Posted on 04/21/2012 11:39:34 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
(Reuters) - China's military warned the United States on Saturday that U.S.-Philippine military exercises have raised risks of armed confrontation over the disputed South China Sea in the toughest high-level warning yet after weeks of tensions.
China's official Liberation Army Daily warned that recent jostling with the Philippines over disputed seas where both countries have sent ships could boil over into outright conflict, and laid much of the blame at Washington's door.
This week American and Filipino troops launched a fortnight of annual naval drills amid the stand-off between Beijing and Manila, who have accused each other of encroaching on sovereign seas near the Scarborough Shoal, west of a former U.S. navy base at Subic Bay.
The joint exercises are held in different seas around the Philippines; the leg that takes place in the South China Sea area starts on Monday.
"Anyone with clear eyes saw long ago that behind these drills is reflected a mentality that will lead the South China Sea issue down a fork in the road towards military confrontation and resolution through armed force," said the commentary in the Chinese paper, which is the chief mouthpiece of the People's Liberation Army.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
They are certainly moving that way, but are not there yet.
If they keep up like they have been doing though, in another 5-10 years they will be.
A little disruption like we did in the Middle East and China would be a fractured as North Africa.
As far as I’m concerned, the Phillipines own the entire spratly islands and china and vietnam can pound sand.
But, but.. I thought the Filipinos wanted us OUT so we transferred Clark Air Base over to them.. Who’s crying now?
I can't even see them risking an attack against Taiwan nowadays. Even if Bambi didn't retaliate for an ally, at the least he would be forced to void US debt and/or embargo their products which would kill their economy. Not good for a government/populace that is starting to reap the rewards of capitalism. Think about the many casinos that are being built for the wealthy/middle-class in Macau, not to mention the infra-structure being built for remote poor.
Google Macau +gambling +hotels +resorts. You will be amazed at the level of refinement of their resorts. It's the Las Vegas of the orient. You think the Chinese government is going risk such an income producer? Hardly.
As much as I was involved in anti Chi-Com demonstrations back in the late 90's, I don't fear them now, although I wish Clinton hadn't sold our missle/MIRV tech for campaign contributions and should have been prosecuted for being a traitor. My fear is about the rogue nations that just don't care if their people die, especially Iran with their "death wish" for the 12th Imman to crawl out of some well.
China will go back and forth for awhile with the old guard trying to hang on. However, once they got Hong Kong back and discovered how well capitalism works and appeased the people, there is no turning back. China still has a long way to go regarding civil rights and multi-party politics.
The communist party will bluster, but they are still allowing more internal and outside enterprise on a daily basis. Guess how many large American companies have a presence in China (think McDonalds for one). I expect to see China change its entire political structure within my lifetime. Do you know how many of their companies are on the NYSE or Pink Sheets? You'd be surprised.
Million man swim perhaps ?
And we are helping them by continually downsizing our Armed Forces.
Gee, who coulda seen THIS coming?
The United States was Japan's largest trading partner right up until Pearl Harbor.
France was Germany's largest trading partner right up until Hitler's storm troopers went marching down the Champs d'Elysees.
Just an observation.
Great map...therein one can see the extent to which the Chinese are going to dominate their neighbors, and why the US Navy’s involvement is so critical.
The chinese basically want to claim the entirety of the South China Sea right up to their neighbor’s beaches.
I have no use for the UN, but even their Economic Zones do not allow for anything close to this.
Right now the Chinese are embroiled in a standoff with the Philipines where the Philipines caught fishermen red handed within zone and stopped them. Now two Chinese Coast Guard vessels and a couple fo Philipine vessels are in a standoff on the disposition of those fishermen who the Philipines want to take into custody and charge with infringing on and taking fish from their zone.
Clearly should it escalate the Philipine Navy will be hopelessly outclassed by the Chinese, But the US Navy is a different matter and our interest is to ensure that we and our allies have free transit of those seas...which the Chinese claim would hinder in that critical part of the world.
THE RISING SEA DRAON IN ASIA
http://www.jeffhead.com/redseadragon/
I have kept track of the rise of the Chinese Navy for the last nine years. They are building new modern surface and submarine combatants at a break neck speed, while we are decommissioning almost as many as we build...and for several years decommissioned more than we built. In the last years of the Bush administration this was turned around...but Obama is now leaning back the other way.
And, A Navy Vet, while it is absolutely true that the Red Chinese have abandoned the Moaist and Stalinist economic models that ultimately led to the fall of the Soviet Union, what they are adotping is very much market driven, but not really a free-market model. I believe it is much more akin to what the Germans adopted prior to World War II. It is more fascist in nature and if they can get their people behind it for Nationalistic Prode and Defense purposes, it can be very dangerous. It took most of the world to put the Nazis down and there were only 60-70 million of them.
If the Chinese can succssefully build such a fascist economy on a population base of 1.2 bllion, it’s going to get very dangerous and dicey out there. That’s why we need to reign them in now, while we still can and while we still exert such power over their economy.
It is true that they are building a huge amount of our products, and that there is a massive impbalance, bt they are dependent on that matrket utterly. They would wuickly go bankrupt if there was any chance that we were moving towards idling their manufacturing in favor of our own. We can ease into that and slow them down to a point of reducing the threat markedly iof we have the will to do so.
After all, according to the video game Fallout 3, China and America go to full-on nuclear war, starting first with an invasion of Alaska.
2066 (winter): China invades Alaska. The Anchorage Front Line becomes a true battleground.[30][31]
2067: The first suit of T-45d power armor is deployed in Alaska. While lacking the full mobility of future versions, this power armor is incredibly effective against Chinese tanks and infantry. Its ability to carry heavy ordnance becomes key in various localized conflicts, and it has the power to destroy entire towns without endangering the wearer. China rushes to create its own versions, but they are many years behind the United States.[15]
2072: The United States' increasing demand for Canadian resources causes protests and riots in several Canadian cities. An attempted sabotage of the Alaskan pipeline is all the military needs as an excuse to finalize its annexation of Canada, which had already begun in 2067.[30]
2074: Contrary to their claims of seeking only to retake Alaska from the Reds, American power armor units, infantry, and mechanized divisions are deployed to China, but they become bogged down on the mainland, putting a further drain on American resources and supply lines.
2077: Gas prices sky rocket with the regular gas price being $7450.99 per gallon and $8500.99 per gallon for premium.[40]
October 23, 2077: The Great War: bombs are launched; who struck first is unknown. Other countries, seeing the missiles on their way, launch their planes and fire their warheads as well. Air raid sirens sound, but very few people heed the warning, thinking it is a false alarm. The vaults are sealed. Two hours of nuclear bombardment ensues upon the earth's surface. The effects are far worse than most imagined. The earth's faults shift violently, thrusting mountain ranges through the soil. Whole lands are submerged under floods of water.[43]
So, to prevent against this unescapable fate, we need to thoroughly nuke China.... NOW.
Not to worry - after “his next election” Obama will have the flexibility to allow China to take whatever it wants without “going to war”.
The Dragon's Fury: World War against America and the West
In mine, the war is 8 yeras long, involves an invasion of Alaska, and also the Chinese taking Australia and all of South East Asia, being allied with India and the Greater Islamic Republic and extending their allied dominance from the middle of the Pacific across to Moscow and Eastern Europe, most of Africa and most of South America and parts of Central America before we start to throw them back in horrific battles, including nuclear exchanges.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.