China Is Forcing The US Navy Out Of The Western Pacific

China’s Trying To Shove The U.S. Navy Right Out Of The South China Sea -- David Axe, War Is Boring

Will America shove back?

On Dec. 5, a Chinese warship deliberately sailed into the path of the U.S. Navy cruiser USS Cowpens as the American ship tailed China’s sole aircraft carrier in the South China Sea.

The resulting near-collision is only the latest provocative move by Chinese forces as Beijing attempts to control a huge swath of the Western Pacific that is critical to Chinese shipping and contains enormous mineral reserves.

Beijing’s intention is clear, according to two experts—one a respected naval analyst, the other a retired admiral. What’s less clear is what Washington intends to do about it.

Dangerous seas

Cowpens, a California-based air-defense cruiser displacing 10,000 tons, was sailing in close proximity to Liaoning, China’s refurbished Russian-built aircraft carrier, as the flattop crossed the South China Sea under escort by Chinese warships.

Cowpens, with more than 300 sailors aboard, was probably close enough for her crew to snap photographs of the 60,000-ton-displacement Liaoning, according to retired Rear Adm. Terry McKnight. One of the Chinese carrier’s escorts blocked the cruiser’s path, “an encounter that required maneuvering to avoid a collision,” the U.S. Pacific Fleet said in a statement.

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My Comment: If US military cuts continue .... I can easily see the US Navy presence in the South China Sea being gone within 20 years, and only a minimal presence in the Western Pacific as a whole.