NewsMax.com
Thursday, Nov. 16, 2000
In the event of hostilities between mainland China and Taiwan, top Russian military and political officials want China to have the potential of "guaranteed destruction of any U.S. navy aircraft carrier strike groupings" and have pledged to supply Beijing with the weapons it needs to accomplish this, Russia’s Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper reports.
According to the Hong Kong TaiYang Pao, Red China’s military brass are developing a new five-year plan to enable the People's Liberation Armed Forces [PLA] to have "the strength to win a high-tech war against intervening foreign [U.S.] military forces while force is used against Taiwan," along with "the capability to counter-attack the hegemonist [U.S.] military forces, including the nuclear weapons capability."
The new PLA air force five-year plan includes reliance on Russia’s supplying Beijing with Russian-designed Sukhoi fighter aircraft as the mainstay of a total inventory of 2,200 new and upgraded aircraft, according to the prestigious American Foreign Policy Council, which closely monitors China’s military establishment.
The plan calls for the building of several strategic airports and 120 mobile anti-aircraft radar stations. One-third of the Sukhoi aircraft will come from Russia, one-third will be assembled in China using Russian parts, and another third will be built in China using Russian technology and production-line equipment.
During a visit to Beijing, Russian Premier Mikhail Kasayanov put the finishing touches on several military technology contracts expected to be signed next month during the Russia-China Bilateral Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation meeting, according to Nezavisimaya gazeta.
To be supplied are various types of 3-dimensional radar systems, Shtil ship-based anti-aircraft missile systems, electronic warfare systems, Ka-28 anti-submarine warfare helicopters and Ka-27 ship-based helicopters.
The Russian also promised that China would be able to "count on a positive decision by Russia" to provide reconnaissance satellite information on strategic military facilities in Taiwan.
According to Agence France-Presse, at a prominent Zuhai air show China displayed the model of a new aircraft-delivered supersonic missile, which poses a grave threat to Taiwan.
"It's a brand new anti-ship or anti-radar missile, which could have considerable range," said Richard Fisher of the U.S.-based Jamestown Foundation.
"This is the first confirmation that this type of program is alive and making progress."
Fisher said that because the missile is supersonic, it could not be destroyed in flight. It appears primarily to be aimed at destroying radar systems and can easily traverse the Taiwan Strait.
China Eyes War vs. No. 1 Enemy
NewsMax.com
Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2000
Within the inner circles of Communist China, the possibility of waging war against the United States is coming to dominate the thinking of the leadership.
According to a front-page story in the Wednesday issue of the Washington Post:
Writing recently in the China Military Science, the military's pre-eminent open-source publication, one of the People's Liberation Army strategists, Liu Jiangjia, stated bluntly:
"War is not far from us now. A new arms race has started to develop."
That is typical of the latest line appearing in government pronouncements, stories in the state-run press, books and interviews.
They all routinely portray the United States as Enemy No. 1.
Strategists spend their time grappling publicly with the possibility that the United States and China will go to war, specifically over Taiwan.
At the basis of this is an obsession that the United States will not allow China to become strong and powerful.
It is a fear that seems to have unified Chinese officials of varying political persuasions. They are talking openly about the two nations heading for a military showdown in Asia in the next decade.
Beijing now regards the United States as actively, even belligerently, standing in the way of its two main goals in the region – recapturing Taiwan and controlling strategic shipping lanes in the South China Sea, through which most of Asia's oil must transit.
This wasn't the talk as recently as two years ago, when nearly all references to the United States were favorable, sometimes admiring.
The came the summit meeting between President Clinton and President Jiang Zemin.
Shen Dingli, a noted arms-control expert at Fudan University in Shanghai, put the Chinese perspective on that event this way:
"Jiang staked a lot of his credibility on improving ties with the United States. But after the summit in 1998 he had no successes, so he was weakened.
"The leadership tried their best, and their face was slapped by America. They must listen to the military now.
"China's public view of the United States has changed quite seriously since 1998. The United States has been painted as a threat to Asian-Pacific security. We've never said it so bluntly before.
"China is more clearly preparing for a major clash with the United States."
That is borne out by recent developments within the Chinese military capability and orientation:
• The military modernization program is concentrating on upgrading and expanding its missiles, nuclear-warhead delivery systems and their accuracy.
• China has already launched its first homemade navigation-positioning satellite, a cornerstone in its nuclear-warfare strategy.
• The air force and navy are being upgraded by the acquisition of Russian-made Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets, three Sovremenny-class destroyers armed with supersonic anti-ship missiles and at least two Kilo-class submarines.
Chinese Company Completes World's Largest Port in Bahamas
Christopher Ruddy and Stephan Archer
January 19, 2000
Bahamas – The same Chinese company that recently took operational control of the Panama Canal is currently completing construction of the largest container port in the world in Freeport, Bahamas – just 60 miles from Florida. View Photos of the Port
Several U.S. military experts say that the activities of Hutchison Whampoa Limited, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, in both Panama and the Bahamas, pose a significant risk to U.S. national security.
Officials for Hutchison Whampoa have heatedly denied any links with the Red Chinese government, but several established connections – including new evidence uncovered by NewsMax.com – suggest the Chinese government has a keen interest in the company's activities.
One port facility that has captured the interest of the Chinese government is Hutchison Whampoa's sprawling port facility in the tourist destination of Freeport on Grand Bahama Island.
Strategically Located Near U.S. East Coast
According to the company's Web site, the port is located at one of the most strategic spots in the world because "Freeport is the closest offshore port to the east coast of the United States, at the cross-roads of routes between Europe and the Americas and through the Panama Canal."
In 1995, Hutchison Whampoa [Li Ka-Shing]entered into a 50-50 partnership with the Grand Bahama Development Company, a privately owned Bahamian company, to develop and expand the small Freeport facility that had catered to cruise ships.
Since then, Hutchison has helped dredge and expand the port, making it capable of handling the largest container ships on the high seas.
According to Michael Powers, Hutchison Whampoa's General Manager for the Freeport development, the container port is simply a "dedicated deep water trans-shipment hub."
'Hub' Port for Container Shipping
Large container ships coming from several directions can off-load their container boxes, which can be re-routed on to other large or small container ships for delivery. The port operates, he says, much like Miami airport might serve as a "hub" for travelers going to destinations around the globe.
Already the port is doing a brisk business in container shipments, Powers said, and has the capacity to become the world's largest container port. He said the company also plans to make the port the world's largest cruise ship destination port. Already, Disney cruise lines will soon make Freeport a port of call.
The company has ambitious plans to create the largest air cargo facility on land adjacent to the port. Hutchison has a 50 percent stake in the Grand Bahama Airport Company, which owns one of the largest airport runways in the world – more than 11,000 feet long. According to Powers, the runway is capable of handling the world's largest cargo and military aircraft.
On 800 acres of wooded land adjacent to the airport, Hutchison plans to create the Grand Bahama Sea-Air Business Center – a center that could potentially allow for 8 million square feet in warehouse space.
Communist China Ties Disturbing
While Hutchison Whampoa [Li Ka-Shing] has a sterling reputation as a commercial enterprise – and has not been linked to any illegal activities such as drug or gun smuggling – the firm's ties to Communist China have raised concerns.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and former U.S. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger have expressed concerns about Hutchison's influence over the Panama Canal.
Lott has described the Hong Kong firm as "an arm of the People's Liberation Army."
Hutchison Whampoa's chairman, Li Ka-Shing, is also a board member of CITIC – the China International Trust and Investment Corporation. U.S. intelligence sources have described the firm as a front for China's governmental State Council.
Congressman Dana Rohrbacher, R-Calif., has stated that CITIC has been used as a front company by China's military to acquire technology for weapons development.
Closely Tied to Beijing Rulers
A recently declassified report by the United States Southern Command's Joint Intelligence Center, prepared in October 1999 and obtained by the government watchdog Judicial Watch, said that "Hutchison Whampoa's owner, Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-Shing, has extensive business ties in Beijing and has compelling financial reasons to maintain a good relationship with China's leadership."
The military intelligence report also warns that "Hutchison containerized shipping facilities in the Panama Canal, as well as the Bahamas, could provide a conduit for illegal shipments of technology or prohibited items from the West to the PRC, or facilitate the movement of arms and other prohibited items into the Americas." View the Actual Secret U.S. Military Report
John Meredith, the group-managing director for Hutchison Port Holdings, told NewsMax.com that comments made about Hutchison have often been erroneous and "outrageous."
He said the firm's involvement at the port in the Bahamas is simply a trans-shipment service.
Just Cranes, That's All
"We have no pilots. We have no tugs. We have no boats. We have no ships. We have no containers. All we have is cranes," he said.
Meredith angrily denied any connection between the firm and the Chinese government.
"We're a public company in Hong Kong. We're not an arm of anybody," said Meredith. He pointed out that less than 1 percent of all Hutchison investors are Chinese.
"I'm British for starters. I don't even speak the language. It would be very difficult for someone to instruct me as to what to do," he said
"We've had the most outrageous comments made about what we've got down [in Panama] – missile silos and all sorts of rubbish. Anybody can come and investigate," added Meredith.
No Chinese on Payroll
According to Powers, Hutchison employs about 500 Bahamians. Only five managers are not Bahamians, mostly British nationals. None are Chinese. Bahamian officials told NewsMax.com they have noticed no increase in Chinese nationals at the port or on the island.
Despite the strong claims made by Hutchison that China has no interest in their Bahamian port, evidence suggests otherwise.
A review of the visitor's log by NewsMax.com at the company's main office in Freeport shows that Chinese government officials have been frequent visitors to the port facility.
According to the log, China's ambassador to the Bahamas, MA Shuxue, has visited the port facility at least a half dozen times in the past few years. He has also accompanied groups of Chinese government officials. On other occasions Chinese governmental or commercial representatives have also paid visits without the presence of Ambassador Shuxue.
Chinese Hold Frequent-Visitor Record
The visitor logbook indicates Chinese officials have visited the port more often than officials from any other country, including the United States. View Photos of Entries by Chinese Officials in the Visitor Log
The logbook also shows that on June 2, 1999, the Cuban ambassador, Lazaro Cabeza, also paid a visit to the facility. Cuba is a strong ally of China's.
"If they have no connection to Hutchison and the port, if they are not interested in this company, why is China sending its ambassador there?" asks retired Admiral Thomas Moorer. "Why are other Chinese officials showing up there? Why is Castro's ambassador going there?"
Moorer, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also served as former commander in chief of the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets.
"Of course the Chinese military sees the benefit of having a base, a future base, so close to the United States," Moorer said, adding, "What China is trying to do is get a kind of maritime position worldwide, and they need a home base – so to speak – in every ocean."
They Even Wanted Long Beach
"Not only are the Chinese in the Bahamas, they're in Panama and the Spratly Islands right off the Philippines. They tried to get Long Beach," Moorer said.
"There's no question about the fact in my mind that the Chinese military forces are affiliated with Mr. Li, who in turn runs Hutchison Whampoa," added Moorer.
Moorer said while the port facilities appear harmless today, they could be used as a staging ground by the Chinese at some future point if hostilities were to arise in the Korean peninsula or over Taiwan.
The Bahamian government said they are pleased with Hutchison's activities, however.
Bahamians All in Favor
Lindy Russell, the parliamentary secretary in the office of the prime minister for the Bahamas, said that Bahamians are excited about the economic development the port brings to the island nation.
Besides development of the port, Hutchison has other investments on the island including a 370-acre resort in Lucaya, Grand Bahama, which includes a 49-acre beachfront site.
Russell said that U.S. officials have expressed concerns to him regarding human cargo of Chinese labor possibly coming through the ports. They had no concerns about the actual operation of the port, Russell said.
Is China in Control of the Panama Canal?
Read More on the US Situation with the Panama Canal in Hot Topics.
A Chinese company with close ties to the Beijing Communist government was planning to take over the operation of the Panama Canal, a secret government report revealed.
And according to Adm. Thomas Moorer, with facilities at both ends of the canal and an agreement with the Panamanian government, Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. has the ability to all but control the strategic waterway.
The company has long-term 25-year leases on the ports at each end of the Canal. They are run by the Panama Ports Co., a Hutchison Whampoa subsidiary.
Last November President Clinton almost let the Chinese cat out of the bag when he appeared to agree that the Chinese firm would be running the canal, but after his staff realized the extent of what he’d revealed, he pulled back, saying that he’d "misstated this.”
Asked by a reporter, "You’re not worried about the Chinese controlling the Canal?" Mr. Clinton replied: "I think the Chinese will, in fact, be bending over backwards to make sure that they run it in a competent and able and fair manner.... I would be very surprised if any adverse consequences flowed from the Chinese running the canal."
The following day, December 1, Los Angeles Times staff writer Norman Kempster wrote that "Clinton administration officials were aghast at the president’s use of the phrase ‘running the canal,’” which confirmed what Adm. Moorer and his allies were charging. " On December 9, Mr. Clinton stated that his reference the previous week to China "running the canal" was a "misstatement."
The release of the report is sure to give impetus to congressional efforts to nullify the treaty that handed the canal over to Panama -- a treaty which Rep. Helen Chenoweth-Hage (R-Idaho) insists is not binding on the United States.
The Army intelligence report declassified after a Freedom of Information request from Judicial Watch, a conservative public interest law firm, flatly contradicted Clinton’s claim and those of the Panamanian government that the company would have no role in the operation of the canal, a fact easily dismissed in the light of an agreement between Hutchison Whampoa and Panama that gives the company the right to choose the pilots who take the ships through the canal.
"It's one more piece of evidence that the Clinton administration was lying about Communist Chinese intentions in Panama," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton told the Washington Times.
According to the April 22, 1998, intelligence report, an article from the Defense Intelligence Agency intelligence information service headed "Panama: China Awaits U.S. Departure" stated "Li Ka-shing, the owner of Hutchison Whampoa Lt. (HW) and Cheung Kong International holdings Ltd. (CK) is planning to take control of Panama Canal operations when the U.S. transfers it to Panama in December 99,"
"Li is directly connected to Beijing and is willing to use his business influence to further the aims of Chinese government," the report states. An army intelligence analyst is quoted in the report as noting that "Li's interest in the canal is not only strategic, but also a means for outside financial opportunities for the Chinese government."
Congressional efforts to throw the treaty out are spearheaded by Rep. Chenoweth, who told The New American magazine:
"The Panama Canal issue is far from over. The 1977 treaties under which the transfer has taken place are still invalid, and the security problems presented by the Communist Chinese and the Colombian drug lords have not gone away. We cannot even begin to expect Panama to have near the capacity and ability to deal with these powerful entities and threats to the Western Hemisphere.
"We can either sit around and wait for something bad to happen, and then react, or we can take pre-emptive measures now, restoring the security of the region and functioning under valid law.
"We must as a Congress declare that these treaties are already, in fact, null and void, and are now being officially terminated. In so doing, Congress will send a signal to Panama that we must re-establish the strength and authority of the United States for this critical area. That is what House Joint Resolution 77 accomplishes, and I intend to continue to strongly push this legislation in the upcoming year. In fact, as more and more members of Congress learn about the seriousness of this issue, the momentum of this bill will steadily increase -- and I anticipate it being a major issue in the presidential and congressional campaigns this year.”
Adm. Moorer, in an August article in The New American, wrote:
"The Chinese penetration of Panama has been effected primarily through an entity known as the Panama Ports Company, a front corporation for Hutchison-Whampoa Limited, a Communist Chinese-controlled company owned by Hong Kong billionaire Dr. Li Ka-shing. Dr. Li’s business empire has long been intertwined with enterprises that front for the Communist military and intelligence arms of the People’s Republic of China. Ten percent of his Panama Ports Company is owned by China Resources, the commercial arm of China’s Ministry of Trade and Economic Cooperation.
"Two years ago, on July 16, 1997, Senator Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) was quoted in the South China Morning Post as stating that China Resources was 'an agent of espionage -- economic, military, and political -- for China.' Shen Jueren, the Communist official who heads China Resources, and Li Ka-shing are both partners in the Riady family’s Hong Kong Chinese Bank. Dr. Li is also a principal in the PRC’s huge China Telecom, and the China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC), a ministry-level conglomerate with global assets of $21 billion run by Chinese "princeling" Wang Jun. As chairman of Poly Group, Wang Jun also serves as the PRC’s main arms dealer to Communist regimes, terrorists, and rogue states. Nevertheless, Shen Jueren and Wang Jun, like many other notorious Red Chinese agents bearing campaign gifts, were welcome guests at the Clinton-Gore White House.”
The magazine noted that Moorer has repeatedly pointed out that Panama Law No. 5, passed by the Panamanian legislature on January 16, 1997, did far more than grant Hutchison Whampoa port concessions.
According to Moorer, the law grants Hutchison Whampoa -- and, therefore, China -- exclusive concessions, including, among other things: "Control of the port of Balboa on the Pacific end of the canal and the port of Cristobal on the Atlantic end. In addition to these critical anchorages, Hutchison was granted a monopoly on the Pacific side with its takeover of Rodman Naval Base, a U.S.-built, deep-draft port facility capable of handling, supplying, refueling, and repairing just about any warship."
Moreover, Moorer observes, it grants Li Ka-shing’s company responsibility for hiring new pilots for the Canal. "Pilots have complete control of all ships passing through the canal," says Moorer. "They determine which ships may go through and when."
As Rep. Chenoweth said, the Panama Canal issue is far from over.
The Panama Canal Giveaway and Russian/Chinese realignment
TV Interview by George Putnam of Adm. Moorer and Col. Lunev.
View this interview in streaming video!
On December 31st of this year, the United States will turn over complete control of the Panama Canal to Panama. The move is the result of a treaty signed by Jimmy Carter in 1977. But now U.S. military experts and others are raising concerns. The Canal is the most strategic waterway in the Western Hemisphere. President Theodore Roosevelt began construction of the Canal and today one third of the world's shipping passes through its waters. Former Military Commanders such as Admiral Thomas Moorer, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the country's highest ranking military official, warned that that turn over would jeopardize Americans' security. U.S. Naval forces are at an all-time low and the Canal has become even more important to help trends in American troops.
Worse - the Clinton Administration is allowing Panama to turn over control of ports at each end of that Canal to a Chinese-controlled company. The company - Hutchinson Wampoa - will have de facto control of the Canal. Hutchinson Wampoa has partnered with companies close to the Chinese military. Senator Fred Thompson said one Hutchinson Wampoa partner is an agent of Chinese espionage. Majority Leader Trent Lott has called Hutchinson Wampoa an "arm of China's people's Liberation Army" and that U.S. Naval ships will soon be at the mercy of the Communist Chinese.
Joining us today to talk about the Clinton Administration turn over of our Panama Canal is Admiral Thomas Moorer. Admiral, why is the Canal in today's day of age so very important to us?
ATM: We have an ocean to the east of us and an ocean to the west of us and frequently we must transfer military supplies, commercial supplies, back and forth; and so in peace time the Canal is very very important from an economic point of view. And in wartime, its use is vital, in my opinion. I indicated that if we withdrew and left a vacuum, that it would be occupied by some foreign nation - either Russia or China - and now the Chinese are in there in force and I consider it a very dangerous thing.
GP: Admiral, the media and our government tell us that Chinese Communists are our friends. Admiral, can we trust the Red Chinese to have control of this strategic waterway?
ATM: The answer to your question is no, because they have made a public statement to the fact that the United States is their number one enemy. And if the Chinese are down there and we have been withdrawn, that gives them unlimited options as to what they can do to damage or interfere with shipping through the Canal.
GP: What are the Congress and the Clinton Administration doing about this, Admiral?
ATM: We had the hearing last Friday by the Senate Armed Services Committee. I was encouraged by the fact that many of the Senators spoke strongly about the need to take some action now so that our security is not in danger.
GP: China has worldwide ambitions too. They've seized the Sprightly Islands. They were trying to gain a port at Long Beach. They'll have control of the Panama Canal. They're supporting the Marxist guerrillas at Colombia! What is their long-term plan? What is it for us here?
ATM: Well, the Chinese have always indicated that the proper way to fight a war was not to make a frontal assault but rather to get around behind the enemy and cut off all their supplies.
GP: Admiral, you've made a very strong case. America needs to preserve the integrity of the Canal - the Canal that our soldiers fought and died for. What can ordinary Americans do that are concerned about this threat to our own security?
ATM: I believe that the average citizen should communicate immediately with their Congressmen and Senators.
GP: All right, people interested in expressing their opinion about the turn over of the Canal to the Communist Chinese can call your Congressman or your Senator. The Capitol Hills Congressional Switchboard - 202-225-3121.
The New Russia-Chinese Alliance with Colonel Lunev - Former Russian Spy
GP: China is fast becoming a world super power. It has the largest conventional military in all the world, with more than 5 million men under arms and reserves in the tens of millions. In recent years, it has become fabulously rich; billions have poured in through a lopsided trade surplus from the United States and from other western nations. Now they want Taiwan. China's Premiere has stated China is prepared to take the free island of Taiwan by force. If America intervenes, Chinese officials told the New York Times, that Chinese would be willing to bomb with nuclear weapons - American cities like Los Angeles. China can make such threats because it has got the technology to build such weapons from the Clinton Administration. Chinese leaders have stated the goal of this alliance has one purpose: to challenge the United States.
Joining us today from Washington is Colonel Stanislav Lunev - the highest-ranking military spy ever to defect from Russia - a man who served as one of Russia's top spies in both the United States and China. A man who regularly consults for our CIA, the FBI and other agencies. Now Col. Lunev's information was considered so sensitive, so valuable that he remains in the witness protection program and this is why his appearance is disguised.
Good friend, Col. Lunev, this is incredible! The U.S. government, Bill Clinton, turned over our missile technology that allows China to hit American cities like LA with pinpoint accuracy. There have been serious allegations that Bill Clinton received campaign cash for those transfers. Col. Lunev, you understand China. You were once a top Russian spy in China. Why does China so desperately want our technology?
CSL: Because China, contrary to American point of view, is considering the United States as a leader of World Imperialism. And according to Chinese Communist Party ideology, China needs to prepare itself for the future and unavoidable war and they need to have new types of up-to-date weapon systems.
GP: Col., it's been widely reported abroad, though not in our country here at home, that Russia and China have entered into a political and military alliance. Is this true? And what's the purpose of that?
CSL: Unfortunately, it's true and just now there are real possibilities that in the nearest future, it would be real military alliance between so-called "Democratic Russia" and Totalitarian Communist China - alliance which would be directed against the United States.
GP: This is very ominous. We now have the country with the largest nuclear arsenal - Russia - allied with the country with the largest conventional army - China. And thanks to the Clintons, China's nuclear arsenal is also fast expanding. Col., is Russia still a threat?
CSL: Yes. Russian government still considering the United States like main potential military adversary or the enemy; and they are preparing military machine for the future war against America. And they explain to Russian people that America is the same enemy to Russia like it was enemy to former Soviet Union because America already destroyed former Soviet Union, destroyed Yugoslavia and next step, America will try to destroy Russia itself.
GP: Frightening! Col., you told the CIA that Russia had plans to deploy suitcase nuclear weapons in American cities at military installations and the Russians claim some of those suitcase nukes have simply disappeared. Is it possible that some of these weapons are already deployed right here in the United States?
CSL: Most, but more than 100 technical and nuclear devices designed for special operation forces commanders I think are already deployed in the United States of America.
GP: In a new videotape called "Russia's Secret War Plans," you talk about Russia's Y2K computer problems and you warn that there's a risk of an accidental war in the coming months. Col., how serious is this risk?
CSL: Unfortunately there is very real danger that the new world war, nuclear war, could happen and connected with this possible accident.
GP: Col., it's very clear to me that you have important, vital information - information the American people need to know.
NewsMax.com has a special offer to help get that information - your information - to our American people. You can order Col. Lunev's book and videotape right now by calling by going to NewsMax.com's
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