If you build a business infrastructure in someone else’s country, it is mostly you who are economically dependent on them.
Can’t they?
Well, yes, but ad-hoc is the unofficial motto of the USA I think!
Sure, this base itself isn’t that interesting (as far as we know), though ND does have other sites of interest. it’s the general idea that is rational I think. Any country that routinely makes its foreign businesses in particular extensions of its security apparatus deserves at the very least extra scrutiny. And the Chinese are extremely aggressive in extending their ideas of sovereignty into other nations, as witnessed by the actions of their consulates in various cities.
No, I don’t think this is a big deal, really, nor do I think there is an imminent danger from a Chinese agricultural business in the middle of nowhere. But I don’t think opposing a big Chinese owned firm near an Air Force base is that silly, either.
Totally normal China stuff.
“Our mill uses a lot of expensive drones and balloons.”
Yeah yeah, but if that’s really the primary purpose then why not just buy a farm? It’s way cheaper, and if you do it through a corporate front then this conversation doesn’t even happen.
I doubt the primary purpose of such an enterprise is anything other than exactly what it appears to be, a money-making agribusiness. That isn’t the point, really. And truly, I’m not going to be upset if they build the thing there. I just think it’s reasonable to consider not allowing it to be built there. I have no beef with the Chinese, but I do have a real issue or three with the PRC government.
It’s really important to remember that in China, businesses don’t have the same kind of rights as they do in the US. In the US, if the CIA wants data from Apple, Apple has the right to say “fuck you, we’re not giving you shit”. The US government cannot just take away capital or land from companies at will, and if it does then the company has the right to sue the government for compensation. I’m China, if the government tells you to install secret surveillance devices in your corn farm, you either do it or the government shuts down your company and you’re put on trial for (often made-up) criminal charges.
I honestly think many of the Chinese “spies” that they have caught in the US are just as afraid of what would happen to them if they didn’t steal secrets as they are “loyal socialist patriots”.
In other words, these kind of business deals are dangerous because of what the government could potentially do in the future, not necessarily what it already has planned. It could simply be a business deal with no government involvement, but that doesn’t mean the government won’t get involved in the future.
Yeah, the mill is a legitimate business. That’s also beholden to the CCP.
So maybe a few years down the road, they are told to hire a guy who they will pay even if he rarely ever shows up for work at the mill and needs to store a bunch of electronics on site.
Probably though the best tactic would be to let them build the thing, but force them to hire only local farm boys who will pretty much make it impossible for the management to actually get anything nefarious done as they will be too busy keeping the damn plant running.
This article from 2021 discusses that current ammo delivers about 10 megajoules of impact energy, but next-gen 120mm rounds could up that by 30-40%. But Rheinmetall is also eyeing 130mm.
The Abrams uses a licensed version of Rheinmetall’s 120mm gun.
What magical surveillance devices are they installing that provide valuable intel from 15 miles away? What interest would Chinese military intelligence even have in a base that only seems to carry out rear echelon functions? If the purchase is rejected, why can’t they buy a house or a farm even closer to the base without anyone even noticing? What is the point of defending this level of paranoia?
There is a place between paranoia and indifference, but the precise boundaries of that space are open to interpretation.
That’s sounds exactly what a Chinese spy would say!
Saw a dude point out that everyone running around with TikTok on their phones is probably a much bigger security threat than that corn mill.
Yeah, but what if it’s dudes running with with TikTok at the corn mill? It’s like espionage squared.
No no no, its about the tunnels!
Or do they cancel each other out…?
It’s weird and rude… but is it that much different from our massive and awesome network of spy satellites? Maybe the reason the Pentagon was okay with the spy balloon floating overhead was if we got serious about blowing it up, they’d get more serious about using anti-satellite weapons against our beautiful eyes in the sky.
Maybe altitude is the deciding factor for what’s okay and what requires immediate military responses. Low Earth Orbit, that’s like a hundred miles up. Spy planes and spy balloons, that’s only a few miles up. It’s like international waters start 24 miles away from land, so as long as you’re flying above 126,000 feet, it’s like international air. On the other hand, the CNN article said the balloon/airship was at 60,000 feet, so that violates the rule I just made up.
60,000 feet is lower than Powers’ U-2 was and it was decidedly not considered okay by the Soviets.