There is increased activity in East Asia due to the fact that N. Korea will launch a ballistic missile on the 15th of April that will traverse air space near or over Okinawa.

Spot on! My money's on the third theory.

You are right on target.

Very true. I'm glad to see not everyone here is sounding the klaxon on an imminent attack by the Chinese. There is more of a threat to the U.S. from Russia than from the PRC.

People get all uptight over reports of China's navy, their submarines, the 'new' aircraft carrier, or their air force, etc. In most cases, their hardware is plentiful, but outdated.

Currently I have colleagues involved in the updating of fighter interceptor aircraft to be deployed by the Japanese Air Self Defense Force to replace their current inventory of American F-15's and F-4's. U.S. fighters sold and/or lent to Japan are the same birds the U.S. uses (TBD) with slight modifications for pilot comfort, ease of maintaining, etc. (also, 70% of the aircraft parts (not the airframe) will be manufactured in Asia - that's a deal US companies should envy for their autos and electronics). But there is one major difference between what the U.S. uses for itself and what it sells to Japan and other allies: the radar targeting and electronic warfare systems.

The Japanese aircraft are 'crippled' so to speak. The latest, in-use technology that the American aircraft employ are not installed in the Japanese models. In fact, even if you somehow obtained said missing components, they would not function. The reason I mention this, is to give you an idea of how China fares with its own air force. Japan's crippled radar systems are leaps and bounds ahead of China's 'state of the art' so that can give you an idea of the major advantage American aircraft have over their Chinese counterparts. China's in elementary school, the U.S. is in grad school.

Some may say, 'what about the downing of the EP-3 Orion?' That was due to pilot error on the part of the Chinese. It was a very unfortunate accident. But it was an accident. The pilot died. The American aircrew, whom I am familiar with, were quite distraught, since, as all pilots and aircrew know the world over, there is a camaraderie that exists among airmen regardless of nation. So to see one die, at peace time especially, is a loss for all. It wasn't an act of aggression (on either part), as the press reported at the time, and as some here apparently still believe.

Without revealing too much, I can say it was 'hot dogging' that led to his death and the collision with the EP-3, which was on a surveillance/ information gathering mission. One could argue that the presence of a 'spy plane' near their border was an act of aggression in itself, and there is a case for that, but this happens all the time. And both sides know it very well.

For many years, Soviet TU-95's were regularly intercepted off the coast of Massachusetts as part of information gathering missions. This happened about two or three times a month. Sometimes more, sometimes less. They did it, we did it off their coast. In the case of China, the birds got too close. Once the accident happened, it changed the dynamic entirely, since the public is generally not aware of these missions - they look bad for both sides, so neither wants them publicized.

Since it was going public, though, the entire incident was utilized politically more about Taiwan than about the crash or technology trade-off itself. Bush (and America) took a hit on it publicly in the press. Rest assured, though, behind the scenes (where it counts) the PRC was the loser and contrary to what the American press reported, President Bush handled it with tremendous acumen.

As for the cyber attacks by the PRC and elements thereof, they can be seen in the same light as 'testing response' as we saw so frequently with the Soviet Bear bombers. Yes, the TU-95's were bomber aircraft designed to deliver multiple nuclear warheads on several targets each. Did they? No. Were they carrying nuclear weaponry when they 'tested response'. I'll let you guess on that one. I don't want to get into hot water. I must assume everyone in the world reads everything online (as you all should). Lets just say, dosimeters aboard the F-106s and later F-15s did not (in most cases) measure anything beyond ambient radiation. So why would the Soviets send their latest bombers each capable of destroying American cities, within view of American landfall and not load them with ordinance? The answer is obvious. To test us. To test our response times - what type of aircraft were scrambled to intercept, how long did it take, what weaponry and how much was visible, AIM9s, AMRAAMs, etc. Were only two aircraft scrambled? Or were there more? What if two were scrambled off Goose Bay, Labrador, would they have others up from McGuire or Tyndal AFB?

Testing response. The cyber attacks are the same thing but in this new era that we find ourselves. If we attack this node, what safeguard comes into play, how long does it take, what's their workaround, do they have a workaround in place, or do they scramble for one impromptu? What happens if several points are attacked at once, which one gets priority? And so on.

It's a game. Testing, always testing. Cyber attacks measure response. Once again, do not assume the U.S. is passive here. The computer system's of the PRC ministries are attacked with regularity and impunity by the U.S. and its allies for the same purpose. Their press won't report on it for obvious reasons, and our own press isn't made aware of these measures, also for obvious reasons.

Because the West is their customer.

Yes, sometimes repetition works. Make that 'always works'. I was going to respond to your comment, but upon reflection and seeing the presence of insults and name-calling, I decided it would be a waste of my time.

Enjoy your day.

China, unlike much of the west, plans ahead. Far ahead. Their current actions should always be seen as how they would be effective 10, 20 or even 50 years from the present. They see a potential threat from the West that needs to be balanced by their own defensive measures, and if one recognizes the strategy of deploying an underground missile network - no surprise that it resembles a hardware version of the U.S.'s own DARPA network system from the 1950s - you can see that it's designed to be defensive in nature, guaranteeing that a strike on known missile firing locations would be ineffective and would trigger an overwhelming response regardless of whether capital and major cities were destroyed. It's a blueprint they copied from the West. If the U.S. and Europe were able to construct a network of tunnels in the Cold War, they would have. China has the land mass to achieve that without much fanfare. Their one weakness is satellite fly-overs. The underground missile network is a counter balance to that 'soft spot'.

But this is all academic. There is a major overriding reason why China would not want war with the West. Attacking the West would be like The Gap attacking the protesters in NYC. The West is China's most favored customer. And if people don't like that, we have only ourselves to blame.

And judging by the negative votes my post has received, I can see the mainstream press is as effective as usual, diverting the public's attention from the problems of the administration to an outside threat, an evil empire.

I think you can be sure that there will be more stories of the threat of China attacking the U.S. or chipping away at her defenses, leading up to the election cycle. And you can also be sure that the President Obama will be shown in a very favorable light by the mainstream press, being credited with circumventing a potentially hostile act from China.

You can bet your iPod on it.

China is not the enemy. The PRC does not wish to engage in anything that will circumvent their future development, which includes space exploration. War will most certainly disrupt that. It China wanted war, they would do it tomorrow over Taiwan. There is posturing, but that's politics. Always has been.

Think for a moment, people. Why would you trust the mainstream press regarding an enemy to the United States military? Why, for even a split second would you trust them? Do not fall for the China bashing bait. China is not an enemy of the United States. In fact, in spite of the lack of leadership and finesse of America's current president, China does not hold negative views of America at all. China in many respects is copying the U.S., using America a role model for its own development. Well, a role model from 'the good parts version', the capitalist version. Yes, in a communist country, in international cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong, it's easier to start a business, with lower taxes and more business and personal freedom than in NYC or Chicago or Boston or any big city in America. This is a fact.

When China hosted the most recent Olympics can you guess what figure upon entering the stadium created the biggest, loudest, most enthusiastic heart-felt cheering from the Chinese people? Take a guess. The answer is: George W. Bush and his father George H.W. Bush. That's right. I'll bet you never saw that on American news, did you? But I was there. As were hundreds of thousands of others. And their love of the Bushes is famous. Read a little bit about papa's stint in China as Ambassador and George's time there as a child to get a little insight into why the Chinese love them. And they do.

China is not America's enemy. China is looking to be a world economic giant. Who can blame them for wanting what we want? What danger has every economic giant faced throughout history, that caused its demise? Economic collapse? No. The greatest threat, hot or cold, was military in nature.

China is defending itself. As America did in the 1950s when we viewed the world as enemies to our own way of life. They see the policeman role the U.S. (and NATO) have been taking and disapprove and are fearful. They see the celebrity class use China as a punching bag on human rights issues while equally nefarious violations continuously happen within the borders of America and are ignored. They don't want the U.S. or the UN meddling in their domestic affairs, just as Americans don't want The Hague ruling on Americans in an International Court of Law. Again, who can blame them for wanting what we want?

I ask you to ask yourselves why would the mainstream press be harping on the "China is evil" theme?

Collusion Broadcast Service

Tokyo is okay. But worried about the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant up north. Teams on site assessing next move.