Deja Vu All Over Again
Title is a quote, BTW.
US aircraft carrier cruises disputed Asian seas
A U.S. aircraft carrier group cruised through the disputed South China Sea on Saturday in a show of American power in waters that are fast becoming a focal point of Washington’s strategic rivalry with Beijing.
Vietnamese security and government officials were flown onto the nuclear-powered USS George Washington ship, underlining the burgeoning military relationship between the former enemies. A small number of journalists were also invited to witness the display of maritime might in the oil-rich waters, which are home to islands disputed between China and the other smaller Asian nations facing the sea.
Spent some time in The South China Sea AND with a nuclear carrier (USS Enterprise)… Not really relevant except point up that certain buzzwords have meaning.
And I’ll admit passing fascination with a geopolitical view that places our assets in and around disputed OIL rich waters while ignoring closer assets, but that’s just me. To say nothing of dealing with a possible threat and ignoring a one that is real. When was the last time a Chinese flew a plane into one of our buildings?
Freedom of navigation is no trivial matter, but I can’t help but remember The Gulf of Tonkin incident .
My apologies for being terse (or rambling) here. Reading the linked article aroused old memories that are most likely irrelevant to most, but…
Category: Geezer Alert!, Navy, Pointless blather, Politics
It’s not irrelevant to me.
I have a friend who lives in Taipei, Taiwan and occasionally sends me e-mails about what is going on over there. The most recent e-mail, which I received this morning, says:
“There are two issues going on in Taiwan. There are two different island chains that are being talked about right now. One set is north of Taiwan near Japan and the others are south of Taiwan in the South China Sea.
Taiwan is involved with both however, the issue you are seeing is that Japan and China are ready to start a war, and unfortunately the US must protect them if the shit hits the fan. It’s a mess, and the Chinese have sent over more advanced ships now too. It’s getting to the point that something might happen. A definite flash point.”
We all need to stay aware of what is going on over there, as it may directly affect all of us here.