. The British concession at Hankou had been established in 1861; about 700 Britons lived there in the 1920s. On 3 January 1927, the concession was occupied by Chinese protesters. As preventive measures British citizens were evacuated from surrounding areas, and Britain officially returned the concession to China in February 1927. Various Britons in China, including some British officials, demanded that the concession be recaptured but the British government thought that such an action would only incense anti-British feeling in China and that negotiations, not military actions, were the way forward, especially since Hankou was not important and Britain had declared in the December Memorandum that it would abstain from gunboat diplomacy.61 ...
After the events in Hankou, the British government was worried that a similar situation could arise in Shanghai and sent 20,000 troops there to defend British life and property. While the Labour Party, the Independent Labour Party and the CPGB opposed this measure, the conservative press?–?which had been demanding a tougher stance from the British government?–?applauded the military and naval reinforcements, again describing the conflict between Britain and China as essentially that between Britain and the Soviet Union.62 This view was also the message of a cartoon by Sidney Strube published in the Daily Express. The cartoon was published after Eugene Chen, the Foreign Minister of the Nationalist government, broke off negotiations between China and Britain due to the concentration of British troops in Shanghai.63
Even back then Britain was diligent in spinning
The Hankow 'agitation' cited above was a matter of British Parliamentary powwow (circa 1927 02 21) and part of the process of setting the British sun hansard.parliament.uk
Sir A. Chamberlain
He calls himself Mr. O'Malley, and I call him by the name he chooses. Now if I may get to business. A telegram has been received from Mr. O'Malley, dated the 20th instant, reporting the signature on the evening of the 19th of the agreement in regard to the Hankow concession. The agreement is in the following terms:
"The proper British authorities will summon the annual general meeting of ratepayers in accordance with the Land Regulations on 15th March. The British municipality will thereupon be dissolved and the administration of the Concession area will be formally handed over to the new Chinese municipality. Pending the handing over to the new Chinese municipality on 15th March, the policing of the Concession and the management of the public works and sanitation will be conducted by the Chinese authorities now in charge thereof.
"The Nationalist Government will, upon the dissolution of the British Council, forthwith set up a special Chinese municipality modelled on that of the special administrative district for the administration of the Concession area under regulations which will be communicated to His Britannic Majesty's Minister by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Nationalist Government. These regulations will remain in force until such time as arrangements have been negotiated for the amalgamation of the five Hankow Concessions and former Concessions into one unified municipal district."
At the moment of signature certain declarations were made arising out of the negotiations. Mr. Chen gave the following letter to Mr. O'Malley:
""I have the honour to communicate to you the regulations which the Nationalist Government will promulgate for the administration of the British concession area at Hankow.""
I have not all the details of those regulations, but they are on the lines that I explained to the House the other day. Mr. O'Malley informed Mr. Chen:
"I have the honour to assure you that the British authorities concerned will do all that lies in their power to implement and ensure the successful operation of the agreement signed to-day relative to the British concession area at Hankow, and that as far as the British authorities are con- Toggle showing location of Column 1369cerned, Chinese citizens will enjoy and be entitled to the same rights as British subjects in the said area."
Mr. Chen replied:
"I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of to-day's date in which you assure me that the British authorities concerned will do all that lies in their power to implement and ensure the successful operation of the agreement signed to-day relative to the British concession area at Hankow and that as far as the British authorities are concerned Chinese citizens will enjoy and be entitled to the same rights as British subjects in the said area.
"I have the honour to assure you in return that the Chinese authorities for their part will likewise do their utmost to implement and ensure the successful operation of the agreement in question and that so far as they are concerned there will he no discrimination against British interests in the adminisstration of the new district."
Mr. Chen further made the following declaration: ...
But it was soon apparent that the lesson was not taken in wholeheartedly, and had to be repeated a few month after the signature of the earlier O'Malley-Chen Treaty
39. Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHY asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether any decision has yet been come to as to the next step to be taken with regard to the reply to our note to Mr. Chen on he outrages at Nanking; and, if so, if he will state what is the next step to be taken?
Sir A. CHAMBERLAIN The statement I have to make is an important one, and I hope that its importance will be felt by the House to justify the unavoidable length of my answer.
The Nanking outrages took place on 23rd and 24th March, and on 11th April a Note, identic in terms, was delivered by the representatives of Great Britain, the United States of America, Japan, France and Italy to Mr. Eugene Chen, as Foreign Minister of the Nationalist Government, and to the Shanghai representative of the generalissimo of the Nationalist armies. This Note demanded punishment of offenders, apology and compensation. On 14th April Mr. Chen returned replies to the Notes. The reply to His Majesty's Government was given to the House in answer to a question from the hon. and gallant Member for Central Hull on 16th April. The replies to the other Governments followed the same lines, with variations in each case. The Notes were unsatisfactory in substance and in detail. The serious and immediate issues of the Nanking outrages were shirked, and irrelevant matter and the usual Nationalist propaganda were introduced.
The five Governments were already discussing the further action to be taken 20in view of the unsatisfactory nature of Mr. Chen's reply, when events took place in the Yangtse region which have entirely changed the position.
When the outrages occurred and even when the Powers' Notes were presented China south of the Yangtse was apparently united under the Nationalist Government, whose seat was in the Wuhan cities, commonly known as Hankow. There was, therefore, a Government which was responsible for the outrages and which could be made responsible for reparations. Within four days after the date of Mr. Chen's reply, that united Government in South China no longer existed, and Mr. Chen and his Notes represented little more than himself and his personal opinions. He no longer spoke for Nationalist China or for the Kuomintang party...
Many years later (circa November 18th 1938) Eugene imparted more of his personal opinions to Chamberlain, but alas, Chamberlain did not listen and arguably Britain and the world paid a heavy price
etc etc total 5 pages of advice not heeded.
The context of the story as relevant to today is here Message 32150629
Am wonder how Jinping wish to be remembered in a hundred years?
... and the embedded video is explained. The documentary was released in China a few days before Xi Jinping visited the Trump and had dinner at his club, when Trump bombed Syria over chocolate cake. When Trump later visited China Xi hosted Trump at his club for the day, the Forbidden City
Xi is now preparing for 2024, as 2021 - 2023 is as good as done done.
