Posted on 11/14/2018 7:05:35 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
The Trump administration is demanding that China remove all advanced missiles deployed on disputed islands in the South China Sea, the first time such a demand has been made public.
The call to take out the anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles was disclosed in a fact sheet from the State Department on Friday outlining the results of a strategic dialogue between senior U.S. and Chinese officials.
“The United States called on China to withdraw its missile systems from disputed features in the Spratly Islands, and reaffirmed that all countries should avoid addressing disputes through coercion or intimidation,” the statement said.
The Nov. 8 talks were led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis. The Chinese delegation was headed by Communist Party Politburo official and State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe.
The Pentagon disclosed in June that China has fielded advanced anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles and electronic jamming equipment on the Spratly Islands, a group of reefs and islets located close to U.S. ally Philippines that China claims as its own territory. Military officials said the missiles threaten U.S. warships and aircraft that have stepped up freedom of navigation operations near the islands in a bid to counter Chinese claims to control over 90 percent of the South China Sea.
The missiles include YJ-12B anti-ship cruise missiles capable of targeting warships as far as 340 miles away, and HQ-9B long-range, surface-to-air missiles with ranges of up to 184 miles. They are stationed on Mischief Reef, Fiery Cross Reef, and Subi Reef in the Spratlys, effectively creating a buffer zone around the entire area. Electronic jammers were deployed on Fiery Cross and Mischief reefs.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Oil. Huge reserves, the bases are there to guard China’s disputed claim to it.
Can you imagine GWB making such a demand ?
He would have sent Cheney....to apologize.
Not our problem. Let those in the region take care of it.
Our problem is on our borders, which continue being pierced and it is destroying us.
Ground burst nukes can make holes where islands used to be.
As long as it involved a hunting trip, I might be good with that!
[Can you imagine GWB making such a demand ?]
The Chinese are just doing the jobs Japanese refuse to do.
Or something like that.
this may not be wise.
we are being world policeman,
but getting nothing in return.
on top of that,
the countries involved...
VietNam, Philippines etc.
think we are morons
I have absolutely zero inside information, but I will say that I have found the people of Vietnam to be surprisingly, very positive about Americans. Absolutely great.
Vietnam does not trust China. If America stands up to China, I believe that Vietnam is 100% ok with this.
Again. Zero inside source for this, just my opinion.
Gee, now that the mid-terms are over, it sounds less like there is going to be some kind of trade deal with China this month.
I won’t be surprised if China gets hit with the next round of tariffs in January (the big one), that will likely ramp up tariffs to 25% on about 100% of Chinese imports.
Then we would hear the gears of the global economy grinding in earnest, to pull the supply chain out of China, and re-shore a good bit.
They won’t give up their illegal South China Sea claims unless they have to.
Don’t stop at 25%...
(Just saying)
“Not our problem. Let those in the region take care of it.”
It it completely in the American interest to ensure freedom of navigation in Asian waters where much of our commerce runs.
It's our problem.
We should stop policing the world and getting involved in minor disputes and little wars in foreign countries. If we don’t look weak enough, we won’t be forced to fight for our survival and have the great nukefest. Let’s play the world’s wimp, so we can see a real war. Our generation has missed out on that.
Don’t lose them blinders...they keep you focused on a single issue and make you miss the rest of the world....must cut down on antacids....
BTTT
The Zimmermann Telegram (or Zimmermann Note or Zimmerman Cable) was a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico. In the event that the United States entered World War I against Germany, Mexico would recover Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. The telegram was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence. Revelation of the contents enraged Americans, especially after German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann publicly admitted the telegram was genuine on March 3, and helped generate support for the United States declaration of war on Germany in April.[1]...
The Germans had engaged in a pattern of actively arming, funding and advising the Mexicans, as shown by the 1914 Ypiranga Incident[5] and the presence of German advisors during the 1918 Battle of Ambos Nogales. The German Naval Intelligence officer Franz von Rintelen had attempted to incite a war between Mexico and the United States in 1915, giving Victoriano Huerta $12 million for that purpose.[6] The German saboteur Lothar Witzke — responsible for the March 1917 munitions explosion at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in the San Francisco Bay Area,[7] and possibly responsible for the July 1916 Black Tom explosion in New Jersey — was based in Mexico City...
On 1 February 1917, Germany began unrestricted submarine warfare against all ships in the Atlantic bearing the American flag, both passenger and merchant ships. Two ships were sunk in February, and most American shipping companies held their ships in port. Besides the highly provocative war proposal to Mexico, the telegram also mentioned "ruthless employment of our submarines". Public opinion demanded action. Wilson had previously refused to assign US Navy crews and guns to the merchant ships. However, once the Zimmermann note was public, Wilson called for arming the merchant ships, but anti-war elements in the United States Senate blocked his proposal.[23]
And when China says no? Then what?
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