China War Games

Miss a day, miss a lot, miss 2 days and you're out of the loop. Been away from the computer for a few days. I can't believe this has not received any play in the media.

H/T to Gypsy Keeper for sending me this:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/26/wchina226.xml



American Economic Alert published a brilliant piece this week by William R. Hawkins, headlined, "The Goldman Sachs Effect Transfers the Strategic Advantage to China." Excerpts appear below, but click through to the entire essay. Hawkins is one of the smartest, best informed analysts of the US-China relationship. He's also a prolific writer; so be sure to bookmark the site.

Hawkins writes:

"A front page article in the September 25 issue of Defense News reported that China has tried to blind US satellites with high-powered lasers, which can disable electro-optical satellites like the giant Keyhole spacecraft or even interfere with radar satellites like the Lacrosse. Satellites have become critical to American military communications, surveillance, and targeting. Thus they are at the heart of the strategy to transform the US military through net-centric warfare systems.

"That China, a strategic rival of the United States in East Asia and increasingly in this hemisphere, would seek to disrupt American capabilities should not be surprising. There have been reports for many years that Beijing was working on a variety of anti-satellite weapons. What is truly alarming is the response from the Bush White House, or, rather, the lack thereof...."

Click here to continue reading.

Man, more evidence, as if any were needed, that rising China's intentions are anything but peaceful.

In the wake of news that China has been firing lasers to disable US satellites, Australian media report that Chinese spies representing the People's Liberation Army offered the Australian inventor of a revolutionary weapons system a whopping $100 million (US) to move to China with his secrets. Mike O'Dwyer, who spent decades developing the technology that is now mainly being developed in the US with Pentagon support, revealed the overture in an interview with Australian television.

O'Dwyer's "Metal Storm" system is based on an electronically fired gun-and-launcher design with multiple rounds stacked in a single barrel. The only moving parts are the bullets themselves, which allows for an amazingly fast-firing weapon. A Metal Storm machine-gun-like weapon, for example, could shoot a million rounds in a single minute--remotely.

The technology also allows for the development of entirely new types of weapons, from handguns capable of firing many different kinds of ammunition to compact, devastatingly accurate and powerful grenade launchers that could be mounted on light trucks or aircraft.

Given China's record as an irresponsible arms proliferator--Hezbollah used Iranian-supplied, Chinese-made and -designed missiles in its month-long war with Israel--the possibility of Metal Storm technology falling into the wrong hands is worrisome, to say the least.

The Metal Storm company is listed on both the Australian Stock Exchange and on the Nasdaq. The company says it has over 30 patents pertaining to the technology.