South China Seas: Does China Want A War?

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  • At first they said their activities were exclusively peaceful, but now the Chinese are militarising "their" islands in the South China Seas? Do they want a war? Do they really think they can take on the Americans? Will Trump confront them?

  • The US will not accept China's militarisation of man-made islands in the South China Sea, Defence Secretary James Mattis has warned.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40141541

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    It's hard to know whether The Donald is serious, but what do you think, will the Americans stand up to and potentially confront the Chinese over their "peaceful" island building aka militarising the South China Seas and threatening neighbours, or is this just posturing from Trump?

  • Last Sunday’s sinking of an Iranian oil tanker 290 km off the coast of Shanghai certainly looks like an environmental disaster. Depending on how many of the ship’s 1 million barrels of condensate were released into the ocean and not burned off, the accident could end up being one of the biggest oil spills in half a century. The irony? Even that wouldn’t represent the biggest disaster to befall the area.

    The fact is, thanks to massive overfishing in China’s territorial waters, there isn’t much marine life left to kill in the disaster zone. According to He Pemin of Shanghai Ocean University, those waters have been so denuded over the last three decades that fishermen “normally bypass the area and go further afield for a bigger catch.”

    China has accused the United States of sending a warship without permission into what it said was its territorial waters in the disputed South China Sea, adding that it would take “necessary measures” to “safeguard its sovereignty.”

    The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Saturday that the U.S. Navy’s USS Hopper guided-missile destroyer had sailed within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of what is known as Scarborough Shoal, a group of disputed islets that Beijing calls Huangyan Island, on Wednesday night.

    These two stories from Japan are totally separate but show an important linkage, I believe.

    China's quest to control the South China Seas shows no sign of stopping, but beyond military means, there maybe another reason why China has been doing all this artificial island building over the last few years in this area.

    The first article initially talks about a oil spill in the seas but goes on to talk about the widespread damage done to the sea through overfishing. It goes on to say that Chinese fishermen have to venture further out into the sea to find fish now and explains that China is facing an every greater challenge of feeding its massive population.

    The second article talks about an American warship patrolling in the seas and coming close to the Scarborough Shoal and China has warned the Americans not to go into this area again. Quite tightly the Americans have told the Chinese where to go as they are in international waters, not Chinese.

    What is interesting about that Shoal beyond the fact that China has claimed them as its territory, is that the area is rich in fish.

    If a war were to start in the South Chine Seas, could the actual reason be one of food, rather than just China's wish to dominate and intimidate its neighbours?

  • A British warship will sail from Australia through the disputed South China Sea next month to assert freedom of navigation rights, the UK’s defence secretary said on Tuesday in a move likely to irk Beijing.

    China claims nearly all of the resource-rich waterway and has been turning reefs and islets into islands and installing military facilities such as runways and equipment on them.

    Looks like we're getting involved in the South China Seas dispute.

    I think this is a good idea as it will show China they cannot do what they want.

    Do you think Britain should get involved, or stay out of it and leave it to others like the Americans?

  • China tests first own aircraft carrier

    China already had an old Soviet aircraft carrier that it bought off the Russians a few years ago and modernised, but today marks a serious expansion of Chinese naval power with its own homegrown aircraft carrier.

    The ship is starting sea trials and hopes to be fully operational by 2020 and China has announced a third carrier (2nd homegrown built one) is to launch by 2022. This carrier may be nuclear powered and have catapults on them to carry more lethal planes.

    America has eleven carriers, so China is a long way from countering American naval power globally, but with this second carrier, China has catapulted itself to being the number one naval power in its local region. Not good after all its island building, which it then placed military bases on to intimidate neighbours.

  • China has for the first time landed bombers on disputed territory in the South China Sea, its air force said, prompting fresh US warnings that it is destabilising the region.

    The long-range H-6K bomber was among those which took part in drills on islands and reefs to improve China's ability to "reach all territory".

    Does anyone remember when China said it's island building was peaceful...?:rolleyes: Is there any doubt that is now total bollocks?

    There has been various articles in the Chinese state newspapers, that the Chinese leadership would like to give America a bloody nose. During WW2, Japan's military had the same thoughts about doing the same thing to the Americans and look out how that turned out.

    The South China Sea, despite the name, does not belong to China, but as China seems to be seeking a military confrontation over the issue, then that's exactly what they'll get.

  • China won't give up 'one inch' of territory says President Xi to Mattis

    China is committed to peace but will not give up "even one inch" of territory, President Xi Jinping has said, after talks with visiting US Defence Secretary James Mattis.

    Mr Xi added that China had peaceful intentions, but reasserted his view that there would be no concessions from China about what it considers to be Chinese territory.

    "We cannot lose even one inch of the territory left behind by our ancestors," Mr Xi said, according to Chinese state media. "What is other people's we do not want at all."

    At some point there will be a clash, especially when the Chinese president reclassifies what's Chinese territory and what's not.

  • Like many other threads, I've not had the time to keep this thread up to date and on this subject, there has been lots going on since the last post here. And things maybe coming to a head soon:

    US and Philippines deploying rockets in South China Sea after presence of hundreds Chinese vessels

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    U.S. Navy Warship Seen in South China Sea Carrying Unusual Amount of F-35s

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  • BEIJING — A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves:

    America has assured the Philippines that it would come to that nation’s defense if it comes under attack in the South China Sea.

    That’s according to reports in early March, when Washington reaffirmed a defense code that Manila has sought to revise.

    South China Sea: Fears of an INVASION as 200 Chinese militia vessels swarm disputed waters

    Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to send his troops on a "suicide mission" if Beijing doesn't "lay off" a Manila-occupied island in the South China Sea.

    Duterte's speech at a rally in the city of Puerto Princesa in Palawan came days after the Philippine government claimed as many as 275 Chinese boats and ships had been spotted in recent months around Manila's Thitu Island in the Spratly Island chain.

  • Sorry for all those links, but basically the Chinese have gotten far more aggressive over the last year in the South China Sea and the latest incident is the Chinese have sent 200 "militia" vessels off the coast off a Philippine island, sparking worries that the Chinese might be about to invade it.

    The Americans have sent a warship with their advanced F35s to the area and the Americans have said they might deploy missiles to defend the Philippines from any attack.

    This could, if China decided to do so, explode at any point.

  • South Korea fires warning shots at Russian military aircraft

    South Korea fired warning shots at a Russian A-50 military aircraft that entered its airspace on Tuesday, its Ministry of Defence said.

    Officials said the plane violated the airspace over the Dokdo/Takeshima islands, which are occupied by Seoul but also claimed by Japan.

    South Korea's military said the aircraft was one of three Russian and two Chinese military warplanes that entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ), where overseas aircraft must identify themselves beforehand, on Tuesday morning.

    Russian and Chinese bombers and reconnaissance planes have occasionally entered the zone in recent years.

    However, South Korea said one of the Russian planes flew further and entered the country's territorial airspace at around 09:00 local time (00:00 GMT).

    There has been lots of stories of China intimidating its neighbours in the region over recent months, but this is the first story, that I know of that, involves the the Russians working alongside the Chinese to do the intimidation.

    If China and Russia want to push the whole region into joining NATO against them, this seems to be the way to do it. I would not be surprised if even Communist Vietnam joins NATO at some point as tensions are extremely high between China and them.

  • Let's hope none of this happens and it if does, let's hope it doesn't last long. The west has better things to do than bugger about with archaic warfare.

    The west needs to look to the stars, look to its own rejuvenation and stop clown world in its tracks.

  • WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Friday, the U.S. military said, a move likely to anger Beijing.

    The busy waterway is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-Chinese relationship, which include an escalating trade war, American sanctions on China’s military and U.S. relations with Taiwan

    Of all the problems in the world: Putin and his actions in Ukraine and elsewhere; North Korea; Iran; Syria and the whole region, I think the events in the South China Seas are the ones which could bring the current superpower, America and the superpower of tomorrow, China, into conflict with each other.

    Our new aircraft carrier which becomes operational in about 18 months time, is scheduled as its first mission is to pay a visit to the South China Seas. The Chinese have already warned us not to do that.

  • I would like to hear the Chinese side of the story. Tensions have been building towards those two for years. What would the US do if a Chinese military aircraft flew that close to the States. Both the Chinese and Russians have some very advanced equipment. The Russians have planes on par with the F22 and F35's. The Chinese are working on Nuclear carriers and subs and their electronics are that good we might employ them for 5G and they are way ahead with nuclear power so we might employ them to build us some power stations too. Just think all the commercial products we buy from China is all putting money onto their military growth and development. Neither the Russians or Chinese are to be underestimated.

    How about this for interesting.....

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  • Hotting up in China as Military Deployed

    This could get real interesting as it seems we are sending lizzie out to China although under what is labelled as an exercise.


    Big Lizzie will confront China: £3bn aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth 'will be deployed to the Far East to take part in military drills with US and Japan'

    British supercarrier HMS Queen Elizabeth to deploy to the Pacific

    And this is from a while back so I wonder how the Chinese will react to this.

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    Things are hotting up sooner than expected. There's the whole COVID issue and then the the Huawei deal quite rightfully falling through plus all their humanitarian crimes. The problem is that we have all become too reliant on China's trade. I wonder if we can create some industry over here to do what the Chinese do or did for us. Could be an employment opportunity here and we need to do something to counteract the automation and loss of jobs. I wish Apple would pull out of China and put their trade back in Ireland. I want to see Trump or whoever is the next president start clamping down on the big US corporations. The problem here is.. who to trust more, the Chinese or the US. I'm not sure, I don't really trust either. We need to kick the US out of the UK as well as China IMO including their infrastructure at GCHQ down in Bude which the US mostly paid for. Then there's their military facilities over here. The UK should be United and we can have friends but we don't need to let them into our infrastructure and have a say in how we run our country or have such influence over us.

  • I would much rather trust the US than China. What with China's covid19 pandemic, infecting most countries of the world, Their punishing Hong Kong, backed up by military and introducing draconian penalties for showing the least bit dissent. Putting Muslims in "Education" camps. Threatening the UK.

    We buy loads of goods from China. I do wonder why they are flinging their toys out of the pram because we prefer to buy our 5G communications equipment from their competitors. Sounds very fishy !!!

    The Voice of Reason

  • This could get real interesting as it seems we are sending lizzie out to China although under what is labelled as an exercise.

    It's been planned for ages as China's aggression in the region has gradually increasing over the years, but as Mike has said, there are now even more reasons to deter China from further aggression.

    I would much rather trust the US than China. What with China's covid19 pandemic, infecting most countries of the world, Their punishing Hong Kong, backed up by military and introducing draconian penalties for showing the least bit dissent. Putting Muslims in "Education" camps. Threatening the UK.

    We buy loads of goods from China. I do wonder why they are flinging their toys out of the pram because we prefer to buy our 5G communications equipment from their competitors. Sounds very fishy !!!

    You mention the word fish, although in a very different context, but fish is a major factor here.

    China's population needs ever increasing amounts of food, but the waters off China's coast has been largely depleted of fish now. In the South China Seas around all the islands that China has taken over and built military bases on, there's plenty of fish though. There's also plenty of oil too..

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