A very amusing news blip happened these few days. First a top China air force commander has called the militarisation of space an "historical inevitability".
Last Monday agencies reported that in a wide-ranging interview in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Daily, marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese PLA air force, air force commander Xu Qiliang said it was imperative for the PLA air force to develop offensive and defensive operations in outer space.
Read the AFP report China chief says space arms inevitable: state media (AFP)
And then a day or two later the Chinese Foreign ministry was quick to deny this saying China plans are "peaceful"- China says space plans peaceful.
Even Hu Jintao hurried to also make a point by hurrying to make statement to try to mask over the air force commander's slip of the tongue.
I would say, that is quite amusing.
After watching the absurdly kitsch gargantuan military parade on October 1st (by the way, there is an interesting analysis by China Media Project of the symbolism behind the used portraits, slogans and songs during the military parade, read "In modern China, no place for totalitarian anthems" here) and after taking into consideration the growing territorial claims tensions with its neighbours (India, Japan, Philippines, etc.) over disputed borders and islands, and some emboldened moves and demonstrations of the growing Chinese military might, and after taking into account the de facto military situation last year in Tibet (a forcefully militarily annexed territory) and this year's heavy military presence in both Tibet and restive Xinjiang, I am very very far from convinced that China's rise is peaceful. If peaceful means under the threat of a gun, then yes, it is "peaceful".
It's like saying that "War is Peace".
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