National Interest: Showdown in the South China Sea: Why China or America Won't Backdown
The South China Sea is once again rapidly becoming a major point of contention between Washington and Beijing, with both sides refusing to back down.
Two U.S. Navy warships — the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins and Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam — conducted a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea Saturday, sailing within twelve nautical miles of several Chinese-controlled islands in the Paracels, territories the Chinese military forcefully seized from Vietnam in the 1970s. In response, Beijing claims it dispatched warships to drive the U.S. ships away.
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WNU Editor: U.S. Secretary of Defense Mattis made that very clear today .... Mattis says U.S. to continue operations in South China Sea (Reuters).
Stocking up on dried food and wata.... only mater if time before the ultimate showdown. Good luck to all
ReplyDeleteSo many hot spots. Middle east or asia first ?
DeleteBoth sides need to really ask themselves if being in an armed conflict over this is warranted.. like if you have to tell your children why you were part of this, you need a good answer.
ReplyDeleteChina: bit much to keep stealing from the world, belittling your neighbours, threaten everyone with war, while arming and supporting north Korea that got us close to nuclear war and then expect sympathy. Difficult to sympathise with any of your claims that historians dispute and are clearly motivated to exploit natural resources, while damaging sea life and bullying and injuring fishermen from other countries - which you have done and which is well documented.
USA: is this really about free waters for everyone or an attempt to encircle China? Pivot to Asia under Obama was a horrendously poorly chosen phrase, because we saw what the middle east looked like while you were "pivoting" over there. And what's your objection to the one China policy? It's connected. If you truly feel Taiwanese should be free and choose their own destiny, that's a nobel cause..but it's not quite clear if it's about that or keeping china down or both. No one will want you to keep China down for the wrong reasons, but will applaud you if you hold them accountable (ip theft, human rights abuses, totalitarian regime tendencies, faking of own gdp and currency manipulation, pollution, torture and abduction of dissenting citizens, etc etc)..but only if reasons are righteous
Killing communists is God's will!
ReplyDelete