[Skybird]

Of course it is over resources. As Deng Xiao Ping said: "The Mideast has oil, China has rare earths". That the West, namely America as formner majhor miner and distributor of rare earths, has shut down its former capacity to mine for these elements in other nations than China when the Chinese started to enter the market and dump prices (rare earths are anything but rare), does not signal great intelligence. The Americans now try to breathe new life into thewir former company that was running such mines in Bolivia and Africa, but until that attempt'S capacity will make a serious difference to global markets, it is estimated another 12-15 years will come and go, and even then fact remains that while there are other reservoirs of rare earths on the globe, Chiona seem to own the biggest one.

China has spend the past 25 years to buy the loyalty and sympathy of minor countries, MANY minor countries in the third world, by giving them lucrtaiuce business contracts and strengthening trade relations at good conditions, also spening a lot of financial aid. It's bribery by economics. Wetsern companies and American companies on the othe rhand have alienated many third world nations by the ruthless exploitation of their resources and catching the cream.

Ameria can trigger and support coup here and there, occasionally. But if you think they will attack China by military means, you are possibly wrong. And if the dispouted resource fields in the South Chinese Sea gets battled over, I see China already now in the superior military position.

This issue of competing for resources will not be decided the traditional American way (hidden violence, or open war), but the Chinese way: financial and economical conspiracies. They prepared for that by accepting America to fall into that deep dependence from China'S good will regarding certain fincial issues.

This is not so much a military issue, like the US uses to think. It is a thing of economic ties, and financial options.

The greatest idiots here - are the Europeans. They are neither militzarily strong like the US, nor economically and financially strong like the Chinese. The Euro as well as the state bancruptcy caused by overboarding social systems are no shiny examples that will be followed by the rest of the world - like the EU claims -, but is a sounding warning to everybody how NOT to run things. That's why both America and China do not ask them anymore.

I just wish the Chinese would not repeat all those environmental mistakes we have made in the West. If there is one thing they really could learn from us, then: not to repeat these mistakes.