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To the editor:
There are currently over 1,200 small- and large-scale shipyards and shipbuilding industries in China. There is only one full-service shipyard left on our entire West Coast. Once the U.S. had a dozen aircraft builders; today it has exactly one manufacturer. Once a world's leaders in commercial shipbuilding, today the US builds less than 10 vessels for oceangoing commerce in a year.
China builds over 1,000 such ships each year. The entire U.S.-registered fleet of oceangoing commercial ships numbers fewer than 200 vessels, out of a global total of 44,000. And despite trade flows to and from America exceeding a trillion dollars annually, the vast preponderance by sea, U.S. registered ships carry barely 1% of that traffic. China has the largest fleet of warships in the world, 350, while America's Navy is struggling to get above 300.
Across South America China has vastly expanded trade, bailed out governments, built enormous infrastructure projects, strengthened military ties and locked up tremendous amounts of resources. Argentina has granted sovereign rights over 494 acres of its territory to China for a space tracking, telemetry, and command facility with 16 story antennae entirely controlled and staffed by a unit of China's military. It is in longitudinal alignment with the U.S. East Coast and the heart of U.S. satellite communications networks, both civilian and military; a hugh vacuum sucking up intelligence.
Argentine plans to buy military aircraft from China thus Chinese support personnel will assist. China is also involved in Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Venezuela. The Chinese government also operates signals intelligence facilities in another locale even closer to the U.S. - Cuba, just 300 miles from the U.S. military's CENTCOM headquarters at Tampa.
China plans to establish a new military base on Africa's western coast capable of hosting submarines and aircraft carriers. Classified American intelligence reports suggest China intends to establish its first permanent military presence on the Atlantic Ocean in the tiny Central African country of Equatorial Guinea giving China's access to the Atlantic Ocean / base to rearm its naval force opposite our East Coast.
Canada planned to train China's military in our cold weather tactics and canceled the program, reluctantly, at Trump's request.
Central American Nicaragua is allowing Russian troops, ships, and planes for "humanitarian purposes." Russia's space agency has a station operating in Nicaragua since 2017 fed by 24 Russian satellites, "officially" to monitor ships operating in the country, combat drug trafficking, etc. The Russian buildup includes arming Venezuela and its neighbors. Also, the Mexican cartel has more armed men and are better equipped than the Mexican army.
Keep in mind 24 million illegal immigrants of "military age" will have entered US by 2024, none of our military branches can fill their manpower needs this year, Biden plans to release 40,000 national guardsmen because they would not take COVID vaccine, and less than 23% of our military age youth are willing to fight if need be.
Perhaps the old movie "Red Dawn" is not too farfetched!
Arthur Keller
Beavertown