Before this string becomes too much for the moderators and it is closed down, I would like to say that I have skin in the game here. Way back in 1970, my first job here in the UK after my training was designing parts of the sonar systems of the new generation of hunter killer subs. I had been brought up in a family, with deep roots in the armed services, to value our nation and its standards (and to the most part I still do). So I considered it was morally acceptable to develop weapons systems for the British Royal Navy.
However the sonar system I was working on was in competition with another company which proceeded to win the contract. We were expecting redundancies until, low and behold, we sold our sonar system to China! I couldn't believe it! It is one thing for me to accept I am designing weaponry to defend what we think is important but totally another thing to be responsible for arming anybody else in the world.
At the time, of course China was assisting in, as the Vietnamese call it, "The American War", and we call it "The Vietnam War" -- and we were selling them weapons!?
The UK was not involved ostensibly in fighting in the war, but there were links with the USA (par for the course) but to me it was the fact that I believed I was doing one thing but in reality I was doing something else. So when ever I think about China I am reminded of this time of my life.
Just to add, I have a lot of Chinese friends. Our next door neighbours are first and second generations from Hong Kong (which the UK let down badly) and I also worked with a post grad engineering group for 5 years which had a number of Chinese students. Lovely bunch but it did seem to me that the Chinese nation was buying in as much technological knowledge as possible.
However the sonar system I was working on was in competition with another company which proceeded to win the contract. We were expecting redundancies until, low and behold, we sold our sonar system to China! I couldn't believe it! It is one thing for me to accept I am designing weaponry to defend what we think is important but totally another thing to be responsible for arming anybody else in the world.
At the time, of course China was assisting in, as the Vietnamese call it, "The American War", and we call it "The Vietnam War" -- and we were selling them weapons!?
The UK was not involved ostensibly in fighting in the war, but there were links with the USA (par for the course) but to me it was the fact that I believed I was doing one thing but in reality I was doing something else. So when ever I think about China I am reminded of this time of my life.
Just to add, I have a lot of Chinese friends. Our next door neighbours are first and second generations from Hong Kong (which the UK let down badly) and I also worked with a post grad engineering group for 5 years which had a number of Chinese students. Lovely bunch but it did seem to me that the Chinese nation was buying in as much technological knowledge as possible.