China’s Military Scandal: Why a Taiwan Invasion Might Have Just Become Impossible

Unveil the shocking truth about China's military corruption! Dive deep into leaked reports exposing missile malfunctions, widespread graft, and the potential fallout on global geopolitics. Don't miss this eye-opening Warographics special!
→ Subscribe for new videos at least twice a week!
kzbin.info...
Love content? Check out Simon's other KZbin Channels:
Biographics: / @biographics
Geographics: / @geographicstravel
MegaProjects: / @megaprojects9649
SideProjects: / @sideprojects
Casual Criminalist: / @thecasualcriminalist
TopTenz: / toptenznet
Today I Found Out: / todayifoundout
Highlight History: / @highlighthistory
XPLRD: / @xplrd
Business Blaze: / @brainblaze6526
Simon's Social Media:
Twitter: / simonwhistler
Instagram: / simonwhistler

[@BB-ih3bk]

The idea that someone can be so corrupt that Bloomberg takes notice of it is both terrifying and laughable.

[@jeremiahtorrevillas4396]

Lmao

[@komaykoMAH]

I think pointing out Chinese Military is just mediocre , everybody know about them right? I am not even surprise, didnt expect much from them.

[@Bogdan221192]

*laughs in russian*

[@billykann7725]

Game recognized game...

[@samuelboczek1834]

China is nothing compared to what is happening in Russia or even most of the Eastern Europe. The reason Bloomberg took notice has more to do with the recent tensions between The West and China, rather than China internal issues alone.

[@alexoliver2399]

Slight correction: The phrase "Fill water" is a mistranslation. "Filled water" is a common Chinese phrase used to denote that a high quality item has been replaced with a lower quality item (Such as an expensive broth being replaced with tap water). Despite what Bloomberg states, the Chinese missiles were not literally "Filled with Water", but rather, the expensive rocket fuel used in the missiles were replaced with subpar fuel, with officials pocketing the difference. This means that Chinese missiles would still be able to fire & work as normal, but would not have enough range to go further than the Chinese coast. It also means that Chinese missiles might self-implode if they were ever launched.

[@jeffreykalb9752]

Thank you for that clarification.

[@flickcentergaming680]

That's almost worse than being filled with literal water.

[@alert.272]

If they were in fact liquid rockets they should not be fueled at all. Rockets with liquid fueled motors never are stored with the fuel as their tanks are not meant for long term storage of such volatile and or / cold substances like rocket fuel or lox.

[@sassysquatchgaming5960]

@@alert.272unless its hypergolic fuel which we use in ours specifically because of longer term storage in silos, they have to be able to launch at a moments notice and it could take 20 minutes or more to transfer cryogenic fuel in the rocket

[@JamieR2077]

​@@sassysquatchgaming5960not sure where you live but in the US, from my reading, the only active missiles are the minuteman iii which use solid rocket fuel

[@rogofos]

in Russia we have a common saying:"strictness of laws is negated by the optionality of their enforcement" I think it applies to Chinese corruption quite well, as death penalty for corruption in China is not unheard of, yet corruption persists nonetheless

[@MultiNike79]

Ты серьёзно поверил этому бреду? :)

[@TeRRm0s]

@@MultiNike79 какому "бреду"?

[@MultiNike79]

@@TeRRm0s про такой уровень коррупции в китае. Это же типичное англосаксонское расчеловечивание, на типичном детсадовском уровне. У них это часть национальной культуры, но русскоязычным зачем поддакивать?

[@danielowens9824]

Doesnt exactly roll off the tongue....

[@rogofos]

@@danielowens9824 yeah it doesn't in English because its translated from russian you napkin

[@Weazel1]

Another important lesson not touched upon is the reason for the missing fuel. If the troops are so insufficiently provided for in something as high profile as the rocket forces, how bad is it for guys in the field? I imagine supply issues are rampant throughout the Chinese military but aren’t really talked about.

[@qwerp261]

That's what I thought... These high tech military bases don't have microwaves?

[@mehere8038]

I remember hearing similar stories from somewhere in the US military many years ago. I can't remember the details now but it was something like the fuel they were given for cooking their food gave it a smell or gave off smelly smoke or something & so they chose to use mission fuel for cooking so as to avoid that, cause they liked it better. Pretty sure in that case it was just requiring lots of additional fuel be shipped in & it came out when their supply section FINALLY realised there was a problem in how much fuel was being used, but at taht point the practice had been going on for many years. I don't think they have any cooking stuff nowadays, I think it's all built in heating, probably in part as the fallout from that. Anyway, just saying, I wouldn't assume it's lack of supplies based on that. Plenty of western militaries have also had people speak to the press about soldiers being told to "say bang" when pretend shooting at each other, because of a lack of bullet supplies to save costs (that's what soldiers report anyway, it could also be a safety thing in the settings where it's occuring)

[@GizzyDillespee]

The big problem isn't soldiers taking some jet fuel for cooking. The problem is that the contractors who supplied some of the rocket fuel provided a cheaper quality of fuel, and pocketed the difference. The story about cooking with jet fuel is unrelated to this scandal, and came from a defector, who told the story over a decade ago, about events that happened even before that. IDKY the news people are conflating the two stories.

[@vaffangool9196]

*You really have to* take those stories with a grain of salt. The most basic of militarily-useful solid propellants burn at over 3000°C, at least double the melting point of any stainless steel, aluminium, brass, or cast iron cooking vessel.

[@brettb614]

​​@@mehere8038 truly spoken like someone who's never been in the military. The reason we say "bang" during training is not because of a lack of ammunition or even an effort to save ammunition. When you are in the early phases of learning squad tactics you don't want to fill everyone's magazines with live ammo for obvious reasons. So we say "bang". Once units reach a certain level of training, and at scheduled training evolutions live ammo is used, but only once said unit has been well trained (yes, it's that simple). The US military has always and always will use the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid). No different than Olympic athletes drawing success from the continuous practice of fundamentals. When fundamentals are mastered they become muscle memory and that's when you have an effective solution to a problem. This is main reason for the success and readiness of US forces vs other nations that don't have the funding to do the training needed. It costs a lot of moolah. As far as using jet or rocket fuel for cooking in the US military... Not sure where you heard this but nothing could be further from the truth. The average grunt, mechanic, supplyman, etc doesn't have access to the areas where those items are stored unless they specifically work in those areas. Even then very strict documentation is maintained to account for known quantities inbound and outbound. Let's just stick to the facts instead of conjecture and rumor please.

[@spookyghostwriter3110]

As a person of Chinese descent, this isn’t surprising at all. Comical levels of corruption has been a plague two centuries running. You had admirals breaking down warship guns for scrap metal, an empress looting the army funds for palace renovations, and the utter disarray of the Warlord era. Yeah, not really that surprised here.

[@sparky6855]

It’s almost impressive how much of an absolute disaster much of Chinese history has been in the last two centuries

[@TheFivegoodemperors]

There were some who were not corrupt like San Yatsen, Yan Xishan and others but much of the leadership (KMT and especially Communist) have been very corrupt.

[@kieranh2005]

I recall reading a story from the Chinese navy in the early days ( pre Russo-Japanese war) where in one of the few 'modern' warships they had, the officers had sold off the gunpowder and filled the magazines with trade goods. They were using a big expensive modern cruiser as a tramp freighter up and down the coast of china. But what about the admiral? Surely he would have put a stop to it? It was his flagship...

[@lucamckenn5932]

But according to most knuckle dragging idiots, a big army is scawy. Even though military history has proven that unit cohesion, strict discipline, and adept training has always been the better way. Would you rather wield a thousand nails or one spear? Its really that simple.

[@Jason-gg4lm]

Just proves that stereotypes exist for a reason🤣

[@Frostnburn]

As a Taiwanese, I would say that it's never completely off the table for China invading Taiwan because that's their internal rhetoric for many years and someone will be crazy enough to launch one, even if it is doomed from the beginning. So I would never agree with closer economic ties with China, because it opens door for them to conquer us economically, if they can't militarily take Taiwan then it's even more important that they don't take over economically, let them stay at an arms length and implode themselves over their Taiwan policy.

[@Adonnus100]

Question. If the US abandons Taiwan and you get surrounded by China's navy, would you still fight on the ground? or give up?

[@JDDC-tq7qm]

Lol Japan that would get liquidated by North Korea imagine a big country like China 😂😂​@@kyleblankiv7589

[@Adonnus100]

@@kyleblankiv7589 Biden wouldn't abandon Taiwan, but Trump might. he is always thinking isolationist and prefers dictatorships to democracies.

[@Di3mondDud3]

Japan is not allowed to operate military elements outside its borders. Hasn’t been for 90 years. They’re still in timeout for Pearl Harbor, that’s why you don’t hear about anything but their home guard. Now would we do anything but slap their wrist for hitting china? No. But technically it would be a worldwide issue.

[@Pinnaclebeacon634]

@@Adonnus100Trumps not even an option anymore lmao. Every American leader will fight for democracy. The senate and congress hold way more power than the president lol.

[@XShaneX19]

This cements my theory that countries who constantly show their "might" with great military parades on a regular basis are only strong until they have to use force instead of demonstrating it.

[@Euduchaus]

Cements your bias then. Not that you are wrong in this particular stance, but to apply this type of reasoning to solve problems is a recipe to failure.

[@u2beuser714]

​@@Euduchaus For example france holds military parades and india too india does it even more in fact yet both have very capable and competent militaries.

[@panzerfk0626]

military parades most of the time are about a especific historical military event in that country, some politician usings hem to make their army look strong its more circumstantial than anything and isnt related to the existence of them, flawed logicc

[@kennethrollo7891]

Most country's would struggle to invade any country, nato with America at the top have the capabilities and have proved it, as for the rest unless it's a neighbour or internal it's probably not possible, and before people say Taiwan is a neighbour it's quite a formidable opponent.

[@j.dunlop8295]

Korean war, (Vietnam)the "soldiers" poor Chinese farmers some barefoot, sent in midwinter attacks, with threats of being machine gunned, into wave attacks! ~100,000 died of frostbite! (look to the past, to see the future?)😮 How many treated, same way during COVID-19? 🤔🇹🇼💙🇺🇦

[@MattSipka]

Don’t assume that an invasion being detrimental or impossible to achieve for a nation means they will not attempt such an action.

[@DarkJak337]

They might, but I would like to ask you a question. Do you think Xi Xinping is willing to risk the same kind of humiliation Putin is currently experiencing? Because the real test is never whether it could work. It's always about whether it could be perceived as working. If China's military is so underprepared and undisciplined, could Taiwan even be invaded with any success? It isn't enough to win, they must win capably in such a manner as to make the world believe they are a threat to others as well.

[@valueradar3362]

*cough* Ukraine *cough*

[@louis.b333]

Well said

[@jameswyman3973]

​@@valueradar3362 Ukraine has been decimated by Russia and when Russia decides they can sweep the entire country they will do so. There is a bigger game being played that we are not given the information to understand. Always remember this fact.

[@MrSpookersMcGeeThe1st]

Napoleon learned that lesson the hard way. Russian winters are a bitch, huh?

[@azahel542]

The one thing that makes me believe China's military is probably not that scary is how much they focus on choreography. They believe that acting like robots is a sign of efficiency, but in war things can get pretty unpredictable. Corruption, inflexibility and inexperience will severely limit the PLA in a real conflict, no matter how many aliexpress F35s they build.

[@dpelpal]

They're an even bigger paper tiger than the russian military.

[@westrim]

Every time military parades come up, I remind people that every day spent preparing for parades is a day NOT spent preparing for war.

[@t.n.h.ptheneohumanpatterna8334]

I’m pretty sure china is playing the long game and will wait decades before invading

[@PrimericanIdol]

Trump was right. The US should have a yearly parade like China, Russia, France, etc.

[@billyxxxx1738]

@@dpelpal Keep in mind that the Russian military had combat experience and are used to large scale military operations, botch as they may be. The last time China fought a war was with Vietnam and ended with mixed results. If they are eyeing Taiwan, it's not gonna end well for them.

[@jmullen010]

Well i just shared this far and wide, something this important needs an audience. Excellent article, thank you

[@stamdar1]

Thanks for providing sources in the description

[@acmelka]

I worked on and off in China over the last 20 years. Corruption and the required lavish dinners were mandatory across the board in the early 2000's. By 2017 they were gone for most business as people were afraid of being charged with corruption. My colleagues mentioned 'except in the military '. When we were discussing it. Never gave it much thought.

[@brandonboi9465]

People don't realise how deep the corruption goes. It's not just a bunch of generals skimming off the top. It's down to the individual unit level and even individual soldiers, scrapping, selling, etc, their equipment.

[@pr0xZen]

​@@user-jn7tq9gh6g😂

[@LaFonteCheVi]

@@user-jn7tq9gh6g Over 70% of Chinese fossil fuels travel through US controlled waters and China exists at the end of the longest energy supply chain on the planet. It also cannot feed it's own population without the US. China's military has no real war experience, especially not a modern war. It's corruption within it's bureaucracy rivals the USSR and it's demography is unsustainable. Also, logistics win wars, not "mach 25" missiles.

[@1996Horst]

​@@user-jn7tq9gh6gnuch fantasy little content. You should consider joining the vatnik bots

[@zz3OPEN]

@@user-jn7tq9gh6g Lmao

[@j.w.2271]

Widespread corruption in a centrally planned economy? I am SHOCKED and APPALLED

[@nickrigopoulos589]

This!

[@zenster1097]

Yeah because capitalist dumps are not corrupted. 🙄

[@AlcoholicBoredom]

I can already feel the vitriolic cope in the replies from the Western wannabe socialist zee/zers that will undoubtedly respond to your comment.

[@Drownedinblood]

China is collapsing any day now....

[@andrewrogers3067]

@@DrownedinbloodNo it’ll be a while.

[@joshuasteel2109]

Awesome video Simon thank you for sharing.

[@rickanna8662]

Great commentary, first I've heard this.

[@brianmulholland2467]

Before we get too confident that there won't be a war over Taiwan is growing less and less likely, let's remember that not all war decisions are made using game theory like risk/reward assessments. Sometimes a leader has a political faction critical to them holding power barking in their ear, and even if that war is ruinous in the long term, the leader has to do it anyway because the PERSONAL consequences would be disastrous and more immediate if they don't. I think it's ALWAYS been the case that invading Taiwan would be an epically stupid move. Ukraine, China's economic downturn, the risk of long term economic sanctions and damage, and the fact that they're unlikely to be successful (according to nonclassified wargames) all tell the tale - China should NOT invade Taiwan. But with alot of US advanced programs scheduled to bear fruit in the early 2030s, and their buildup, Winnie the Pooh may have hawks in his party who think it's 'now or never', and want to roll the dice. Perhaps hawks who have bought into their own propaganda, or believe the west is too weak/corrupt to stand up for Taiwan. Just because it's a stupid decision, doesn't mean it's a decision that can't be made. That's why sticking with Ukraine and building up deterrence in the short term is so important. It needs to be obvious even to those hawks that the west will act, and they will lose.

[@iddomargalit-friedman3897]

Exactly. Basically any minimally sane and competent US administration would have made it an insanity. But the weakness is so glaring it has to be tempting. Honestly it seem like the west and its rival are at a race to the bottom, and we are lucky they are falling somewhat ahead.

[@raskltube]

yeah exactly dude

[@phalidomex3961]

On top of what you said, I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that China might invade Taiwan to overcompensate for this news getting out. Even it's not rational, they might invade because they want to restore their global reputation.

[@Past10Performance]

Idk how people don't see this. And this whole video is taking a Chinese leak at face value. If you were right about to invade wouldent it be very good strategy to make your enemy's think your army is weak, while clamping down on corruption makes those at home more likley to fall in line and giving you a excuse to hide key officials before a offensive starts.

[@TheAustin007powers]

Yep

[@appa609]

To clarify: "filled with water" is a Chinese idiom meaning "cheaped out" or "cut corners" usually implying using substandard workmanship or parts. The missiles are not literally filled with water.

[@klaasbernd]

Thanks. I had taken it litteraly

[@klaasbernd]

Thanks. I had taken it litteraly

[@Bob-Fields]

Yes, and the fact that the content in this video does not speak to the meaning phrase in local terms speaks volumes about the reliability of anything it has to say.

[@FusionC6]

any channel/video by this guy - you need to take a box of salt with@@Bob-Fields

[@Spanner249]

@@Bob-FieldsThat’s normal for this channel. They act like subject matter experts but actual subject matter experts find serious flaws in the content.

[@Mr_nah]

I’d stay cautious in case it’s disinformation… never underestimate your enemy. Edited: F.ing autocorrection

[@OdinWannaBe]

lol

[@breguera77]

After this report, it seems the US is actually quite over prepared for war. US war doctrine preps the military in lockstep with the propoganda its adversaries pump out. If China claims to make a 6th gen fighter, the US is already working on a 7th gen

[@uraniumcranium2613]

Over estimation is worse. Look at how the west viewed russia, stronk. But we are now seeing that russia was nowhere near what they hyped themselves up to be lol.

[@Gsoda35]

you could disable it and use word suggestions only.

[@bored588]

@@uraniumcranium2613 true, they got a few nukes and thought they were hot shit, but at least they are smart enough, or have been smart enough to not use them, other than those they are using old tech in a modern war, they sent soldiers to modern combat holding mosins, that should tell you all you need to know about how "stronk" they are.

[@mittman9977]

Awesome video Simon, Thank you!

[@gw5436]

I worked in China up until 2015 and the scale of corruption on all levels, even down to the people making the products, was unfathomable. The more important you were, the more exposed you are to corrupt personal gain, and the more likely you are to profit. This is a huge reason why Chinese products sold worldwide are just basically crap, and their military equipment is no different.

[@AliothAncalagon]

From what I have learned from people who spend some parts of their career in China it seems to be a fundamental part of Chinese culture. All one has to do is read about the "36 Strategems" by Tan Daoji to see where this will inevitably result in problems. Which is also why I am sceptical about any attempt of a solution. You can't change a countries culture over night.

[@rhddfgdfdrgd]

so it's just like us eu africa and russia. said with other words they are just as corrupt as all other leaders and countries. how many lawsuits have been filed against your former and current president and their family in the last 5 years alone

[@Dudemon-1]

DJI drones from China have been quite effective in Ukraine.

[@axetroll]

​@@AliothAncalagonwhere is Confucius Teachings?

[@AliothAncalagon]

@@axetroll Also in China. If..... that was your question.

[@saldiven2009]

One correction: The people hand picked for the positions (who were subsequently sacked) weren't picked because they were seen as the "best and brightest" that the country had to offer. They were party members who had been given the appointments due to perceived loyalty to the people who made the appointment. The Chinese government is not a meritocracy.

[@stephen6815970]

DEI is much the same, and it is already becoming the ruination of the West and the West’s military.

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

Ours (the US) isn’t a meritocracy any longer either. We are short 45,000 front line troops. The Generals are studying “white rage”. Message received. Traditional whites die at twice their enrollment. They volunteer for the front line action.

[@simonspacek3670]

And people will still say that "China is not communist country but crazy capitalist country, that is why it fails". It is just like Soviet union.

[@R3GARnator]

Xi purges the best and brightest because he is paranoid about anyone opposing them. Xi likes his dogs dumb and obedient.

[@Mawyman2316]

Good correction, I also thought that line was a bit misguided

[@advkow]

It's been oddly comforting to find all these dictatorships aren't as powerful militarily as they claimed.

[@robertoceccato6507]

Però è sconfortante vedere la popolazione mondiale subire la follia di quattro dittatori.

[@justinnelson4530]

Yes.

[@SkunkApe407]

They rarely are. The last one to actually back such claims were the Japanese, and we saw how that turned out.

[@insanusmaximus2857]

It's also comforting that, for all the problems the United States might have, our democracy has produced the greatest military in the history of mankind.

[@Multichar]

In the recent history*​@@insanusmaximus2857

[@Longbranx]

New Channel for me, love the video! But please do something for the audio, it was really exhausting to listen cause of the big amount of echo/reverberation.

[@philippedefechereux7896]

I read that Bloomberg News article the day it was published (I am a subscriber). I'm glad you picked it up and now publicize its implications. I drew exactly the same conclusions.

[@Ozraptor4]

Reminds me of the Battle of the Yalu River (1894) when the Chinese fleet sortied to face the Japanese, only to find that most of the heavy shells were filled with cement and broken porcelain, while the gunpowder charges were from condemned batches well past their use-by date. Glad to see modern China keeping this proud military tradition alive.

[@Rebellpanzer]

Now think of Korea and Chosin

[@timvertz3687]

“Glad to see modern China keeping this proud military tradition alive”….lol! 😊

[@j.d2765]

Glad to see how ignorant ppl try to act smart on something it knows shit about... get some proper education before you make fun of others... the first China- Japan war was never called "the Battle of Yalu River" in any circumstances...

[@Barrybadrinath287]

@@Rebellpanzer the ambush where China had a 4-1 manpower advantage and succeeded in nothing more than letting the US retreat while taking 3x the casualties.

[@Rebellpanzer]

@@Barrybadrinath287 They kicked our ass out of NK , underestimating your opponent is an American trait

[@perceivedvelocity9914]

So, your telling me that the home of low quality knock off merchandise is riddled with corruption? That's shocking.

[@PrimericanIdol]

YOU'RE. If you can't bother to spell correctly, you don't deserve to be listened to.

[@seymourbutts4654]

Is rubber dogshit still being flown out of Hong Kong ?

[@gareth6861]

Bravo, quality comment!

[@kravernar]

@@gareth6861 well... he's not wrong 🤣

[@Jay-jb2vr]

Low quality knock off merchandise that Uncle Sam depends on

[@Griffiana]

I think if there is one thing history has taught us is that when an autocratic state decides on something it will do it - whether it makes any strategic sense or not. I can point to Russia and Ukraine, Hitler and Halder (as Troyriser mentioned), Gallipoli and several of the weirder troop movements in Medieval British history. China may find itself in a position where it makes sense to attack Taiwan, purely because the party needs some kind of enemy to bolster itself against.

[@semikalnarizal]

And also think that information like this should be kept on the down low to prevent realization to adversaries .

[@jeko32]

It's very unlikely that the missiles were actually filled with water. The term "Guan Shui" (translated to "water filling") is a colloquialism and means that someone has replaced valuable or important components with things of significantly lower quality and/or cost.

[@MultiMcgruber]

Let me guess, a literal translation would be "watered down"?

[@jackbaxter2223]

@@MultiMcgruber 'to irrigate', apparently.

[@jmumps7]

Didn’t they have issues with soldiers and commanders draining the fuel for other uses tho?

[@grimgrahamch.4157]

I wouldn't put it past them honestly. I've seen a lot of Soviet equipment being salvaged for parts that went unnoticed for decades. So long as an official inspecting it doesn't look too hard, or can be easily bribed to look the other way, they could get away with it.

[@themilkman6969]

the report said “filled with water instead of fuel”. if they were using the idiom that’d be like someone saying “that’s a whole other can of worms instead of soup”.

[@redneckgaijin]

The one thing I want to point out is this: if you looked at things rationally, and from a perspective of abilities to wage and maintain war, World War 1 should never have begun. But strong men in positions of absolute power do not make rational decisions; they make decisions based on the idea that they are unstoppable and above repercussions.

[@johnsamu]

WW1 wasn't started because they really wanted to wage war (remember the leaders of Germany and the UK were close family aunt/nephew). They were forced by mutual alliances/treaties following an sudden event nobody predicted (the assasination).

[@OmegaLaser-xy4ip]

No, it started because Germany was going to be new superpower with the railway oil project along with turkey

[@redneckgaijin]

@@johnsamu Except you're omitting that Austria, having just had their only pro-peace high official get assassinated, had decided they were going to invade and annex Serbia no matter what, and Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted to prove he was big and bad and thus gave Austria a blank check to war all they wanted. The treaties only came into effect because Austria and Germany decided they wanted a war. (Also, Germany didn't believe Britain would involve itself over something as unimportant as Belgian neutrality, and even if it did the war would be over before it could raise significant forces.)

[@johnsamu]

@@redneckgaijin The pre WW1 sentiment seems to have been that war was unavoidable because the Great powers of those days Germany, Great Britain, Russia, France all were trying to have colonies in Africa and Asia as well as extend influence in Europe. That's why there was initially a lot of enthousiasm in the participating countries during the starting stage of the war. ALL parties overestimated their own capabilities (nationalism at work here) and thought it would be "a walk in the park".

[@thefisherking78]

This is true, but Xi Just received a clear message that he cannot trust any of his forces to perform as expected. That doesn't mean he wouldn't still do it, but it means the level of stupidity or recklessness required is now much higher.

[@benjaminbowman3342]

The whole water inside the rocket sounds like a giant misunderstanding for me. Because if you know anything about rockets, you know in order to pressure tests their internal tanks, you do it with water. Not a volatile explosive.

[@nonnius2861]

If they are solid fuel rocket boosters though they will not be pressure testing the tanks?

[@GreekAekaras]

Bro you have a fantastic Channel

[@Thetequilashooter1]

My older brother has a few friends who work for “the government” with jobs that they’re not allowed to say exactly what they do. I do recall a discussion that I had with one of them around a year ago, and we were talking about China’s military. I brought up how much it’s improved over the years, and how I was concerned about going to war against it over Taiwan. He couldn’t get into specifics, but he calmly assured me that the US has nothing to worry about. And I haven’t. It was the most reassuring words he could have said. And after seeing how poorly Russia’s military is performing in Ukraine, I think the western countries can feel secure for quite a few decades to come.

[@ToolofSociety]

Ukraine has been a fantastic opportunity for the western defense industry in general. The USA is sending Ukraine old stocks that are close to being decommissioned/disposed of anyway. In return we're getting all kinds of very useful combat information. War games are great and all but nothing beats actual combat experience to find the problems with your weapon systems and doctrine. Also we get a bit of an economic stimulus as the government orders up replacements for the old gear.

[@davidelliott5843]

The big problem with pyramid regimes like China, Russia, NK etc is they are the most dangerous when their top dogs feel threatened. While Shi (sp?) do, now that he can’t hide his military being fit only for fancy parades? Will he lash out anyway and hope. Much as Putin did and continues to do?

[@jonathanpfeffer3716]

I’ve heard many more say the opposite. Rightfully so, unless an extreme quantity of the PLA’s forces are straight up non-functional, which is optimistic in the extreme, they represent a very very very serious threat by quantity and in some very important areas quality.

[@nosuchperson5578]

@@jonathanpfeffer3716 press x to doubt

[@Thetequilashooter1]

@@jonathanpfeffer3716 Who are the many that told you the opposite because it sounds more like your personal opinion? The problem for China to use its quantitative advantage is to get those numbers into Taiwan, which would be very difficult. There are very few places in Taiwan where China can use its amphibious forces to secure beachheads, and the air will be contested to make it extremely difficult for paratroopers to land. You’ve seen the huge losses that Russia has taken offensively, and even a small river has made advances nearly impossible to penetrate. China has the whole Taiwan Strait to get across.

[@SaitamaLover]

Every corrupt person ever: "Weed out corruption, only I am allowed to be corrupt"

[@t84t748748t6]

if u got a corrupt person on the top u know every 1 below it is corrupt we seen russia military in ukraine why would china be different

[@Chubbzgolf]

Thanks Simon you actually make me understand all of these crazy things in the world much love

[@starhelmsilvercrest3785]

Perun touched on the Bloomberg report on his channel. He did a very good job explaining why some of the things reported should be taken with a pinch of salt.

[@getnohappy]

It's important to remember that autocratic regimes are corrupt by design. It's what allows leaders to 'legitimately' remove rivals under corruption charges; the charges are almost always true it's just that the only people 'caught' are done so for other reasons. So a removal for corruption doesn't mean a less corrupt person will take their place.

[@mcmarkmarkson7115]

Sweet summer child, POLITICS is corrupt by design. Autocratic or not changes nothing about the nature of power. Democracies just usually do better because its much harder for individuals to get too much power. But greed unites the western politicians in their abuse of taxes just the same. And they don't mind starting wars if it helps their career. Start talking about Support of X war in say the middle east, and suddenly your campaign funds magically are boosted.

[@worldcomicsreview354]

Just what I thought, they're "discovering" corruption among officials considered to be less than loyal. If a bunch of people decide to oust Xi, they'll suddenly "discover" he's corrupt, too.

[@N.i.c.k.H]

Worse than that, it is suicide to call out corruption except on those below you in the hierarchy

[@elmohead]

But the news said xi just purged corruption of their entire military arm? Does that mean it's working?

[@ERICHOEHNINGER]

Exactly. Also, they exaggerate their capabilities when they don´t want to act and down play it when they are about to do it.

[@MatSpeedle]

That moment when you find out your missles all came from Temu... 🤣

[@mondoseguendo6113]

😂😂😂

[@ksrawat88]

😂😂😂😂

[@lifeisameme8174]

naaaah, more like Wish lol

[@jeffreywhitlatch1409]

Corruption is rampant everywhere and so is deadly equipment failure.

[@marmer1327]

Ah man, gotta watch out for those hydro powered missiles 😂

[@troyriser8074]

Just because invading Taiwan would be irrational and doomed to fail doesn't mean it wouldn't or couldn't happen. In WWII, Franz Halder, Hitler's chief of logistics for Operation Barbarossa, warned Hitler that his staff was telling him (Halder) there simply weren't enough resources & railways to guarantee operational success, yet the invasion went forward anyway. There are other historical examples too numerous to mention. Yes, invading Taiwan would be a cataclysmically bad idea. That doesn't preclude its reality.

[@giladmachluf3663]

I think it does. Xi Jinping would care about the success of an invasion, since history (especially within the Chinese public) would link it to his leadership. If he launches it and it fails, he'll be a laughingstock. So unless the CCP is willing to launch what might be one of its biggest censorship campaigns since Tiananmen, I don't think they're going to risk it. Of course they could just be idiots and do it regardless but I would like to hope they at least have some foresight, fantastical as that notion may seem.

[@brandulak]

I wouldn't call Operation Barbarossa outright irrational. Germans saw Soviet failures during Winter War with Finland, so despite knowing the limitations they counted on quick sweep of Soviet forces. This would allow them to use vast Soviet railway system and oil fields on Caucasus to keep the gears turning. Risky but not irrational. Better example would be current Russo-Ukrainian war, where the initial invading force of 200k russians was insufficient for any meaningful operations and doomed to fail from the get go.

[@user-po3ev7is5w]

So? BIG difference. Barbarossa DID work enough to get to Moscow. China wouldn't even be able to land troops on Taiwan. HUGE differnce

[@txsnowman]

@@user-po3ev7is5w Germans never made it to Moscow. They got stopped outside of it

[@user-po3ev7is5w]

The fcking suburbs. That's like saying I didn't get to Los Angels as I was stopped in Korea Town. Rent an IQ@@txsnowman

[@sideshowbob]

As a civil engineer w/3+ decades of experience w/a gov't transportation agency in the northeast US, I have been following the Chinese infrastructure expansion fairly closely for quite some time. Recently, the vast & pervasive amount of shoddy work due to corruption & incompetence has really become apparent due to the overwhelming obvious physical evidence of systematic failures all over China of all sorts of infrastructure, from hi speed rail to highways to utilities to bridges, as this infrastructure starts to age beyond a mere decade or so (there are gobs of you tube video's about this as well as online articles, many from engineering publications, going into far more detail). Imagine what China will look like as their infrastructure approaches the typical 50 year lifespan we always designed to in the US (often 100 years for major facilities). So it should come as no shocking surprise whatsoever that the same endemic corruption & incompetence would permeate all aspects of Chinese society including finance & business (plenty of evidence of that as well recently) & of course the military. There might have been some hesitation to think the military was as bad as other aspects of Chinese society, considering the amount of saber rattling Chinese leadership does, & the consequences of failure, but apparently not. It would be a Grave mistake to underestimate Chinese ability to correct these problems in less than a decade or so. The West (& it's Asian allies) should not let up their diligence in modernizing their militaries & forging strong alliances & mutual support treaties. Likewise, the west should continue to divest itself from dependence on Chinese manufacturing, especially for critical industries such as tech, vehicles, aerospace, etc. This is no time to get lulled into complacency. So, one place China could look to expand it's ambitions is certainly eastern Russia. That's one country they Know they can beat! It would seem the rewards would be far greater than Taiwan (at least if decimated in a war).

[@hi-friaudioman]

The only problem is the capitalist addiction to cheap labor. If the wall street cronies would stop getting their dicks hard for Chinese labor maybe corporate america would follow especially seeing some of the more recent risks to their businesses i.e the zero covid disaster and said saber rattling from China. Chinese leaders want their cake and eat it too but it's hard for a communist to fully understand pure, unadulterated capitalism, because capitalism is overwhelmingly allergic to anything that harms the bottom line and they just don't understand that and I think they never will.

[@Nono-qy5to]

Xi Jinping has been trying to fight corruption since 2012, purging officals left and right. The latest news just show that corruption is inherent to the chinese political system and can't be reduced without extremely far reaching changes to the government, the kind of which Xi has already failed to implement in the past decade since he has been in power. There is little reason to believe anything will change in the next decade. Nonetheless, Chinas willingness to attack Taiwan should not be underestimated. Especially if Xi gets desperate and comes to the conclusion that a war might solve some of these problems.

[@ericgranberg8893]

I have been saying for months that President Biden should send a back door message to Xi pointing out to him that America would have no dog in any fight between China and Russia, should China ever decide to take back Mongolia.

[@Wess-S]

👌

[@N8_R]

This was my thought too. I would hate to be in the Chinese military, be sent out with guns that jam, fake kevlar... yeesh.

[@mpiemanb]

In America, the fix for a situation like this would be to disassemble the complete fuel system and either replace or completely refurbish all parts that touch fuel or are part of those systems that regulate fuel. This solution would be upgraded to the latest revision to increase reliability and performance. The Chinese would most likely drain the tank without washing and drying and refill. I have refurbished aircraft parts (from a foreign customer) that were "refurbished" in China and were not used due to the unacceptable job they did.

[@kyarailumi]

hi what mic did you use? I like how it sounds very clear

[@BillyFMitchell]

Probably a boom mic

[@kyarailumi]

@@BillyFMitchell thank you, I don't have any idea about mic or audio stuff

[@bonefishboards]

If a hypergolic fuel tank is filled with water, then that fuel tank can never be used again rendering the rocket unusable forever. Mixing hypergolic fuel with any moisture will lead to catastrophic failure.

[@nicholasbrown668]

I love reading this comments mainly because actual members of the DOD have stated a lot of the information in this "intelligence report" is false as liquid fueled rockets don't stay fueled constantly even keeping jetfuel inside a missile for too long can severally damage it oh and Bloomberg has stated multiple times they can't even verify the source this "report" is from

[@felixtoulgoat3185]

Do you have a source about the fact that it can never be used again?

[@Zman44444]

I am completely speaking outta my Xi-hole, but introducing water to the system could induce corrosion? Perhaps rusting?

[@hallo0hoi]

@@Zman44444 The fuel itself is also corrosive. I don't know if they absolutely couldn't refuel them, but they are going to be really sure no moisture is left in the tanks or fuel is screwed.

[@61zu]

Update to this comment, this comment applies to NON hypogolic fuel tanks. Some aircraft have a system in place to remove water condensation from fuel tanks. This process is known as "fuel tank sumping" or "draining." Pilots may perform this procedure before a flight to ensure that any accumulated water, which can contaminate the fuel, is removed. Water in the fuel can lead to engine problems and affect the overall performance of the aircraft. Pilots typically drain a small amount of fuel from the lowest point in the fuel system and check for the presence of water. If water is detected, it is crucial to address the issue before the flight to maintain the safety and reliability of the aircraft.

[@TheBodomite]

Consider the lessons learned from the Soviets; purges are never about corruption. The purged individuals might very well have been corrupt, but the true motivator behind purges is always to remove political opponents or make someone a scapegoat. I also find it hard to discount the theory that, much like the PRCs problem of overbuilding, investments in the armed forces are simply a way to keep the economy looking better than it really is.

[@kaiwatson18]

Yeah for sure! But I reckon China wants to look weak as in their military all their soldiers read sun tzu

[@Steelmage99]

" investments in the armed forces are simply a way to keep the economy looking better than it really is." See the US for another great example of this.

[@buckbucker8020]

@@Steelmage99 Agreed. The only difference is the US defense industry usually delivers a good product (even if overpriced).

[@dudeman1094]

Removing political opposition sounds familiar as well...🤔

[@TIsForThomas]

​@@buckbucker8020sometimes...

[@dobrzpe]

Excellent!

[@endthefederalreserve8866]

Years later I come back and the mic quality on the S's in words are still ear grating

[@fiatcurrency8135]

The 'elephant in the room' in all this is the development of India. While Russia's situation may be deteriorating, India is certainly motivated to keep sharpening its sword. In many respects India has the same problem as China - all kinds of issues plague the Indian military. Unlike China, India has a belligerent neighbor (Pakistan) that periodically tests its defenses. As India's economy improves, so does it's capacity to field aircraft, missiles, ships, and submarines. If China has to focus its military on any one border, it leaves the other ones exposed, and both the China/India border and China/Russia border are enormous.

[@dcmhsotaeh]

Nobody is looking into that angle India will burst out on the scene soon Actually in democratic India The free press in India makes it very tough for corruption on the Chinese scale to be seen in India

[@PaulRudd1941]

What? I thought both Pakistan and India developed nuclear weapon weapons so they could be friends!

[@KiwiSpartan1]

China v India PvP Russia v Ukraine PvP South K v North K PvP

[@BOBANDVEG]

Russia is not deteriorating

[@SkunkApe407]

Yeah, well, India could have counted on US assistance in such a case, until they started assassinating US and Canadian citizens. Now they get to worry about that on their own.

[@squireson]

"...we don't know, but Xi certainly does." *Actually* ... that's part of the problem with endemic corruption, it undermines confidence that the _leadership_ knows the extent of the problem or can rapidly survey the difficulties that need to be overcome. Afterall, if the reporting and inspection systems were intact, there wouldn't have developed this degree of disfunction.

[@markschneider7794]

Xi probably doesnt even know the whole extent either. There are two things going against china in reguards to information. The east asian concept of face and lying to look good for higher that is endemic to socialist/communist states.

[@joselitostotomas8114]

Very true. The pikachu face Putin must had had when he found out his vaunted military was less than advertised due to the corruption from the ministry on down.

[@pyroman6000]

Good point. Hindsight and all that aside- i really wonder if Putin knew just how bad things were in the Russian military when he was debating whether or not to invade Ukraine. If there is one thing heads of state REALLY hate, it's being embarrassed

[@randybutternub031]

I heard that the ccp only tells Xi the “good news” so he doesn’t have a meltdown 😂

[@isaachillman1874]

I think we should clarify that the communist China is known as the People’s Republic of China and the nationalist China, residing on the island of Taiwan is officially called the Republic of China. There are two Chinese states.

[@edisrafehtable]

Taiwan was "invaded" by the ROC when the ROC retreated out of the mainland, huhuhuh. Earlier, the PRC and the ROC both had considered the possibility of Taiwan, former colony of Imperial Japan, to become an independent country like Singapore and Vietnam. Anyway, moral of the story: Chiang Kai Shek sucks.

[@nunyafuckinbizniz]

After your video about the 3 gorges dam.......yes, china has a Death Star exhaust port weakness ....only it is huge.

[@scottsmith9137]

An important thing to understand about xi's anti-corruption campaign is that it was never about weeding out corruption but instead about targeting his political opponents.

[@edencastillo4417]

When it comes to military it is literally an anti-corruption campaign. You can’t use your military if your equipment is flawed

[@sd13533]

This is blatantly untrue.

[@lucassmith1886]

Exactly. The corruption will remain because their entire system is broken. Even their basic judicial system is a dog and pony show

[@edisrafehtable]

@@sd13533 dunno about the recent military purges, but many years ago it certainly started out that way

[@BruceFarcau-ke7oj]

I’m a retired foreign service officer and military historian and this site consistently delivers a brilliant analysis that is both valuable to a professional in the field and accessible to a casual reader. Well done!

[@user-cm1qp8md2b]

This site is biased as fuck and has no clue what it’s talking about when it comes to china. All these western sources parrot the same information about china. Yet they have never been to china or have any contacts inside china. If u were to go to china and actually experience what it is like and how efficient things are run nowadays. Then it would be quite obvious that this bald know it all man in the video has no clue what he is talking about.

[@Cr0nkR]

for only 99.00 a year, you can get more!

[@TheMoonDejesus]

As someone that listens to actual high level ex military discus’s geopolitics everyday, I found this to likely be utter nonsense. I’m not well versed enough in Chinas military equipment but the little blurbs he gave on Russia were complete nonsense so that makes me doubt the validity of this individual as a source. There are propaganda lines on Russia and China and they are usually pretty far from the truth but the US and UK need to keep the peoples opinions inline and in support of their aggressions.

[@cisarovnajosefina4525]

Surr

[@johnwolf2829]

Funny, to me this story stinks of "disinformation". If they were planning to start WW3 this year, this is exactly the kind of thing they would put out there.

[@TJForehand]

I can hear a faint ticking in the audio of this video, I think your mic is picking up your watch.

[@richardquinter6]

Using missile fuel to cook hot pot you cannot be serious😂😂😂

[@masterchinese28]

I have had American friends and family who have reached out to me for years, while I've lived in Asia, asking about China's rising military might. I have told/reassured them for a long time that lack of experience, uneven force development and incompetence meant that "China would get its ass kicked." This not only confirms, but reinforces my position. China would be better off focusing on policies that support and grow its newly emerged middle class than playing out military dreams and ambitions.

[@messiahmatrix]

Thank you very much, I am an American, with a big family, so are in the military, and I am comforted by your words. I was worried of droves of highly skilled Chinese soldiers who had no respect for human life attacking Japan, Korean, Taiwan, and so on

[@poopymcfartass1640]

Chinese can only fight wars with their own people... thats about it. These people dont even have the discipline to flush the toilet after they shit, and thats no exaggeration, ive seen it firsthand.

[@G2Bryce]

So dumb. So naive. You know nothing. China fought the US in Korea and in many ways crushed the US. To this day the US is still so ashamed of Korea it barely gets talked about, it's called the forgotten war for a reason. Wake up! War with China will be even worse this time around, don't take it lightly

[@ethanm8093]

Did combat experience stop France from getting steamrolled by the Germans in 3 weeks? Did combat experienced stop the IJN from getting demolished at midway by a far less experienced American fleet? Did combat experience help the seasoned Iraqis stop the fresh faced American led coalition? Such a tired take. People are so desperate to huff copium and believe that China isn't a threat that they most likely use this shit to their favor. Its funny because if you can read the Chinese white papers they actually downplay their capabilities compared to actual field performance, they're different from Russians because they don't feel the need to flex on armchair generals on KZbin and reddit.

[@Dept246]

When China was a poor country in the 1950’s they held the UN and USA forces to a stalemate in the Korean War. The Americans also didn’t invade North Vietnam during the Vietnam War because they were afraid of China and a million PLA soldiers entering the war. As far as “China would get its ass kicked” maybe that is why they are increasing their nuclear arsenal to about 1,500 nukes and developing other weapons like drones. They are not standing still and may soon reach a MAD situation with the USA. Remember when the Soviet Union had 50,000 nukes during the Cold War. Sure the Americans could destroy the Soviet Union during a war but the USA would also get destroyed as well.

[@user-em2pe3rf4h]

Here I thought that China exported all of it's cheap crap to the Walmarts in America... it's nice that they kept some for themselves.

[@BV-fr8bf]

*Thank you* , I needed that laugh!!

[@user-em2pe3rf4h]

@@BV-fr8bf "Nothing left to do but smile,smile,smile..." ~ Grateful Dead

[@jackthorton10]

Hey, what are you saying, it’s the best they got, the highest quality… guaranteed ;)

[@dishmanw]

Naw, this is the stuff rejected by Walmart and Amazon. Even TEMU won't touch the stuff.

[@dennisligma4958]

Hell no they are all at amazon where I work. Republicans started trade with China, ie, Nixon admin and ever since they have sent jobs out of America to benefit the wealthy owners or top 1 percent

[@selohcin]

I've never seen such a successful man wearing BCGs. Truly extraordinary.

[@darrylmuse9948]

Haven’t heard the term BCGs since I got out the Marines 😂😂

[@mortenfrosthansen84]

In a country, where there is only one policy, there is bound to be widespread corruption.. If you can't change people's minds or opinions, then you can pay them for favours even if it contradicts that person's belief or faith

[@BenSalernoMedia]

The fact that something as central to the PLA's invasion plan as missiles are falling to graft shows some insight into the mindset of the PLA itself. You don't graft if you think you're about to go to war, you graft when you think "this is never getting used, I'll never get caught." If anyone knows that they're not ready, it's them.

[@450AHX]

I like your interpretation, but it's also possible that they believe there won't be a war during their careers not because of lack of capability, but because of lack of motivation.

[@jonraybon8582]

The military might know that, but perhaps Xi doesn't. That's the problem with dictatorships, they are surrounded by yes men, afraid to tell the leader the truth. This is exactly why Putin decided to actually attack Ukraine

[@christopheryen7993]

Decades ago Deng suspected the same thing and used the invasion of Vietnam as a test for the PLA. Found out the hard way as entire battalions and armored brigades got lost even before they showed up to the theater of operation.

[@Desertfox92308]

And the Vietnamese kicked their Red asses out of Vietnam!

[@yoshu4221]

The thing that the West needs to remember when it comes to a potential conflict with countries like Russia or China is they may be corrupt but they also place a much lower value on their soldiers' lives. In the west if 100 soldiers die, there's a massive press frenzy over how it could have happened. Russia/China just throw bodies at the problem. It's not the best solution, but it can solve problems a surprising amount of the time. The west has technological superiority at the moment, but its population base is fickle. Russia and China are two nations that historically don't start questioning their governments on a big enough scale to matter until everyone's starving to death.

[@famousraperandrapperkriswu656]

v

[@lgd1974]

Given the very poor state of readiness by the US Navy due to failed LCS programs, delayed Constellation class frigate building, and the slightly failed Zumwalt program, I have been greatly concerned. This news is quite welcome and comforting indeed.

[@artel6225]

Rumours are just that, & a fool would only deceive themselves taking any confidence in them.

[@StephenJohnson-jb7xe]

Anyone familiar with the issues with property development in China would not be surprised to hear that the same type of issues are occurring with their military too.

[@PS3Vids10]

Completely different issues.

[@nvelsen1975]

Different issue and blown well out of proportion. Remember the same Russian-paid doomsayers loudly said China would be bankrupt in 2022 with Evergrande?

[@StephenJohnson-jb7xe]

@@PS3Vids10 so this surprised you then?

[@tritium1998]

It builds property too instead of having nothing like many wish.

[@user-ii3vn8tn3q]

The banks are failing, too.

[@TheFivegoodemperors]

The One Child policy caused parents to pick boys to preserve the family name and be financially taken care of in old age. That makes the boy family heir financially responsible for his parents and grandparents. If that heir dies, it’s a Saving Private Ryan situation, the PLA can’t fight a real war anyway.

[@sonialelii9038]

That's one of their biggest problems. They have a one -son army.

[@bestestusername]

And with all the money floating around over there now how many of these rich kids will want to fight and loose everything. Even moderate wealth will change the thinking.

[@TheFivegoodemperors]

⁠@@bestestusernamethis is not even mentioning that India could take Tibet (or other lands) as an invasion of Taiwan (plus all the other islands Matsu, Kinmen etc) would take up most of the PLA resources.

[@Kaiserboo1871]

@@TheFivegoodemperors India wouldn’t annex Tibet, they might liberate it however. Worst case they turn it into an Indian puppet state.

[@tianwong152]

@@TheFivegoodemperors India can't fight their way out of a wet paper bag. How the fuck are they gonna take Tibet?

[@mangokin9506]

Respect, aminos.

[@RobertMadden]

Paper Tiger, yeah, I think so.

[@Skanking-Corpse]

I've long been of the opinion that China is far less of a military threat than we have been lead to believe. I've felt that China really doesn't have much confidence in its military, which is why it is so skittish about using it. A authoritarian country like China loves to make an appearance of power, but actually using it scares them because if things go badly it could totally undermine the government. China hasn't fought a war in some fifty years and they lost that one, so there is virtually no one in their huge army with any real combat experience, most of the army is conscripts who are farmers and other rural living peoples. China loves their drills and huge formations, but those are not going to save them on the battlefield where things can change at a moments notice. Now we add the rampant corruption (which I'm not surprised by) and we can see China is really not ready to wage a war of any kind. That's not necessarily to say they couldn't be a tough opponent, but just that China isn't going out of its way to start a war they are not confident about winning.

[@MrZoomah]

Up until recently I would have disagreed with you. Some of hte defence white papers would have shown that China and the US had so many missiles that the opening two days of the war would have crippled both countries. Given their missiles aren't working... That changes things drastically.

[@zaco-km3su]

You realise the US is not that far off?

[@LordKasadoad]

@zaco-km3su Please explain further.

[@linphilip6389]

​​@@LordKasadoadUS can't win in Ukraine or Iraq. Ur IQ is pretty low

[@MintyLime703]

​@@LordKasadoadHe can't

[@SagittariusDable]

_,,When you are weak, make them believe youre strong. If you are strong, make them believe you are weak...."_

[@lightfm90]

Sun Tzu, China's military bible lol..

[@MrGlugz]

Indeed. I would take such reports with a massive mountain of salt. It's in their best interest to lie about military strength. I can easily see a scenario where they build defective equipment on purpose just to leak the info later.

[@frozenmann2592]

You dont have to be strong if your country makes bio weapons.

[@therealspeedwagon1451]

⁠@@lightfm90China’s military Bible? He’s THE military Bible worldwide. If you’re any soldier or general or any military administrator you absolutely need to study Sun Tzu, he’s the best military masterminds out there and it’s amazing everything he said 2000 years ago is still very much relevant today.

[@TheTougeArtist-tn9oq]

China's military force play call of duty to simulate war. The US has seen war and our generals are battle tested and battle proven. Yeah man China can act weak or whatever, but they are weak so......

[@joecole-632]

Imagine how Temu’s tanks and warplanes will work

[@mikeh4469]

They bluff alot of their power for PR, but don't underestimate the damage that shear numbers of canon fodder can inflict.

[@richardcutts196]

It just shows that the people in charge of the rocket forces don't believe they'll ever, or at least not while they are liable for the failure, have to fire their rockets. It's not like a tank, truck, or plane where you expect it to actually do something on at least a semi-regular basis. Strategic rockets just get put into their silos and sit, get 'tested' then sit some more. Eventually they are replaced by newer rockets all with no real proof they ever worked or the silos could open quickly in an emergency.

[@justicar347]

That is a profoundly chilling comment on human nature. Its why I try not to think about fire extinguishers or airplane lifejackets.

[@CZpersi]

Imagine e buying a car in the 1980s, putting it into a garage, leaving it there for decades, and then expecting its engine to start flawlessly some 40-50 years later with a single turning of the key. This is the problem of strategic missile forces. The US spends tens of billions of dollars each year just to keep its nukes in shape.

[@snikrepak]

​@@CZpersifun fact, WD-40 was made just for this exact reason! And another reason why the USA will always have an edge over anything in this dimension, and from what Im reading recently, in other dimensions!

[@user-xk1sy9pl6z]

I got a pretty good deal on a Chinese missile, but I had to get rid of it because it drove my water bill through the roof!

[@richardcutts196]

@@justicar347 What are the chances a similar situations exists in Russia.

[@annabellethepitty]

This has been the general attitude in the 7th fleet of the US NAVY for decades. First hand experience has shown many that the Chinese are basically all talk. It was, however, always in the back of our minds that they may actually back up some or all of the saber rattling. The fact that they overplay much of their military power is no indication of their resolve, and as we have seen in the past, overwhelming force is not necessarily a guarantee of victory.

[@sanriosonderweg]

Its not just talk, the drones in Ukraine are chinese. These stories are released as Bidens foreign policy positions are in shambles, disadvantaged in every theater, its obvious cover for the regime.

[@greebj]

They are also all about face. Which is what worries me. When they provoke an incident (as they regularly do with freedom of nav patrols in the Natuna/West Phillipine Sea (the sea to the south of China) all it takes is one pilot to take the non-professional option and not back down to cause an incident that may escalate.

[@SpartanArmy117]

Yes but even as this guy pointed out, China is being backed into a corner. it's now or never and Biden is the weakest president we've had in a long time. I don't think they'll out right invade but a blockade is almost a certainty this year.

[@Kamamura2]

Well, Chinese did not lose in Afghanistan, Ukraine, nor Vietnam. Chinese know their Sun Tzu - they seek victory before battle, not vice versa.

[@GenX-RadRat]

Overwhelming force is what we have not them

[@dariusweisz7440]

makes me happy to see that "made in china" also stands for poor quality in military matters

[@sgtitters]

How do we know they're not lying?

[@MrOkidoke]

灌水 in Chinese (pronounced "guànshuǐ) usually means "irrigation". (It's also the name of a town in Shandong Province.) But the two characters (taken separately) mean "fill" and "water". And, most importantly for your report, "灌水" is also a common Chinese idiom for "artificially increasing weight to cook the books". My guess? The editors (reporters?) at Bloomberg don't speak Chinese. This suggests to me - someone with really basic Chinese - that all the speculation about actual H2O in Chinese rockets wildly misses the mark. I suspect it's more likely that one or more people with responsibility for China's rockets was caught "cooking the books." But using actual water to fill up rockets? My best guess is that's just poor translation.

[@zarkelee]

So may so-called china experts who know neither Chinese characters nor Chinese cultures draw such a ridiculous conclusion based on the words translated by machines that the military power of the China is not competitive.😂. Is it that all the CIA spies sent to China have been caught? The intelligence capacity is so low 😅😅😅

[@Kriss_L]

Yes. The chances of missiles being fueled with water are pretty much nil.

[@nathangriffiths6218]

Replacing other liquids with water is a common method of fraud, fuel and water would have approximately the same weight so it would be a relatively simple way to steal the fuel and not raise suspicions. Does not seem at all far fetched to me. Another meaning of those Chinese characters is "to inject water into meat to increase its weight" so it can also be read in a very literal sense of filling something with water for fraudulent purposes.

[@Kriss_L]

@@nathangriffiths6218Other channels have covered this with better information. Short version, liquid fueled missiles are not kept fueled and are sometimes rinsed out with water.

[@takeflightfinance644]

they drive tanks made out of paper mache and it surpsies you they put water in rockets hahahahaha

[@bumblebee9337]

Vietnam kicked their ass in the 1970s. Some things never change.

[@bos5474]

Well it seems so 🤔

[@user-xy9nq4dc7z]

That's even after they kicked our ass

[@lifeisameme8174]

@@user-xy9nq4dc7zVietnam OP. Won in both fronts, against US and China.

[@captjinxmarine9832]

If water was actually standing in missile cell then they will need most likely to replace the cell itself.

[@blackjesus804]

Bluffing works. The stakes to call it and be right are expensive and the stakes to call it and be wrong are enormous.

[@ATBatmanMALS31]

When I was in the Navy, I was pretty let down by something: our p3 orion Harpoon pylons had outdated "Kapton" wiring. This was "gun decked," as the harness swap should have happened when I was in middle school. It was a big deal, and ended up being a lot of work... but, at no point, did those pylons not work. The were almost equally combat effective in either configuration. Western corrruption was building them to begin with ... not their maintenace and use. That is the difference.

[@nvelsen1975]

Recently our commando force blew a couple hundred million on purchasing a glorified quad. It's listed as lightly armoured, but uses your face to deflect bullets and our (listed as) unarmoured Mercedes cars had better armour. In fact this vehicle, called the Vector, is inferior in every way compared to its rivals. It initially ran on a twostroke moped engine, 1920's technology, then quickly adopted a stock Austrian engine when the Vector was about to lose the bid. Turns out all shareholders in the company that makes the Vector, Defenture, are former officers of the specific units that purchased it.... With one exception, who is the Tiel based moped dealer who builds the damn things for them, who's known only for building inferior cheap quads that run on ancient twostroke engines.

[@keesvankooten1092]

@@nvelsen1975 Always have to love how corrupt Dutch policy makers are.

[@TheDavi2001]

Corruption is building them to begin with, truer words have never been said, just look at the A10

[@TheDavi2001]

@@North_Indian_ bot

[@alsanchez5038]

Ni hao. How is the weather in Beijing?

[@MeltiahNye]

I was a supply officer in our Navy, and there was a tiny bit of corruption on a personal level, like "I'll come and knock out those little welding jobs if you can get me a ten pound can of coffee..." We call it comshaw. But every man-jack on the ship was devoted to the mission, and corruption on a larger scale was dealt with swiftly and people lost their jobs and went to prison. I don't know how a communist country could ever hope to install that in its personnel.

[@patnor7354]

Lol. You think there is no corruption in procurement? Corruption in the west merely looks different with bribes being comfy positions and stock options after leaving the service/politics.

[@Hooyahfish]

100%

[@sechran]

Was it compulsory? If you and your crew were there because you *chose* to be, that makes it infinitely more likely that you'll at least have some semblance of a damn to give about the mission. For someone without a choice, it is easy to understand why their regard for what they're doing is limited to "the bare minimum or less."

[@SlyBlu7]

Americans: I was loyal to the military because if I wasn't, I would lose my job and go to prison. How can a Communist country instill that kind of loyalty in its citizens if they don't fear losing their jobs? Also Americans: The Chinese government is so evil. If you don't cut your hair exactly like they tell you to, they'll drag you out behind the shed and sh∅∅t you. So, which is it then? 😂

[@TheDancerMacabre]

I gave the supply LPO a carton of newports for him to just expedite a parts request. Was the equipment broken? Yes. Was it "mission critical": No. But I wanted WEPS to get off my ass on why we weren't doing OCSOT at 2 AM. Sure enough, we got the replacement part at the next port, was able to put it in, and we didn't have an empty chair at an op test. It's Win/Win/Win for everyone and it just cost me 25 bucks.

[@jonathancooper5104]

"Appear weak when you are strong and strong when you are weak" I hope they are not "appearing weak" on purpose.

[@ArmoredXJ]

Very interesting

[@VibratingSky]

As a Brit, I've always taken our low corruption for granted. It does happen, but it's almost always called out and is typically business fraud/expense scandals. I can't imagine the military being corrupt.

[@aussiewanderer6304]

Corruption in the West in government usually takes the form of kickbacks on overpriced contracts; the work still gets done, just at an overinflated price.

[@Jonathan_Doe_]

Have you been living under a rock for the last 14 years? 😂 Our governments barely even trying to hide their efforts to funnel taxpayer money to their donors private companies anymore.

[@jamesray1439]

Then you definitely should read about how your nuclear subs were held together by super glue

[@10secondsrule]

Corruption does not stand out in the country where you are robbed daily at every single step you make. From the government to your neighbours kids. Every single day.

[@VibratingSky]

@@10secondsrule Yeah, people have different views on taxes. Some people would rather live like a Victorian than ensure basic standards. I'm actually in favour of taxes to fund basic services so don't see it that way.

[@n0chabizniz]

Extraordinarily well written and researched episode. And in so little time. Hats off to Evan! This man deserves more than a quiet end slate credit, Simon!

[@DK-ev9dg]

He is overclever and China hater. Tell him to research 2B missing from pentagon and 1B worth of weapons missing in Ukraine then I would trust him.

[@Vitan89]

His "research" amounts to quoting US propaganda 🤡

[@Danny-qh4su]

Well researched? They took one article from bloomberg and blew it up to mythic consequence lol

[@nicholasbrown668]

@@Danny-qh4su an article that Bloomberg had to put a big "is not verified" disclaimer on even the DOD had to say a lot of the information was most likely blatantly made up, as the report claims that liquid fueled missiles are fueled upon manufacturing.....which makes no sense as no country on earth fuels their liquid fueled missiles unless they are about to be fired.....as jet fuel can straight up fuck up the internal components of a missile if left for more than 2 days oh and there's the fact that Bloomberg just keeps saying "oh we have a special intelligence source, but neither us nor the DOD can verify that this intelligence source is legit)

[@rubiconnn]

You've gotten the chinese trolls out and about, nice!

[@jcroisdale]

A works cited page would be really nice.

[@agile-heliuk1801]

Gota love Blue Tanks and Blue Combat Uniforms.... lol... Im interested to find and see the Blue Trees, bushes and grass's lol

[@mostsacredstories]

Its hard to build anything meaningful in a culture that legitimately thinks tricking and deceiving everyone you do business with is admirable (see also: The China Hustle). We often fail to consider cultural differences when it comes to military capabilities but in places like Russia and China, their cultural proclivities will always undermine their ability to do anything at scale efficiently.

[@inferna7327]

Yeah like being a fucking commie authority state that values no life and is pretty much genocidal

[@FuckGoogle502]

Too bad America is also starting to see deception as "entrepreneurial."

[@Senku_Ishigami_1]

China has always been a society of conduct. They are so sensitive towards self-respect that they even fake their Casualties. The soldiers who sacrifice for their nation are just easily snubbed and Overshadowed by the Chinese Government for maintaining a prestige. And since it's a authoritarian government, their families are never informed and the government can't even be questioned.

[@wolfy8006]

As a close follower of China news and Simon’s channels. You and your channel move fast and accurate. And this came out just before the Taiwan election? Good job

[@nicholasbrown668]

fast and accurate? he's using a report that was posted by Bloomberg (a source that has stated they cannot verify the intelligence source they got this from) That and multiple DOD sources have stated the report doesn't make logical sense in multiple areas. For instance, why are liquid fueled rockets even full? it's against every military policy to have liquid fuel loaded into missiles unless the missile is being prepped to fire so Bloomberg saying missiles were "full of water" doesn't make any sense

[@DK-ev9dg]

He is western mouthpiece

[@Drownedinblood]

If you believe this shit I can only imagine you watch NTD

[@jamieflame01]

@DK-ev9dg He's western using his mouth to give a piece of his opinion, back up by the best source available. Not gonna happen in prc hivemind propaganda.

[@Drownedinblood]

@jamieflame01 buddy...you are literally in the anti China propaganda hive mind, you have no self awareness is all.

[@darrylmuse9948]

That’s like their carriers is gonna compete against our carriers 😂

[@Zeetkt]

One point you didn't talk about, is that this could be some fake info to let people think they're weak, while they're absolutely not.

[@unyieldingsarcasm2505]

When i was in the navy, i had my chief describe the differences in corruption between our system and china/russia as roughly thus (its been almost a decade so im prob not remembering it word for word): "Here, everyone is ripping off the system thru overcharging. The contractors, the agreements, the politicians, everyone is charging a dollar for what should be a dime, so every project, good, gun and mission costs 10x more than it should in reality. But it gets done. The boys get their guns, the mission is accomplished, the objectives met. Yeah, its bull#$%$ how much it costs, but whats needed is acquired. In the east, they charge 10 the cost, make the gear crap quality anyways, and then steal it out of depots after the fact. Assuming they even actually made it in the first place." Every country has corruption, but in the west, it means allot of palms are being greased. In china and Russia, it cuts deeply into strategic readiness and capacity. I can only imagine how hard he is laughing about all this xp. semper fortis Senior.

[@thearpox7873]

"In the east, they charge 10 the cost, make the gear crap quality anyways, and then steal it out of depots after the fact. Assuming they even actually made it in the first place" Nah. In China they charge ??? but probably not 10x, then do all the things you said. In Russia, they charge 1x the cost, promise moon on a stick, and after failing miserably they fall back on the old and proven 1950s design that works as intended. In India, they charge .1 of the cost, and then roll a magic die to see what happen. If they roll a crit, they somehow get everything they want. Very different systems.

[@xhagast]

Argentinian joke: There is a politicians' gathering in the US and a Texan and an Argentinian become friends. The Texan invites home the Argentinian. It is a magnificent ranch. The Argentinian asks, "how could you afford to get this ranch?" The Texan takes him to his wall where hangs the picture of a bridge. "Building that bridge I made the money to build my ranch." A while passes and the Texan goes to Argentina to visit his friend. His home is a great mansion. The Texan asks, "how can you afford this mansion?" The Argentinian takes him to his wall where there is an empty space. "By not building that bridge I made the money to build my mansion."

[@johnrossman6679]

Wasn't there something in the news a little while ago about Chinese military exports weren't working as advertised for their customers? This report on the corruption in the Chinese military didn't surprise me, but water in the rockets in place of fuel got me.

[@SiriProject]

To be fair, the reporting comes from Radio Free Asia, which is self-admittedly a propaganda outlet. China's space achievements are very real.

[@sonialelii9038]

I didn't realize how deep the corruption was in China's military.

[@user-dk4ko8yj9u]

真的有人这样讲吗？这个视频有讲吗？我听说是把火箭里的燃料拿来煮火锅，然后把水倒进去。我对燃料换水并不惊讶，我惊讶的是真的有白痴相信

[@vlhc4642]

Yeah claiming you can fill a solid block of epoxy like substance with water would get anyone with any understanding of rockets. Or the part about using highly explosive rocket fuel to cook hot pot. But I guess western audiences aren't that smart, to put it mildly.

[@u2beuser714]

That report was mostly false otherwise why do you see many countries still buying chinese hardwere? Indonesia just purchased a batch of anti ship missiles. You have to check the sources

[@Andy-mo1bq]

I'll mark this video on my calendar as the most important thing I've seen ever, then watch for everything it advocates

[@danielvillalba5375]

Twice again corruption and utter incompetence may have just saved us all.

[@andersjjensen]

Watch Perun's episode on corruption in militaries. It's a sobering reality check on just at how ungodly many levels theft, graft and financial manipulation can take place if it's the common mentality in the army. And the conclusion is that once corruption takes hold, it's from the top to the bottom. Everyone needs someone to cover for them. And those who cover want a slice too... And so on and so forth.

[@rlm6213]

Excellent episode and I agree that this corruption scandal in the PLA, while generating some amusing headlines, will likely have global geopolitical repercussions for years, if not decades, to come. Combined with China's ongoing economic woes and Beijing's seeming inability to get a handle on those, as well as mounting structural issues (a distinctly declining demographic situation) and it could well mean that the curtain will ring down on what was supposed to be the "Chinese century" far sooner than anyone ever expected.

[@michaelotieno6524]

Don't get your hopes up. China is growing at 5% it leads in wind/solar, 5G, industrial robotics, high speed rail etc. It economy shall recover keep in mind it let evergrande collapse in order to burst the housing bubble.

[@lancerevo9747]

This is how armchair experts sold a dream of easy victory for Ukraine, today they are rolling on the floor begging for more aid after losing an unspeakable number of casualties. China is larger, closer, and Taiwan is smaller and isolated from land supply chains. Don't be silly twice, people.

[@Talisguy]

Nobody predicted an easy victory for Ukraine. They predicted an easy victory for _Russia._

[@Mr.BigCog]

​@lancerevo9747 I never heard a single person claim an easy victory for Ukraine. There's no reason to believe that China's military is stronger than Russias and they don't share a land border which instantly makes any invasion attempt 100x harder.

[@tryscience]

​@@lancerevo9747Are you for real? Ukraine wasn't trying to take over Russia, Russia is trying to take over Ukraine. Ukraine has no choice but the defend itself just as Taiwan has no choice.

[@adityakumarsingh5204]

It is shocking that an organisation answerable to a party not the people is corrupt.

[@billrxy7471]

LOL太对了，所以新冠病毒中国在坚持清零，而美国放任200万人民病死

[@sinankilci8860]

why there is a mechanical pulsating like noise on the background?