Posted on 01/23/2017 2:20:49 PM PST by Mariner
The new U.S. administration of President Donald Trump vowed on Monday that the United States would prevent China from taking over territory in international waters in the South China Sea, something Chinese state media has said would require Washington to "wage war."
"I think the U.S. is going to make sure that we protect our interests there," White House spokesman Sean Spicer told a news briefing.
"It’s a question of if those islands are in fact in international waters and not part of China proper, then yeah, we’re going to make sure that we defend international territories from being taken over by one country."
Spicer was responding to a question as to whether Trump agreed with comments by his Secretary of State nominee, Rex Tillerson, on Jan. 11 that China should not be allowed access to islands it has built in the contested South China Sea.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
The South China Sea allows $5 trillon in annual commerce, much of it American. All of our Asian allies are completely dependent on the free movement of goods through this waterway.
China is a natural enemy, Russia is not.
China is in violation and they know it.
Yep!
We should never have allowed China a foothold there.
And if it’s war China wants, better now than later.
If they manufactured an island, it isn’t an island. Ignore it and give it no legal significance. No 12 mile limit, no airspace, nothing. Just treat it the same as an oil rig or something.
No need for a war. Just ignore it in every legal sense.
They must be provoked into doing something dumb.
Endless armed patrols are the answer...battle groups, lone destroyers and frequent mock bombing runs.
Don’t even answer their calls over hailing frequencies.
I agree China is our natural enemy, and a serious one. But we need to be smart about picking our battles, and focus on the economic threat, which to some degree includes South China Sea shipping, but is mainly the control of manufacturing. Until we can rebuild significant manufacturing capacity back in the US, China is holding a virtual nuke over our heads.
They don’t have enough nukes to hold one over heads.
They have very real economic problems of their own. They cant afford the us customer walking out.
If the chinese want to play rough, take out the Three Gorges Dam.
China has fewer nukes than France and little intercontinental delivery capability.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction
I said virtual nuke - meaning we are currently economically dependent on importing components from China.
That would be a serious hardball threat to hold over their heads. That thing is so YUGE that blowing it up could drown millions.
What manufactured product are we dependent on China for?
I don’t see that China is “our natural enemy”... Here’s why:
1. They are not Muslim (or other religious fanatics)
2. We have extensive trade with them.
3. Unlike the USSR during the Cold War, China doesn’t profess an interest in destroying us and our economy.
There’s no reason why Trump can’t parlay this into a more friendly commercial relationship.
HOWEVER, Trump needs to rephrase his “China is STEALING our jobs and our companies” b.s. These words are accusative and piss off the Chinese and are not constructive. Most of the reason we’ve lost jobs/companies to China is the simple economics of cheap labor.
So more appropriately, Trump should now be saying America is uncompetitive and that’s why we’ve lost jobs to China. Too much regulations here too.
Left wingers want higher minimum wages (by force of the Fed), but what they don’t realize is that will benefit China even more because they will be unwittingly increasing the China-US wage gap.
This is all simple Econ 101, but most people, including Trump don’t seem to get it.
Yes, on all other counts, I’m so stoked about Trump, but he’s got the trade issue mostly wrong. Negotiate good trade deals, but no tariff wars.
Time to play hardball with the PRC!
“OH NOEZ, TRUMP’S A WAR-MONGER!” /sarc
PING!
In 2015, a US Navy P-8 flying over a China’s man-made island exercising their lawful right to fly in international airspace. Funny jaw jacking.
“Chinese Navy Issues Angry Warning to US Plane in South China Sea - Audio Recording “
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaKbZW0pqkM
Agree with your premise, except with negotiating good trade deals. That can only happens when both sides negotiate in good faith, and the Chinese do not have that virtue. Add clear and measurable consequences, and I think it’s a starting point.
It would be easier to ask what manufactured products aren’t we dependent on China for. Good luck finding a computer, car, phone, lathe or loom that isn’t wholly made in China, or using critical parts that were made in China. On top of that, US companies are becoming deeply dependent on sales IN China. Last year GM sold more cars in China than in the US. How do you think GM would look if Chinese sales went to zero?
At the very least Trump can revoke China’s most favored nation status for trade and then impose sanctions on them...like a trade embargo.
That’ll hurt China and Wal Mart a lot more than it will hurt any actual Americans.
China, as a matter of National Policy has stated that they intend to be the most capable military on the planet and they will use that military to further their national interests.
They have also said they will enforce their “9 dash line” with military force.
They have also stated they intend to supplant the US-led world order with one that is led the China.
That’s a natural enemy any way you shake it up. They can only achieve these things by defeating the US.
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