Experimental Blog # 182

Quotations from "Asia's Cauldron" - The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific by Robert D. Kaplan

" ...the South China Sea shows us a twenty-first- century world void of moral struggles .."
" ... East Asia is all about trade and business."
"There are no philosophical questions to ponder in this new and somewhat sterile landscape of the twenty-first century."
"While the United States has been distracted by land wars in the Greater Middle East, military power has been quietly shifting from Europe to Asia, < > with emphasis on naval forces."

"As a whole, Asia's per capita income rose sevenfold in less than six decades following 1950, reports Asia expert Bill Emmott .."
"Of particular note is the feverish acquisition of submarines ..."
"China has over sixty submarines .."
"India, South Korea, and Vietnam are expected to acquire six more subs apiece < > while Australia will acquire twelve new subs < > Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia will shortly acquire two more subs apiece .."
" .. Asian nations are expected to purchase as many as 111 subs by 2030 .. "

"Vietnam is in a situation similar to that of China: governed by a Communist Party that has all but given up communism, and has an implicit social contract with the population, in which the party guarantees higher or sustained income levels while the citizens agree not to protest too loudly."