Confronting China
The Washington Times reports that the Wall Street Journal reported that two b52 bombers flew into China’s newly designated Air Defense Identification Zone;
China didn’t try to contact the planes as they flew over the islands, The Journal said. And the crafts returned to base soon after takeoff. But the fact they flew at all was a clear message to China that the United States didn’t approve of the nation’s weekend designation of the ADIZ.
“The planes flew a pattern that included passing through the ADIZ,” the unnamed U.S. officials said. “The flight was without incident.”
Moreover, the B-52 flights were planned a while back as part of operation Coral Lightning. The planes weren’t armed and didn’t have escorts.
A link sent to us by Andy to Reuters gives some background on the ADIZ:
China published coordinates for an “East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone” over the weekend and warned it would take “defensive emergency measures” against aircraft that failed to identify themselves properly in the airspace.
The zone covers most of that sea and includes the skies over islands at the heart of a territorial dispute with Japan.
The United States and close ally Japan have sharply criticized the move, with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel calling it a “destabilizing attempt to alter the status quo in the region.” He said on Saturday the United States would not change how it operates in the region.
More of that toothless diplomacy thing. Remember that weeks after Bush 43 took office the Chinese forced down a reconnaissance flight and held some crew members hostage. That flight was over international waters, too. Well, this administration has said that they were preparing for a war in the Pacific Rim, despite all of the shit going on every where else on the planet. I like the fact that this administration is playing “I’m not touching you” with China, but this isn’t the time. And the only reason that China is being froggy is because this administration has no credibility.
Category: Military issues
Is this…….is this marketing for Battlefield 4: China Rising?
The whole rest of the planet is being froggy, so why shouldn’t China get in on the action? We can only fight in so many directions at once, and the Chinese know it.
Considering Obama and all he isn’t, why not test our resolve? He has shown that he is all talk and no action, except to give everyone all the money they ask for in exchange for…nothing. I agree that now is not the time to stir the shit with China. Or anyone else for that matter. The Pres has given it away to Iran and is giving Afghanistan all they want. So why not everyone else climb on the money train. He has shown the world America is weaker by the day and between him and Kerry they are showing the world we will talk and talk with no backbone until someone actually bombs something American somewhere. No wait…that has already happened in Benghazi.
This does not sound like a move The Emperor would make. Thus, I bet your last dollar and mine that Jacques Kerry’s people sent messages, telephoned and, perhaps, personally visited the Chinese to give them notice of the ‘incursion.’ And prior notice is precisely what China has demanded of all who would enter their unilaterally designated expanded air space. No way The Emperor just up and did it to test the Chinese or to make a statement. None.
@$ Upon reflection I agree with you. This has Kerry’s fingerprints all over it. I agree the Emperor, as you so correctly named him, does not have the backbone for anything like this.
Wow, we still have B-52s that fly? You mean they haven’t all been boneyarded to pay for one extra F-35 canopy? Damn, that’s the best news I’ve heard all year!
Does anyone besides me see a decidedly mixed message from bodaprez in this?
He wants to use diplomacy to ‘get along with’ Iran, which is not the friendliest bunch in the world, but he’s OK with pulling the dragon’t tail in the Far East?
None of this makes any sense. Why would anyone with a brain cell working think that a capitalis,-oriented, commercial, cheap labor, manufacturing country like China is remotely interested in having an actual war, when they could quite easily go bomb the crap out of North Korea and put a stop to the Kim family, once and for all?
I know about the squabbles between Japan and China over those islands. That’s a turf issue. It’s up to them to settle it.
But I just do not get the message behind this yanking the dragon’s tail. What am I missing?
Well, since someone brought up B52s traveling far from home:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJzuqZEbFHQ
Makes about as much sense as most of what this administration’s doing these days, foreign-relations wise.
Hondo, that’s exactly what I’m saying. None of it makes any sense.
@7. I tell you it’s not at all mysterious unless one believes that no notice was given to the Chinesers from Chiner. With notice–but w/o announcing that minor element–The Emperor comes across as having something harder than silly putty for a backbone which, of course, he does not.
I said it on another post and will again. This president’s message to the American people about this, Afghanistan, Iran, Obamacare, Benghazi, etc., etc. is, “we’re not happy…till you’re not happy!”. With a big, yellow, smiley face, have a nice day…shit happens sticker, right next to it.
So he’s cozying up to people with whom we do not do business?
But he’s doing his best to piss off people who are not only essentially a US-business partner but also hold several hundred billions’ worth of US Treasuries?
These are T-bills, which by the way, they can use to bankrupt the US by simply redeeming them.
And let us not forget that Iran is doing business with China by shipping oil to China along parts of the ancient trade route commonly known as the Old Silk Road.
OK.
That sound you hear is my head breaking the nearest brick wall.
I wonder if they didn’t expand their ADIZ for the express purpose to gauge our response. I bet they don’t even have the resources to effectively intercept the ADIZ 24×7.
We had to do this. There is no such thing as ‘International Law”, only what nations accept as fact. If China declares the South China Sea as their ADIZ and other nations comply with their regulations, their claim becomes de-facto law. See the Wikipedia entry for Gaddafi and the Gulf of Sidra for an earlier version of this fact:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Sidra
FWIW — Suppose that I am the People’s Republic of China. In keeping with my view of the world I am more important than the influence I seem to have. I want to increase my influence, more-broadly assert sovereignty, and perhaps gain a little local energy so I measure my neighbors (and other world players) by claiming stuff to see what happens. Today I want to test Japan and Taiwan and, maybe, the US. The Senkaku islands are 130 miles from Taipei and 1,200 miles from Toyko. The US has mostly stopped playing in my region. The only other player who might possibly be concerned is the Philippines and they just had a typhoon. I have watched the US over the past few months. Because of all the trouble with Congress and the ACA, Mr. Obama has less ability to move the US today than he did in June. So how IS he feeling? Limits? I own $1.3 trillion of US Treasury securities. Japan owns $1.1 trillion and Taiwan owns $185 billion. Together we own about half of all outstanding US Treasury notes so I can rock the boat but I don’t want to tip it over. Mr. Obama can feel cautious or in control at home. He can feel cautious or sporty about the Far East. He can feel cautious or sporty about China. He can feel cautious or aggressive about using his military. So I publish my ADIZ announcement to see if I can create some trouble between Taiwan and Japan and see what else shakes out. The US sends a combat aircraft patrol over the islands. At this time, the Chinese do nothing. Today the Chinese are evaluating what happened and what it means. Were they surprised by what we did? Do they know whose idea it was to fly that patrol over that place at that time? This is just another in the unending series of Chinese experiments to figure out what is happening in the world. We may get some idea of what they think by observing what they do next. FWIW, I think that… Read more »