China: Will respond to US ships with all necessary means

[slipperylobster]

The CCP Boyz in Beijing are klutzes who are now in over their heads and don't know what to do except to make a lot of noise for a day or two then look at one another and blink.

The Boyz have the whole region against them and now the Hague is going to examine the merits of the case the Philippines filed with the encouragement of Washington and which is being argued by a Washington law firm ICLOS specialist.

The Boyz don't know what they're doing in their country with their flailing economy or outside of it in the SCS or in the East Sea where Japan has their belligerence there in check. These guyz are flat out stupid.

Prez Obama is expected to announce he will visit Vietnam during his November trip for the Apec and Asean conferences, which would be consistent with the invitation extended to him earlier this year during the White House visit of leader Nguyen Phu Trong.

Obama working to make Vietnam an ally in dealing with China’s rise

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-working-to-make-vietnam-an-ally-in-dealing-with-chinas-rise/2015/07/06/75838cd8-23e7-11e5-aae2-6c4f59b050aa_story.html

Putin is sounding more and more like Boris Baddenoff....in that old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon.

Not really pulling rabbits out of hats...either....says bullwinkle

[hugh2121]

Ha ha ha I just hope that have lots and lots of working life boats and a huge supply of band aids. That's if there is anything left of them...? just the one is 25 or so aircraft carriers. The USS Ronald Reagan has enough nukes onboard to destroy every major city in the planet 18 times or more....lol...?

And if they were fired, how many would subsequently be fired at US targets. Talk of nukes is ridiculous. ( I hope )

[Lopchan]

The world needs to push back against the Chinese monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed many centuries ago. A statement needs to be made to these Chinese govt. power mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid claim on this area.

The world needs to push back against the AMERICAN monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed 50 YEARS ago. A statement needs to be made to the AMERICAN WAR mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid REASON TO BE IN this area EXCEPT TO CAUSE INSTABILITY AND (HOPEFULLY FOR THE us) cause damage to China's acceptance to the IMF thus re-strengthening the US' hold on world market. Good ol' scrUSA

Edited October 30, 2015 by Scott
Font

[spidermike007]

The world needs to push back against the Chinese monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed many centuries ago. A statement needs to be made to these Chinese govt. power mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid claim on this area.

The world needs to push back against the AMERICAN monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed 50 YEARS ago. A statement needs to be made to the AMERICAN WAR mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid REASON TO BE IN this area EXCEPT TO CAUSE INSTABILITY AND (HOPEFULLY FOR THE us) cause damage to China's acceptance to the IMF thus re-strengthening the US' hold on world market. Good ol' scrUSA

Let me establish an understanding of your position. China is claiming 80% of the South China Sea, as its own territory. Several trillion dollars a year of goods pass through these vital shipping lanes, that China is attempting to claim as it's own. There are currently quite a few nations that are disputing this, including all nations within the region that is being affected by these ridiculous claims. China is building airstrips to allow dramatic expansion of their military capability in this region. The US has allies in the region they have vowed to support.

So, what are you suggesting? That the world allow China to do as they please, regardless of international law or maritime law?

I am not a hawk. I am an American, that does not support most of the "US overseas adventures". But, there is a time and a place. I consider China to be positively ill intentioned. Who is going to push back, if not the US?

[slipperylobster]

The world needs to push back against the Chinese monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed many centuries ago. A statement needs to be made to these Chinese govt. power mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid claim on this area.

The world needs to push back against the AMERICAN monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed 50 YEARS ago. A statement needs to be made to the AMERICAN WAR mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid REASON TO BE IN this area EXCEPT TO CAUSE INSTABILITY AND (HOPEFULLY FOR THE us) cause damage to China's acceptance to the IMF thus re-strengthening the US' hold on world market. Good ol' scrUSA

lol...get in line for your chairman mao hat and jacket and grab a broom. Best O luck to you, sir...enjoy your day. The rest of us will be enjoying freedom.

By the way...we have every reason in the world to float boats on international waters. South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines would seriously argue your points.

No need to reestablish Navy dominance....as it is already a known that the US has big boats...and lots of em.

Edited October 30, 2015 by Scott

[jeffreysearch]

"China: Will respond to US ships with all necessary means."

Really. The US is the #1 buyer of Chinese exports. Link China could be taken down without firing a shot. Just put a 25% tariff on all Chinese imports. Right now China imports to the US duty free.

China's economy is already on its lips and this would push it over backwards. China recently sold about 1/2 of its US treasuries to raise emergency cash, and the treasuries were easily absorbed into the world market. There goes that threat.

China has nothing. Nothing.

So who do you think will start to buy your US Debt in the future .. when China really starts to sell ?? you know , ,the debt they use to pay pensions and other important things that Yanks take for granted ... Japan is Bankrupt and Saudis are heading that way too.. with the oil price staying low ! and Mr Putin not interested anymore .. China is a Creditor nation.. not a Debtor nation .. just in case you forgot ??

[Baerboxer]

"China: Will respond to US ships with all necessary means."

Really. The US is the #1 buyer of Chinese exports. Link China could be taken down without firing a shot. Just put a 25% tariff on all Chinese imports. Right now China imports to the US duty free.

China's economy is already on its lips and this would push it over backwards. China recently sold about 1/2 of its US treasuries to raise emergency cash, and the treasuries were easily absorbed into the world market. There goes that threat.

China has nothing. Nothing.

There's also the visas, I read that CIA keeps tabs on inner workings of CCP through visa bribes, ie: giving families of inner level Party members visas in exchange for information. Guess China ain't so great after all.

Every senior Chinese business person I know, have two things in common. They are all politically connected, usually through family power and they all have or are earnestly pursuing dual nationality. None trust their own government, or "the party" and all say the could loose everything instantly or they are a family member upset the establishment.

Canada and US are the first choices with UK and Aussie next, followed by Spain and Portugal.

They all say they want to protect future options for their children and also want to retire outside China.

So for them, China isn't so great, with little prospect of real fundamental change.

[spidermike007]

The world needs to push back against the Chinese monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed many centuries ago. A statement needs to be made to these Chinese govt. power mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid claim on this area.

The world needs to push back against the AMERICAN monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed 50 YEARS ago. A statement needs to be made to the AMERICAN WAR mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid REASON TO BE IN this area EXCEPT TO CAUSE INSTABILITY AND (HOPEFULLY FOR THE us) cause damage to China's acceptance to the IMF thus re-strengthening the US' hold on world market. Good ol' scrUSA

lol...get in line for your chairman mao hat and jacket and grab a broom. Best O luck to you, sir...enjoy your day. The rest of us will be enjoying freedom.

By the way...we have every reason in the world to float boats on international waters. South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines would seriously argue your points.

No need to reestablish Navy dominance....as it is already a known that the US has big boats...and lots of em.

Thank you. The Chairman Mao stuff is so tired. He was such a class clown. And mass murderer. Hard to defend him on any level. Also, hard to defend the current regime of class clowns too. Their intentions are positively foul. International waters are exactly that. Because the Chinese Politburo clowns declare it otherwise is about the same as Thailand declaring the entire Gulf and Andaman as their own. It means very little to the world. So, pushback is a lovely and necessary thing. It is tantamount to saying, you are clowns. Be consider you clowns. Alot of the world consider you clowns. You are the only one taking yourselves and your clown act seriously.

[2fishin2]

The world needs to push back against the Chinese monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed many centuries ago. A statement needs to be made to these Chinese govt. power mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid claim on this area.

The world needs to push back against the AMERICAN monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed 50 YEARS ago. A statement needs to be made to the AMERICAN WAR mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid REASON TO BE IN this area EXCEPT TO CAUSE INSTABILITY AND (HOPEFULLY FOR THE us) cause damage to China's acceptance to the IMF thus re-strengthening the US' hold on world market. Good ol' scrUSA

May we ask you country of monster heritage?

[shirtless]

America better be careful, China may refused to supply walmart, I cant see China a country renown for chasing the dollar lose its biggest customer, This is all face so substance.

[Publicus]

The world needs to push back against the Chinese monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed many centuries ago. A statement needs to be made to these Chinese govt. power mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid claim on this area.

The world needs to push back against the AMERICAN monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed 50 YEARS ago. A statement needs to be made to the AMERICAN WAR mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid REASON TO BE IN this area EXCEPT TO CAUSE INSTABILITY AND (HOPEFULLY FOR THE us) cause damage to China's acceptance to the IMF thus re-strengthening the US' hold on world market. Good ol' scrUSA

There are people who disagree.....

“I think we should welcome and support the U.S. action,” Tran Cong Truc, former director of Vietnam’s Government Border Committee, said on Wednesday, adding, “This is good news.”

“What the U.S. did helps in part to make China’s claims [in the region] invalid,” Truc said. “China’s claims and ambitions go against the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he added.

Tuesday’s U.S. naval patrol past the Spratlys shows other countries that the "U.S. takes seriously its responsibilities in the region," Rear Admiral Le Ke Lam, director of the Vietnamese Naval Academy said. “Now they know that the U.S. will not withdraw from Southeast Asia or the Asia-Pacific,” Lam said, adding, “Otherwise, China would have assumed the U.S. is weak, and they would have become more aggressive.”

http://atimes.com/2015/10/us-naval-passage-that-angered-beijing-pleases-some-in-china-wary-vietnam/

And here is a very important perspective and reality to recognise and realize....

Since becoming a great power, the United States has never tolerated peer competitors. As it demonstrated throughout the twentieth century, it is determined to remain the world’s only regional hegemon. Therefore, the United States will go to great lengths to contain China and do what it can to render it incapable of ruling the roost in Asia. In essence, the United States is likely to behave toward China largely the way it behaved toward the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

http://www.nationalinterest.org/feature/superpower-showdown-america-can-stop-chinese-aggression-asia-12368?page=2

It is a point of historical realpolitik that a country cannot become a global power in economics or militarily without first becoming a regional power. For the CCP Boyz in Beijing, becoming a regional power is proving to be a much greater task than they had ever imagined. The CCP Boyz of Beijing are only now beginning to recognise and to realise the East Asia-Indo Pacific region is a tough neighborhood to try to dominate.

CCP Boyz are unable to get out beyond the East Sea because of Japan and its smaller but qualitatively superior Navy. South Korea is heavily invested in trade with the CCP Boyz yet is attached to the USA by a formal mutual defense treaty and hosts 30 000 US forces. Taiwan is a United States protectorate. In the South China Sea Asean and the United States Navy have asserted internationally recognised EEZs and the open access of international air and sea transit.

Australia is a formal treaty ally of the US as it the Philippines and New Zealand. Prez Obama is fully expected to visit Vietnam in November on his Apec and Asean trip in response to being invited by that nation's leader during his visit to the White House earlier this year. India has changed its "Look East" policy orientated towards Beijing to "Move East" by constructing air and naval bases in the Andaman islands, signing strategic agreements with Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan to include joint naval maneuvers with the USN and Australia.

The declining economy of the CCP Boyz will limit its economic influence globally and the continued strength of the US economy and military will allies and partners will preclude the Dictators in Beijing becoming half what the Soviet Union was during its best days of the mid-1970s.

Bank on it.

[Publicus]

"China: Will respond to US ships with all necessary means."

Really. The US is the #1 buyer of Chinese exports. Link China could be taken down without firing a shot. Just put a 25% tariff on all Chinese imports. Right now China imports to the US duty free.

China's economy is already on its lips and this would push it over backwards. China recently sold about 1/2 of its US treasuries to raise emergency cash, and the treasuries were easily absorbed into the world market. There goes that threat.

China has nothing. Nothing.

So who do you think will start to buy your US Debt in the future .. when China really starts to sell ?? you know , ,the debt they use to pay pensions and other important things that Yanks take for granted ... Japan is Bankrupt and Saudis are heading that way too.. with the oil price staying low ! and Mr Putin not interested anymore .. China is a Creditor nation.. not a Debtor nation .. just in case you forgot ??

Do try to keep up as tough as it may be for folk who have always thought this way.

The biggest myth and joke of the 21st century to date and probably ever, which we hear all the time from people who know nothing and others who know less than nothing.

Read, live, learn....

China's Selling Tons of U.S. Debt. Americans Couldn't Care Less.

For all the dire warnings over China’s retreat from U.S. government debt, there is one simple fact that is being overlooked: American demand is as robust as ever.

Not only are domestic mutual funds buying record amounts of Treasuries at auctions this year, U.S. investors are also increasing their share of the $12.9 trillion market for the first time since 2012,

The buying has been crucial in keeping a lid on America’s financing costs as China -- the largest foreign creditor with about $1.4 trillion of U.S. government debt -- pares its stake for the first time since at least 2001. Yields on benchmark Treasuries have surprised almost everyone by falling this year, dipping below 2 percent last week.

It’s not the scenario that doomsayers predicted would leave the U.S. vulnerable to China’s whims.

http://www.bloomberg...d=yhoo.headline

Edited October 30, 2015 by Publicus

[spidermike007]

The world needs to push back against the Chinese monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed many centuries ago. A statement needs to be made to these Chinese govt. power mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid claim on this area.

The world needs to push back against the AMERICAN monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed 50 YEARS ago. A statement needs to be made to the AMERICAN WAR mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid REASON TO BE IN this area EXCEPT TO CAUSE INSTABILITY AND (HOPEFULLY FOR THE us) cause damage to China's acceptance to the IMF thus re-strengthening the US' hold on world market. Good ol' scrUSA

There are people who disagree.....

“I think we should welcome and support the U.S. action,” Tran Cong Truc, former director of Vietnam’s Government Border Committee, said on Wednesday, adding, “This is good news.”

“What the U.S. did helps in part to make China’s claims [in the region] invalid,” Truc said. “China’s claims and ambitions go against the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he added.

Tuesday’s U.S. naval patrol past the Spratlys shows other countries that the "U.S. takes seriously its responsibilities in the region," Rear Admiral Le Ke Lam, director of the Vietnamese Naval Academy said. “Now they know that the U.S. will not withdraw from Southeast Asia or the Asia-Pacific,” Lam said, adding, “Otherwise, China would have assumed the U.S. is weak, and they would have become more aggressive.”

http://atimes.com/2015/10/us-naval-passage-that-angered-beijing-pleases-some-in-china-wary-vietnam/

And here is a very important perspective and reality to recognise and realize....

Since becoming a great power, the United States has never tolerated peer competitors. As it demonstrated throughout the twentieth century, it is determined to remain the world’s only regional hegemon. Therefore, the United States will go to great lengths to contain China and do what it can to render it incapable of ruling the roost in Asia. In essence, the United States is likely to behave toward China largely the way it behaved toward the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

http://www.nationalinterest.org/feature/superpower-showdown-america-can-stop-chinese-aggression-asia-12368?page=2

It is a point of historical realpolitik that a country cannot become a global power in economics or militarily without first becoming a regional power. For the CCP Boyz in Beijing, becoming a regional power is proving to be a much greater task than they had ever imagined. The CCP Boyz of Beijing are only now beginning to recognise and to realise the East Asia-Indo Pacific region is a tough neighborhood to try to dominate.

CCP Boyz are unable to get out beyond the East Sea because of Japan and its smaller but qualitatively superior Navy. South Korea is heavily invested in trade with the CCP Boyz yet is attached to the USA by a formal mutual defense treaty and hosts 30 000 US forces. Taiwan is a United States protectorate. In the South China Sea Asean and the United States Navy have asserted internationally recognised EEZs and the open access of international air and sea transit.

Australia is a formal treaty ally of the US as it the Philippines and New Zealand. Prez Obama is fully expected to visit Vietnam in November on his Apec and Asean trip in response to being invited by that nation's leader during his visit to the White House earlier this year. India has changed its "Look East" policy orientated towards Beijing to "Move East" by constructing air and naval bases in the Andaman islands, signing strategic agreements with Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan to include joint naval maneuvers with the USN and Australia.

The declining economy of the CCP Boyz will limit its economic influence globally and the continued strength of the US economy and military will allies and partners will preclude the Dictators in Beijing becoming half what the Soviet Union was during its best days of the mid-1970s.

Bank on it.

Good analysis. Many of us are sure hoping that what you are predicting comes true. The Chinese would not be a noble world power, in my opinion. For all its faults, and despite all of the foreign policy blunders it has committed, the US has done a lot of positive work over the past 75 years, around the world, and given alot of aid. I doubt China would do the same.

[Seastallion]

The world needs to push back against the Chinese monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed many centuries ago. A statement needs to be made to these Chinese govt. power mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid claim on this area.

The world needs to push back against the AMERICAN monsters. They will never stop. Their end game is to reestablish the dominance they enjoyed 50 YEARS ago. A statement needs to be made to the AMERICAN WAR mongering freaks. They have nothing remotely resembling a valid REASON TO BE IN this area EXCEPT TO CAUSE INSTABILITY AND (HOPEFULLY FOR THE us) cause damage to China's acceptance to the IMF thus re-strengthening the US' hold on world market. Good ol' scrUSA

Let me establish an understanding of your position. China is claiming 80% of the South China Sea, as its own territory. Several trillion dollars a year of goods pass through these vital shipping lanes, that China is attempting to claim as it's own. There are currently quite a few nations that are disputing this, including all nations within the region that is being affected by these ridiculous claims. China is building airstrips to allow dramatic expansion of their military capability in this region. The US has allies in the region they have vowed to support.

So, what are you suggesting? That the world allow China to do as they please, regardless of international law or maritime law?

I am not a hawk. I am an American, that does not support most of the "US overseas adventures". But, there is a time and a place. I consider China to be positively ill intentioned. Who is going to push back, if not the US?

To be fair and balanced, there is precedent. The US supports (and the world does nothing) a country expanding it's borders, taking over resources that are not theirs, and aggressively downtreading the people it has over-run. At least in this case China is not actively oppressing millions of people as in the US-supported case.

[reallybigken]

As it has been said before: its all about saving face. The US needs to show it is standing by its alias in the area, and China needs to flex its muscle to show its neighbors. They may have planned this at their last meeting (September 25, 2015). Its all a chess game. Chinese own half of the US anyway (just search the web). China doesn't want to go to war with their investment (US) and the US doesn't want to loose its sugar daddy.

[Expat1]

You know it is always mind blowing to read some of the tripe that issues out here regards the USA and war with someone. There are far too many here watching way too much CNBC and WW2 movies. For those of us who actually were participants in the last Soviet MAD games and have kept up with developments it is clear the last thing the USA can afford is a nuclear exchange of any kind. It should be known that the next war will not be fought on some foreign shore but in your back yard, live and in living color. Anyone who was trained in this will explain how vulnerable USA is to this. A simple nuclear detonation of several kilotons at 300 to 500,000 feet AGL will result in a 3 spike EMP burst that will effectively cripple most of the USA. According to Senate & DOD EMP Commission the result of such a strike would result in the deaths of up to 90% of the entire population in 12 months. Hey, that is how it reads. I don't know if I agree with that number but it will be a sh#tload of them. No power, no fuel, food or water distribution, no emergency services no communications. Alarmist. Yep, agreed damn right I am very alarmed they have allowed such a situation to exist given we stood toe to toe with Ivan for 70 years over this very matter. Does not seem there was much point to that now. For those you gungho types you may wanna talk to family members back there and see if they still as keen as you given this situation. Just saying.

[squarethecircle]

This is starting to concern me. Will this mean I will have to start posing as a Canadian when I go to Chinese restaurants?

I worked with Canucks for years and years in the Middle East. They plaster their flags all over their chairs, backpacks and everything else. Then recently some woman with the maple leaf flag on her back got taken out (shot) by some terrorist in Europe. Your precious flag and smugness doesn't protect you anymore.

That's the funny thing about Canada, they give the smug anti-American bashing but then follow and mimic it, the bad parts like excessive consumerism like in Toronto. China does the same but I've traveled extensively in both and on a street level people in China tend to be quite friendly when you say you're American, Canada encountered what you mentioned. Not to bring up anti-Americanism but it seemed partly relevant, especially given the mention that the US is among the top choices of emigration for Chinese politicos and top level businessmen.

[SheungWan]

This is starting to concern me. Will this mean I will have to start posing as a Canadian when I go to Chinese restaurants?

Dressing as a Mountie and being accompanied by a pet moose should do the trick.

[OMGImInPattaya]

555555555555

[NeverSure]

As it has been said before: its all about saving face. The US needs to show it is standing by its alias in the area, and China needs to flex its muscle to show its neighbors. They may have planned this at their last meeting (September 25, 2015). Its all a chess game. Chinese own half of the US anyway (just search the web). China doesn't want to go to war with their investment (US) and the US doesn't want to loose its sugar daddy.

China is already selling its US treasuries and becoming much less of a creditor because it is desperate for cash. China is crashing.

Sugar Daddy?? The US is the #1 buyer of Chinese exports and China is an export driven economy. The US is China's Sugar Daddy!!!!!!

The US allowed China to get any money at all in the first place. Put an embargo or stiff tariffs on Chinese imports into the world's largest economy (The US) and watch China sink out of sight.

There is no financial chess game here. As China sells massive amounts of US treasuries to raise emergency cash, the treasuries are absorbed easily into the world market and most of them by US institutional investment buyers. This has been happening this month without a ripple to the US or world economy!!

[Jingthing]

This is starting to concern me. Will this mean I will have to start posing as a Canadian when I go to Chinese restaurants?

Dressing as a Mountie and being accompanied by a pet moose should do the trick.

The very idea of a toy moose, like a toy poodle, is very appealing indeed. At least in theory. The air conditioning bills would be a deal breaker though.

[up2u2]

I would feel more confident of America's bravado in regards to responding to threats from China if the US had actually won a military operation since WW2. China has sat back with their feet up watching USA blow $3 Trillion in the Middle East getting nowhere. The smart money would have to be on China winning this little skirmish.

[craigt3365]

I would feel more confident of America's bravado in regards to responding to threats from China if the US had actually won a military operation since WW2. China has sat back with their feet up watching USA blow $3 Trillion in the Middle East getting nowhere. The smart money would have to be on China winning this little skirmish.

Umm, I think Sadam might disagree with you. LOL But yes, the US policy in the ME has not been good. With that being said, it's an extremely complex situation. No easy answers.

[SheungWan]

I would feel more confident of America's bravado in regards to responding to threats from China if the US had actually won a military operation since WW2. China has sat back with their feet up watching USA blow $3 Trillion in the Middle East getting nowhere. The smart money would have to be on China winning this little skirmish.

The best military operation is one where you win without the other side daring to fight. However, I think we can put down Korea as an operation that stopped the peninsula being overrun, Serbia of course though you may not like that one and the Berlin Airlift. China's success? Defeating India up in the mountains. Not sure if you want to put down the China vs USSR firefight as a China defeat or victory. Tibet was a walkover. can we say that the smart money was also on China defeating Vietnam on the islands dispute. We can certainly say that Vietnam won the Sino-Vietnam war of 1979, so feet-up? Not really.

[Thorgal]

It's not about the legality of these artificial islands, it's about the future impact if China started an extended low cost economic hub with countries around.

Let's not forget the economic menace to the West if BRICS is extra boosted with those islands + joining African countries + joining of Iran, Venezuela, Syria,...all fan countries of the West through their economical sanctions...

If they start to sell just oil and gas with their own common currency in a closed separate market...

[Usernames]

I would feel more confident of America's bravado in regards to responding to threats from China if the US had actually won a military operation since WW2. China has sat back with their feet up watching USA blow $3 Trillion in the Middle East getting nowhere. The smart money would have to be on China winning this little skirmish.

China hasn't fought a major battle in two generations. And they got spanked in Vietnam when they did. In ANY conflict, they will be going in cold, with no experience, and NOBODY from the non-commissioned ranks up with the slightest idea what it is like to get shot at.

[craigt3365]

It's not about the legality of these artificial islands, it's about the future impact if China started an extended low cost economic hub with countries around.

Let's not forget the economic menace to the West if BRICS is extra boosted with those islands + joining African countries + joining of Iran, Venezuela, Syria,...all fan countries of the West through their economical sanctions...

If they start to sell just oil and gas with their own common currency in a closed separate market...

It's 100% about the legality. International waters are just that, and are very well defined. Open to all for navigation. A nation can't just place a stake in the ground (or sea) and say others have to avoid that area. Ridiculous.

China has just said they will not recognize the UN ruling. Probably because they know they are going to lose. Few are supporting China, other than Russia, Iran, Venezuela, etc. LOL

[slipperylobster]

I would feel more confident of America's bravado in regards to responding to threats from China if the US had actually won a military operation since WW2. China has sat back with their feet up watching USA blow $3 Trillion in the Middle East getting nowhere. The smart money would have to be on China winning this little skirmish.

Sometimes decisive victories are not required at all. A good strategist would accept "withdrawals" from the battlefield, if gains can be made in other ways.

Your humble opinion that we need a country to "concede and sign a declaration that they have lost a war" is kind of dated. All that was done before in WWII...when no choices were available. In the present...there are complications, and clear victories are elusive.

Our victories are sometimes intangible...worldwide. Even Vietnam, Laos and China are welcoming tourism and capitalism. The battlefield, nowadays, is not always concerntina wire and foxholes.

What I see is that few would want to replace our lead, if the USA just decided to pack it all up and go home. Foolish men might even think russia, north korea and china would just lay down their guns and start farming rice again...or whatever else grows in the yard.

This is why we study history, folks. Pax Romana was the closest thing to peace the world has ever known, and was only accomplished by military strength.

[up2u2]

I would feel more confident of America's bravado in regards to responding to threats from China if the US had actually won a military operation since WW2. China has sat back with their feet up watching USA blow $3 Trillion in the Middle East getting nowhere. The smart money would have to be on China winning this little skirmish.

China hasn't fought a major battle in two generations. And they got spanked in Vietnam when they did. In ANY conflict, they will be going in cold, with no experience, and NOBODY from the non-commissioned ranks up with the slightest idea what it is like to get shot at.

Always been America's folly. Underestimating and little to no understanding of their opponent. Probably why they continually fail in military conflicts. See how you go.

[metisdead]

An off topic post about the Russian jets approaching a US aircraft carrier off of South Korea has been removed as well as the replies.