Naughtical Nautiness

Surface contact!

Like a hoochie who just discovered her especial purpose - collectivist China has quite the record of misapplying her future hegemonic puissant status

"....As China has struggled to expand its maritime boundaries, assert sovereignty over disputed islands and vast maritime resources, and enhance its naval capabilities to counter U.S. Navy dominance in the Pacific, it has never been reluctant to use force or coercion. 

"...This long history of aggression suggests that the United States will have to be firm and proactive in countering China's expanding self-proclaimed zone of influence if it hopes to keep Beijing from dominating the coastal seas of the western Pacific.

Lets review:

1974 - China illegally invades and retains hot! turf in Paracel Islands  "...which were then under South Vietnamese control -- beginning an illegal occupation that continues today. Over the years, China has increased its military presence on the islands, building a military airfield and an intelligence monitoring facility that can be used for operations in the South China Sea."

1995 - China occupied Mischief Reef, an islet located only 130 miles from the Philippines' Palawan Island and strategically situated astride the Palawan Strait, one of Asia's most important sea-lanes. Despite repeated Filipino requests to withdraw, China has continued its illegal military buildup in the reef; Chinese naval forces there could be used to disrupt maritime traffic passing through the Malacca and Singapore Straits to the Philippines and northern Asia. 


In the last decade, China has acted out navy wise at an alarmingly exponential rate!

2001 - 'member when that hot shot F - 8 pilot collided with Great Satan's EP-3 spy plane sweetly loitering about in internat'l air space?


2001, a Chinese Jianheu III-class frigate confronted the U.S.N.S. Bowditch, which was legally conducting a routine military survey in the Yellow Sea, and ordered the unarmed ship to leave the Chinese exclusive economic zone (EEZ), an area of sea over which a state claims rights of exploration and exploitation of resources.

2005 - Chinese naval vessels shot and killed nine Vietnamese fishermen inside Vietnamese waters.

"...China has also resorted to economic coercion -- it has threatened both British Petroleum, in 2007, and Exxon Mobil, in 2008, with the loss of business opportunities in mainland China if the companies did not end their joint ventures with Vietnam in the South China Sea. 

2009 - China's pirate navy seized a total of 17 Vietnamese fishing boats and their 210 crew members.

"...2009, five Chinese vessels -- three government ships and two small merchant ships -- harassed the U.S.S. Impeccable in the South China Sea, approximately 75 nautical miles from Hainan Island. The merchant ships intentionally stopped in front of the Impeccable, forcing it to make an emergency "all stop" to avoid a collision. Just a few months later, two Chinese fishing trawlers harassed the U.S.S. Victorious in a similar incident. It appears that Beijing is now using civilian vessels as proxies to advance its strategy of denying access to its coastal seas. 




2010 - China issued a unilateral fishing ban for the South China Sea in an effort to gain control over the sea's dwindling fish stocks. 

2010, China conducted an unprecedented military exercise in the South China Sea, involving ships and aircraft from all three of its fleets. This came after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated earlier that month at the ASEAN Regional Forum that "the United States has a national interest in freedom of navigation, open access to Asia's maritime commons, and respect for international law in the South China Sea." 

"...2010, China objected to a planned U.S.-South Korean military exercise in the Yellow Sea, which was organized as a response to North Korea's sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in March 2010. Beijing criticized the participation of the U.S.S. George Washington, arguing that deploying an aircraft carrier to the Yellow Sea would be provocative and a threat to Chinese national security -- even though the U.S. carrier had conducted operations in the Yellow Sea earlier in the year without incident.


Withdrawing USS George Washington from the sexercise may have actually got China's desires all whetted up instead of satiation.

"...Clearly, Beijing considers the South China Sea a vital square in its geopolitical chessboard. In fact, last March, Beijing announced that the sea was now a "core interest" for China -- a position previously reserved only for Tibet, Xinjiang, and Taiwan.  


Maybe in the far flung future - an autocratical unfree China may indeed rule the waves - or at least blanket them in ship killing missiles along with assorted submariners and aircraft carriers.


Maybe.


Til that unhappy day dawns, Great Satan should perhaps sweetly tourniquet up the pressure for a fun, friendly teachable moment to China's Future War Planners with a subtle show of real hyper puissance:


"...Washington must not give in to Chinese demands to halt or reduce surveillance operations in and over the EEZ. The U.S. Navy should also send an aircraft carrier into the Yellow Sea at the earliest opportunity; not doing so will embolden China to protest even louder the next time the United States proposes naval exercises off the Korean peninsula. 

"...The U.S. navy must also not enter into a so-called Incidents at Sea agreement with its Chinese counterpart. Such a document, which would govern the movement of the two countries' naval forces, would significantly enhance the prestige of the Chinese navy and make it appear an equal to U.S. naval forces -- something it is not.  


Great Satan "...should also join Indonesia and Vietnam in protesting China's expansive U-shaped claim of sovereignty in the South China Sea. It should follow this protest by deploying an increased naval presence in the South China Sea, particularly in the vicinity of the islets occupied by China (for example, the Paracels and Mischief Reef). 

"...Washington should also recognize Japanese sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands and state publicly that U.S. obligations under the U.S.-Japan Mutual Defense Treaty apply to the Senkakus. It should take similar steps with regard to the Philippine claims to Scarborough Shoal and the Kalayaan Island Group. Finally, Great Satan must continue a robust and visible reconnaissance and surveillance program off the coast of China, as well as routine carrier operations in the Yellow Sea.

Natch, collectivist China may and will most likely freak the freak out and over react with jankspeak 'bout 'mbargoes and rare heavy metals.


So what?

"...Continued appeasement is likely to be even worse -- it would only embolden Beijing to solidify further its economic and military dominance in the Pacific.

Pic "Peoples Liberation Navy is everwatchful to resist imperial hegemonic chicanery" (pdf)