American troops could be sent to ‘defend the Senkaku Islands’, US commander says

https://www.scmp.com ^ | 27 Oct, 2020 | Laura Zhou in Beijing

[RomanSoldier19]

Lieutenant General Kevin Schneider made the remarks after touching down on a Japanese destroyer for the start of a joint drill

He also took aim at recent ‘malign activities on the part of Beijing’, including its military build-up in the South China Sea

American troops could be sent to disputed islands in the East China Sea, the head of US forces in Japan said, as the two allies began a high-profile drill amid growing concerns over Beijing’s military activities in the region. “Our arrival today was simply to demonstrate the ability to move a few people, but the same capability could be used to deploy combat troops to defend the Senkaku Islands or respond to other crises and contingencies,” Lieutenant General Kevin Schneider, commander of US Forces Japan, said on Monday.

[RomanSoldier19]

[SkyDancer]

Not again!!

[Bratch]

The general should be careful to not get in front of the C-in-C.

[Peter ODonnell]

Let the Senkakese defend their island, if there any, it would suck to die in a nuclear holocaust brought about by the firm defense of a tiny island in the middle of nowhere.

Britain was bad enough.

[RomanSoldier19]

[HighSierra5]

Google search says that the islands are Chinese. Naturally.

[RomanSoldier19]

[hinckley buzzard]

A major issue in the 1960 election was whether we should commit to defend Qemoy and Matsu. Nixon said Yes. Kennedy said they were “indefensible.” Fortunately the Chinese Communists never made their threatened attempt to occupy them.

[Zhang Fei]

[The general should be careful to not get in front of the C-in-C.]

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It’s official US policy, expanded under Trump:

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https://thediplomat.com/2017/05/bolstering-the-u-s-commitment-to-the-senkaku-islands/
[President Donald J. Trump has stepped up the U.S. commitment to the Senkaku Islands. The joint declaration issued after his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in early February 2017 expressly stated that the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty applies to the Senkaku Islands and the United States opposes all unilateral actions aimed at harming Japan’s administration over the islands. In 2014, former U.S. President Barack Obama verbally stated the U.S. obligation to defend the islands. However, the statement came with the proviso that the United States would not take any position on the territorial sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands, which is a stance the U.S. government repeatedly conveyed to Japan from the Nixon administration. Trump was the first U.S. president to state the U.S. obligation to defend the Senkaku in writing without any reference to the proviso regarding the territorial sovereignty. In other words, Trump gave rise to the possibility that the United States would acknowledge Japan’s sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands.]

[left that other site]

“General” is not “Commander-in-Chief”. It is not appropriate for him to make these pronouncements.

[Mariner]

Nonsense.

POTUS will never put US troops on those islands.

But we would help protect them with the Pacific Air Force and Seventh Fleet.

But I doubt Japan would need the help.

[matthew fuller]

Why do you google?

[hinckley buzzard]

The senkaku are part of the Ryukyu island chain which had belonged to Japan until their defeat in WWII. The US administered them Postwar until they were later returned to Japanese jurisdiction. China disputes their ownership and claims them now Mainly because of large oil and gas resources in the area. Taiwan also has made claims. They are uninhabited and if China should suddenly decide to occupy them, they could do so. But the resulting crisis would be highly unpredictable and no doubt end badly.

[HighSierra5]

Cause I’m lazy.

[DesertRhino]

Maybe if Japan cares about it, they should fortify it like Iwo Jima and fill it with Jap soldiers.

[DesertRhino]

Air Force generals should not be saying where troops should be deployed.

[colorado tanker]

Let the Senkakese defend their island,

That would be difficult. They are uninhabited.

[Trumpisourlastchance]

No, we should not put our troops into legally-disputed areas, and this is one of them. These islands are not an American interest, much less a vital one.

[Revolutionary]

One reason why President Trump brings up the hypersonic weapons. They can eliminate the expensive Chinese navy.

[mj1234]

??!

The Chinese have claimed THE whole south china seas as their OWN!! wake up — from the Phillipines to-Taiwan- South Korea-
JAPAN!- and Vietnam!— the Chinese have told those countries to leave!- the Chinese Lost in the international courts-they
have told Everyone tough luck- we are conquering! started making uninhabited shoals as military bases! ramming fishing boats from other nations and sending warnings to our ships.
we could be on the brink- of a shooting conflict-