kwaigonegin
Colonel
Do we know for a fact that no photos were taken during Chuck's visit or just that they haven't yet release them for public consumption?
PLAN Aircraft Carrier programme...(Closed)
- Thread starter bd popeye
- Start date
- Status
Do we know for a fact that no photos were taken during Chuck's visit or just that they haven't yet release them for public consumption?
Honestly I doubt they were afraid of journalists harping on about that because we can be sure the outlets that would make those claims would still make those claims with or without proof.
I think you are reading too much into this. The PLA is still relatively closed to open media and the liaoning is still their first aircraft carrier. Not wanting media onboard makes me think it was a decision made out of habit rather than any fear of journalists seeing some stuff they can write home about.
It isn't like china cares that much about what news journalists "criticize" about the "quality" of its weapons anyway, so Icant imagine they'd oppose foreign media for that reason.
Hell we can bet Hagel knows more about carrier design than any I the journalists that could have been invited, and is in a much better position to speak about it as well.
So way to make a mountain out of a molehill guys.
AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
I would bar the Western media from coming on board myself. It serves no purpose. I am surprised the Chinese haven't released their own photos. If Hagel ask for this tour, can you imagine what else was asked? A visit to CAC to see the J-20? Hagel is said to have called for a mutual dialog on each other's cyber warfare capabilities. The Pentagon has really not admitted that the US has cyber warfare plans against China. All that information has been exposed by Snowden. So no one can really complained about non-transparency.
I'm not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill..that's for certain. Selfishly I just want to see some fresh photos of CV-16. That's all..We've been looking at the same photos for 18-19 months. It's time for some fresh photos.
It's actually a huge gesture diplomatically. And by my reading of Obama and Xi's visit last year, the cybersecurity of both countries were discussed with far more candor than what they could or would let on in the press. It's unlikely that Xi didn't know the details of the US's cyberspace activities before Snowden's leaks. All Snowden has done is change the public discourse, not the private one between leaders.
If the pols had their way every photo opp and press event would be handled by their communications office and not the press. China gets to get away with it because their press is not as open. Besides a probable prerequisite of the tour was that foreign press not be allowed to turn details into a political bludgeon.
Last edited:
AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
Well that's been the case all along. Obama obviously only cares about what the public sees which contributes to why China and many other countries including allies are angered behind the scenes. Environmental summits like Copenhagen show Obama knew nothing from there was going to get ratified by Congress so he publicly blamed Copenhagen's failure on China because if he didn't, the US would've been blamed when Congress voted it down. He wanted Copenhagen to fail from the start and he orchestrated it to fail. If Obama were a Republican, I bet allies wouldn't be biting their tongue so quick.
Being more transparent behind the scenes than in front of the press has always been the case with foreign policy, with every world leader, in every country. The US is not exempt on this front, but it's not special either.
This is really off topic, but I'll drop one comment on it. A lot of countries got blamed for the failure of Copenhagen, the US included, and the US press went as far as putting partial blame on the US for its failure. Last time I heard Obama say something about Copenhagen, he actually emphasized that he could reach a last minute agreement with China, and I certainly don't remember the administration blaming China at the end of the summit. Suggesting that Obama didn't want Copenhagen to succeed also runs pretty counter to his climate change positions, AS WELL as his domestic political situation at the time (he had absolute control in the Congress).
Last edited:
by78
General
He did visit the hangar bay, but naturally there was nothing for him to see except honor guards and some mockups.
Don't get me wrong, by 'open and straightforward' I was comparing with PREVIOUS Chinese practices, not American standard
- Status