MidnightCall Magazine
In this issue:
- Hear theWord of the Lord — By Thomas Lieth
- FirstThessalonians 3 and the Rapture — By Dr. Ron J. Bigalke Jr.
- Popular Prophecy:CheckingDogmaTwice — By Wilfred Hahn
News From Israel MagazineIn this issue:
- Why Jerusalem is Jewish — By Arno Froese
- ON THE HORIZON:
- Analysis: Birthright Needs to Transform on Larger Scale
- Israel Praises Turkish Authority for Preventing Hezbollah Attack
- Relationship with American Jews Is Changing
- A Festival of Discrimination—Funded by the EU
- The Cyrus Cylinder
China to Build Aircraft Carrier
A high-ranking Chinese military official has hinted that China’s fast-growing navy is seeking to acquire an aircraft carrier, a move that would surely stoke tensions with the US military and its allies in Asia.
In an interview published in the Financial Times of London, the official, Gen Quan Lihua did not say whether China was building a carrier. But the general, a senior official of the ministry of national defense, said having one was the dream of any great military power.
“The question is not whether you have an aircraft carrier, but what you do with your aircraft carrier,” he said in the interview. “Even if one day we have an aircraft carrier, unlike another country we will not use it to pursue global deployment or global reach.”
In recent years, Pentagon officials have been following Beijing’s naval buildup. Since 2000, China has constructed at least 60 warships.
Its fleet of 860 vessels includes about 60 submarines. Tensions between China and the US were heightened last month after the Pentagon announced the sale of $6 billion in advanced weapons to Taiwan. China warned that the move could worsen relations between the countries. The deal includes Apache attack helicopters and an array of missiles, radars and antiaircraft defense systems.
Although he did not mention any country by name, the general’s comments were clearly aimed at the United States, which has 11 aircraft carriers, including the George Washington, which was recently deployed to Japan. Of the handful of other nations that have aircraft carriers, including Britain, France, Italy and Russia, none have more than a few.
Times of India, 19 November 2008, pg. 20
American military vessels can be seen not too far from China’s shorelines while no Chinese vessels are seen near the U.S.A. These simple facts are the cornerstone for China’s desire to play a greater role in the demonstration of military capabilities globally.
From prophetic perspectives, this is simply a development that places all nations on an equal level. After all, the nations of the world will one day surrender their power and sovereignty to one who is called the beast, the Antichrist. This and many other developments that we hear and read on the daily basis are part of the progressive preparation for that day.