Per Olsson

Why does the phrase ”Lions led by donkeys” so frequently haunt me these days..?

@stevehou I’m gonna save this and return to it in 6 months!

We now know why China was interested in seeing the war end asap.

@gyina_yie My vase!!!

How ruthless is container loading at Chinese port! No wonder foreign workers are completely overwhelmed.

@Tracking_Live @BallerDezz Sounds like guesswork to me! I too find it crazy that they would have qualified pilots for all, but the sources I can find state that their pilots have good amount of flight hours so they’re learning.

@BallerDezz Yep, that's actually the problem, they have quantity but no quality. whereas itc counterparts like U.S and India does have pilot proven skills and combat experience.

As per a new report published by a U.S. defense establishment, China is adding ~20-30 new advanced fighter jets per month to its inventory, which is likely ~240-300 annually. This includes the J-20 stealth fighter, with 100 to 120+ units produced annually; some reports suggest one J-20 is built every 8 days (approximately 3-4 per month). The J-16 production is high, with an estimated 80–100+ units delivered annually; also, the J-10C and J-35 are in the list."

@Tracking_Live How do you get 120 annually with 3-4 per month? The 100-120 claim is from RUSI, IISS and Mitchell Institute. As credible as sources come, though not perfect.

Tidigare citerat IFRs rapport och måste rätta mig efter deras revision! Kina har inte lika hög robotäthet som man tidigare trott! Endast 166 jämfört med USAs 307, däremot är ökningstakten betydande.

@RasmusJarlov As an aspiring fantasy author, I salute you!

In the future, there will be three major powers in the world: China, USA, EU. Neutral countries will move as much as possible towards the EU as their preferred partner because both China and the USA treat other countries disrespectfully and try to extort them. Europe will be the only great power and market to turn to if you want to have an equal and fair relationship. Canada is already moving towards Europe for this exact reason. India and Japan will also form a closer relationship with Europe. This is what soft power means. MAGA replies in the comment section will prove the point.

@ForeignAffairs You really accept any types of idiots don’t you! No, China can’t project military power like the US, but there are other forms of power!

China and Russia are incapable of competing with the projection of American power, argues Michael Beckley. The result is a “one-sphere world” dominated by the United States. foreignaffairs.com/united-states/…

@klara_sjo @pantry_bandit Interviews with showrunners make me glad they ended when they did. It was going to take a weird turn to Britannia where Caesarion was going to lead a rebellion… not something I wanted to see.

@pantry_bandit I gotta do that, quality show that ended far too soon.

Historically accurate Roman marching music.

@klara_sjo There are no preserved notations from Roman military songs. We have some lyrics, by Caesar’s legions roasting him, but no notes. Rome (2005) is accurate overall, and I love it, but I would call this music authentic (in spirit) rather than accurate.

@olawong Blivit mer sofistikerade, även Trump i sweatshop fick bra spridning och var ganska underhållande.

Kinesiska statsmediers USA-bashing brukar vara tråkig och förutsägbar. Men CCTV:s satir om Irankriget – Vitörnsalliansen mot Persiska katterna lyckas vara smart och få spridning på nätet. Nya tider.

@SpencerGuard @ForeignPolicy I don’t think ”don’t get too close to China, we can bomb you” is a long-term or resource efficient strategy. May I suggest diplomacy and mutually beneficial deals, which traditionally has benfitted the US.

"China Is Learning the Lessons of Hard Power" @ForeignPolicy Great analysis. I agree. foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/09/chi… China Is Learning the Lessons of Hard Power Economic strength alone is insufficient If the United States can dismantle that pillar in a region closely tied to China’s energy supply and diplomatic footprint, and at relatively low cost, the damage will not be limited to China’s immediate interests in the region. More fundamentally, it would prompt countries, especially those in the global south that are dissatisfied with U.S. dominance, to reconsider whether drawing closer to China provides any meaningful security assurance. China’s overseas influence today rests largely on economic presence and political cooperation rather than on military alliances When Washington chooses hard power, China is rarely in a position to offer comparable security backing. The United States can potentially reshape regimes in strategically important regions, which China currently lacks the ability to stop. Beijing’s real red line is not whether the Iranian regime ultimately survives—something China may have little power to prevent—but whether Iran is swiftly and smoothly absorbed into a U.S.-dominated regional order.

@tshugart3 Agree that the PLAN’s capability to do so is limited. However, the Ford’s design problems are well known and keeping a carrier at sea for 10 months is not ideal even for USN.

Deploy one of your new carriers to the other side of the planet for 10 months and then we can talk. Until then, 🤐.

@Aviation_Intel Lovely ugliness!

The World’s Ugliest Airplane Just Flew For The First Time In a world of increasingly homogeneous- looking military aircraft designs, the platypus-like Kawasaki EC-2 is a radical outlier. twz.com/air/the-worlds…

Kloke kollegan @anhornedal stod nyss i SvT:s Aktuellt och förklarade lugnt och kunnigt hur Irans Shaheed 136-drönare fungerar och hur Ukraina bekämpar dem - kunskaper som just nu är livligt efterfrågade av Gulfländer med pengar. @FOIresearch

@klart_skepp Bra reality-check! Saker går sönder i krig, även bra saker. Lika bra att skaffa det mind-setet.

Saab-radar.

@em_Lazzy Worse, even asks rival China for help!

First Donald Trump insulted America’s allies. Then he tariffed them. Now he’s asking for their help. If you were them… how would you respond??

@GordonGChang Start a war without clear objectives, brag about how great its going, ask your main rival to bail you out. 5D chess right there! Why the flying f*** would China help Trump get out of a war he fumbled his way into?!

Trump threatens to delay the summit with Xi Jinping if China continues to reject his request for assistance to open the Strait of Hormuz. So far, Beijing is not budging.

@kenmoriyasu How does this add up?! This is what I see from pundits on X. ”Iran war is Trump’s masterstroke to contain China.” Same kind of people.” Trump is genious for asking China to use its power to help with Iran war!”

Trump’s demand that China help out in the Hormuz is a nightmare for Beijing. If it helps the US, Iran won’t sell oil to it anymore and might even attack Chinese ships. Trump is making China choose sides, which it doesn’t want to do. Very Trumpian. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/ac…

@SFRCdems @SenatorShaheen Don’t know how giving them Kirgizistan and Tadzjikistan affects that competitiveness, is the US obsessed with handing them wins?!

📢New Report on China Today, @SenatorShaheen and @SFRCDems released a major new report warning that U.S. economic competitiveness with China is eroding under the Trump Administration. 🔗Read the full report:️foreign.senate.gov/press/dem/rele…