china, a US paranoia
why is the usa so paranoid about a rising china? the reason, a general perception among the americans that china is a potentially hostile nation with aggressive intention. this forms the basis of us policies towards china. how fragile and clumsy could it be for the world's number one superpower to behave in such a callous manner towards another nation on a preconceived idea not based on facts and realities but a feeling, a gut feel. gut feeling was also the same reason for the usa to invade iraq. the chinese had been a battered nation for more than a centuries, almost colonised by the western powers, including, and yes, the usa. and of course japan, the most aggressive and expansionist country next to germany during the second world war. and since china had broken free from the western power domination, it has been self reliant and developing its own economy and all the necessary functions of statehood, and a strong military force, just in case the foreign powers will do another 8 nation league of nation invasion of china. china has all the right to build its defence force to ward off any foreign invasion. has china acted in anyway to show that it harbours expansionist ambition since its return to some respectability as a nation? it fought a war with the usa in korea, to assist the north koreans and to ward off american advances to the yalu river bordering china. after the war all its forces returned to china. the american forces remained in south korea, turning south korea into an american protectorate. the chinese fought a border war with india, marched its troops to the outskirt of new delhi. it could march into the capital city. but the chinese withdrew, after teaching the indian army a lesson not to attack chinese border guards. it fought the vietnamese and could march into hanoi. but it withdrew after proving to the vietnamese that it could do so, despite suffering heavy casualties. it went into vietnam to halt the vietnamese expansion into laos and cambodia. it curdly proved a point to the vietnamese that though the vietnamese could defeat the mighty americans, they could not defeat the chinese. the point is that it did not stay on in vietnamese soil. all its troops returned promptly back to china. these were not good enough evidences to prove to the americans that the chinese do not harbour expansionist goals. but the american gut feel is good enough for the americans to pursue a hostile and provocative foreign policy towards china. and the american found the expansionist and aggressive japanese a more docile ally to sleep with. maybe japan is meek in the eyes of the americans. after all it is still an american protectorate, with a hugh american military base in okinawa.