{"id":3313,"date":"2013-01-09T05:00:05","date_gmt":"2013-01-08T19:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=3313"},"modified":"2013-01-09T20:13:12","modified_gmt":"2013-01-09T10:13:12","slug":"chinas-had-a-good-run-now-for-the-real-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/chinas-had-a-good-run-now-for-the-real-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s had a good run \u2013 now for the real threat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Drought\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For defence and security thinkers the dominant theme for the past several years has been the rise of China and the potential for this development to create tension across the Asia\u2013Pacific. The US pivot<\/a>, President Barack Obama\u2019s speech to the Australian Parliament<\/a>, an increasing focus on the South China Sea<\/a> and the release of Australia\u2019s Asian Century White Paper<\/a> all signal widespread concern that China\u2019s growing influence will result in a redefining of the region\u2019s strategic order.<\/p>\n

The focus on China is understandable, but this singularity of attention has meant that another challenge has not received the consideration it warrants. The real danger lies in the intensification of the present shortage of resources, particularly food and water, and the likelihood that shortfalls will spur instability and conflict across the Asia\u2013Pacific and the globe. Resource wars are coming, and yet comparatively little has been said about them by commentators or done to prepare for them by governments.<\/p>\n

Of the many resources that humanity consumes, the most vital are food and water. In 2012 over one billion people suffered from chronic hunger, the majority of them living in the Asia\u2013Pacific<\/a>, while a further billion are \u2018food insecure<\/a>\u2019. This is only the start of the hunger, and experts predict that the global food supply will diminish in coming years. In fact, the situation might already be irretrievable<\/a>, because:<\/p>\n