China is a sleeping giant. Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move the world.
This week, in yet another announcement of China's growing list of military partnerships, The People's Daily News announced greater military partnership with Canada. The deal gives the Chinese Navy access to Canadian ports, further increasing China's aspirations for a blue-water navy.
This new deal was announced just a month after the controversial Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) treaty came into effect between Canada and China. The treaty, supported by conservative Prime Minister Stephan Harper, has been denounced by many in Canada as a direct attack on Canadian sovereignty. In particular, the fact that the treaty cannot be amended until 2045 and gives China an unequal advantage in Canadian trade -- all disputes are resolved via arbitration, which is not obligated to follow Canadian Law, with no legal recourse for appeal.
These developments should alarm American politicians, even though they have been largely ignored by the mainstream media. The last several years have been marked by increasing conflict with the Chinese Navy by American forces, including an attempt to board the USS Cowpens in international waters in December 2013, as well as numerous naval aircraft encounters.
Access to Canadian ports will give the Chinese Navy the ability to patrol near our coastal waters and increase the harassment strategy of occasionally encroaching on American territorial boundaries.
American businesses should be concerned as well. Legal experts contend that the FIPA treaty's provisions would supersede Canada's obligations under the NAFTA treaty -- potentially undermining the world's largest trading bloc.
One thing is certain: China now has a foothold in North America that they aren't going to lose any time soon. Even worse, many American lawmakers want to cement the relationship with the Keystone XL pipeline, which will pipe Canadian oil through American territory, ultimately for sale in China.
American politicians need to wake up and make a concerted effort to advance American foreign policy and trade--before it's too late.
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