Posted on 10/12/2015 5:23:26 AM PDT by HomerBohn
As if poking the Russian bear wasn’t enough, the Obama administration has now chosen to rile the Chinese dragon.
In a move meant to project U.S. military power to the Chinese government, American officials announced that U.S. Navy warships will sail directly through a Chinese claimed 12-nautical mile zone in the disputed region of the South China Sea.
The contested waters around the Spratly Islands, which China claims as its own sovereign territory, have been the cause of intense controversy. The U.S. has refused to recognize China’s territorial claims and believes the disputed area resides in international waters.
Last month, at a joint press conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Obama said the two held a “candid discussion” about the disputed territory.
“I conveyed to President Xi our significant concerns over land reclamation, construction and the militarization of disputed areas, which makes it harder for countries in the region to resolve disagreements peacefully,” Obama said.
“I indicated that the United States will continue to sail, fly and operate anywhere that international law allows,” Obama added.
“Islands in the South China Sea since ancient times are China’s territory,” Xi resolutely stated.
The rapid development and scale of the artificial islands created by China have raised alarm bells in numerous other states in the region, a number of which stake their own territorial claims in the area.
China is essentially fortifying its strength projection and defensive capabilities in an area that had been relatively inaccessible before now. The fact that a rising superpower is claiming ownership over an area of strategic importance adjacent to their own coast is relatively unsurprising.
According to a report in the New York Times:
So far the country has built port facilities, military buildings and an airstrip on the islands, and recent imagery shows evidence of two more airstrips under construction. The installations bolster China’s foothold in the Spratly Islands, a disputed scattering of reefs and islands in the South China Sea more than 500 miles from the Chinese mainland.
The decision by the U.S., to revert to a projection of military strength in the region, reveals a complete diplomatic failure of the recent talks between President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping over this issue during Xi’s recent visit to the White House.
Although the islands are too small to support large military units, they allow for the Chinese to project a sustained sea and air presence in the area.
The U.S. position is that the Chinese are behaving in a manner inconsistent with international law, according to Pacific Fleet Admiral Scott Swift.
“It’s my sense that some nations view freedom of the seas as up for grabs, as something that can be taken down and redefined by domestic law or by reinterpreting international law,” Swift said, according to a report by Reuters.
“Some nations continue to impose superfluous warnings and restrictions on freedom of the seas in their exclusive economic zones and claim territorial water rights that are inconsistent with (the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). This trend is particularly egregious in contested waters.”
Additionally, an anonymous defense source told Foreign Policy that the U.S. was determined to put on a “show of military might.”
“It’s not a question of if, but when,” the official was quoted as saying.
According to the Guardian:
Many experts believe relations between Washington and Beijing have hit their lowest point in years, with tussles and friction over a growing list of issues including cyber espionage, currency manipulation, and human rights.
The U.S. would be severely mistaken if it believes the sending of a warship through what China perceives as sovereign territory will be perceived as anything other than offensive aggression by an imperialist power.
The U.S. is already engaged in proxy wars with Russia in Ukraine and Syria, which have the potential to devolve into an open conflict between the superpowers. Attempting to intimidate the Chinese in their own backyard seems like an extremely ill conceived move at this time.
American actions will inevitably only serve to bring the Russo-Sino strategic military alliance into closer consultation with one another in an attempt to stem U.S. global imperialism.
“[It is] hard to see how this ends well, but the only other option for the US is to concede, which will materially damage US credibility in Asia, be viewed by[Chinese] policymakers as further evidence that the US is in terminal decline and be an additional impetus for Beijing to push harder against the US in Asia,” China expert Bill Bishop wrote in his Sinocism newsletter on Friday.
While this may be extremely good news for defense contractors and weapons manufacturers, it’s extremely dangerous news for the rest of the world. One strategic miscalculation could result in events spiraling drastically out of control.
So we’ll lose a few ships and several hundred seamen to show that Obama has it right?
This psychopath gets EVERYTHING wrong on purpose.
You couldn’t be more wrong on this one. We are a paper tiger in some ways a carrier group is still something not to mess with.
There is no way under the sun the Chinese are ready to torpedo an American ship. .. period. The game here was that they advanced a new claim to see if we would obey.
If we did, or started asking permission to sail through, that would have firmed up their claim.
But they won’t launch an attack. That’s just how it works.
Not Japan, Vietnam claims them.i think the Philippines do also. It’s all over offshore drilling started by Vietnam. You are thinking of the Senkaku islands Japan claims.
The Marines better relearn island hopping warfare.
I think that we're right to sail through the disputed area in a show of strength. However, I don't agree with escalating it by making a public announcement. Inform the Chinese through diplomatic channels that we are going to sail through the channel and we expect them to stand down. There is no need to make this a public showdown and force someone to back down.
The Navy is begging to eat a Silkworm missile here with no plan at all to do anything about it.
What’s the plan? What’s the objective? If one of our ships is hit, or worse, SUNK, then what?
I’ll say it - a coup would do us good. They should arrest the President and lock him down, then they should forget where they put him. Invoke the 25th if you have to.
Au contraire, mon ami.
(Little French lingo there to show my fond regard for little froggies.)
A carrier group WAS something not to mess with if we had a strong man in the White Hut.
With Bozo the Muslim Clown in the oval orifice and the top military echelon being staffed by political officers, this is bound to end in tragedy or further embarrassment.
And darker, much more sinister, and dangerous motives lie therein.
Unfortunately, you are correct.
5.56mm
Strait of Malacca: https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Facminc.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fmap-of-malacca-straits.jpg&f=1
You have been here less than a year, and I'm sure you haven't checked any FReeper's posting history. My unsolicited advise is to be sure who you call a troll, is a troll.
Otherwise, you look like a troll.
Hope that helps. If not, so be it. I'll be here a while.
5.56mm
China is not giving up their claims to these reefs so this is a confrontation the US should think seriously about. Xi has the total backing of popular opinion in China on this.The danger of war over this real.
That may be but they better have a plan other than Captain’s discretion.
Never pull a weapon unless you are committed to use it.
This provocative action by dungo is the same as unholstering the gun without a round in the chamber.
It will come to ruin. The Chinese started this a long time ago and nobody did a thing. It has gone so far that the only thing to be done is to destroy the manufactured islands. The consequence of that, most likely a war, isn’t worth it now.
I stand corrected.
I was thinking of the Senkaku islands.
It won’t matter that Congress is the only branch to declare war, the Terrorist in Chief will do so with another EO.
China is smart making those islands. Can’t blame them for that. Other countries should have been doing the same. Of course, a lot has to do with sea depth.
Shows of strength have been going on throughout military history. It is highly unlikely that the Chinese would respond in such a fashion, provided they are given a way of gracefully backing down.
What’s the plan? What’s the objective? If one of our ships is hit, or worse, SUNK, then what?
The objective is to strongly state our opposition to China's claim to the disputed area, which apparently is strategically important to us and our allies.
The plan? Do you really expect anyone in the military or the diplomatic corps to reveal their plans? I'm sure that the Pentagon has considered dozens of contingency plans based on possible responses by the Chinese. In the highly unlikely event that one of our ships is fired upon, the Navy will know what their responses would be.
> Why in God’s name hasn’t the Congress acted by doing everything possible to remove this psychopathic fool from the White Hut?<
.
Which ones among our congresscritters have the b*lls to start the impeachment procedures? Where do you think you are? Home of the Brave? Why haven’t any of our many generals stepped in?
Xi threw his chopsticks at chicken-chow-mein Obama.
I agree with your assessment.
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