Militarization of South China Sea & East China Sea. Six Wars Necessary

[11B4V]

If war must come, let it come sooner rather than later.

The ching chongs don't want a war anymore than we do.

[CountDeMoney]

Here's a piece from over the weekend from Al Jazeera Eengrish, since mouthbreathing Dumbfuckistanis couldn't handle a BBC copycat named Al Jazeera America--

Reporter's Notebook
Asia Pacific
17 June 2016
Looking for China's maritime militia
Reporting on groups involved in confrontations with foreign patrol vessels in the South China Sea is proving difficult.

By
Florence Looi
Reporter

Tanmen, China - We had come to this fishing village on Hainan Island, China's southernmost province, because it's home to one of the country's best-known maritime militias - the Tanmen Maritime Militia Company.

Its recruits are mostly men from the fishing community. They are given basic military training, and their activities, according to the Hainan Daily, include "collecting maritime information ... and contributing to sovereignty defence in the South China Sea".

Chinese President Xi Jinping cited the Tanmen Maritime Militia as the model for maritime militia building, and honoured them with a visit in 2013.

But while they may be celebrated in local media, we soon found out filming the Tanmen Maritime Militia was not so straightforward.

It was by chance that we spotted them one sunny morning, as we drove past Tanmen Port - around 40 or 50 men, dressed in military fatigues, going through a drill.

What was to prove even more difficult, though, was getting people to talk about the group.

We asked a local official from the propaganda office whether the men we saw were members of the Tanmen Militia. He told us they were part of a film crew. That would have been a bit more believable had we not driven past the film crew just minutes earlier.

A fisherman we interviewed, Wang Shumao, denied knowing anything about the militia. He said the men we saw were just fishermen who "... chose to wear camouflage to protect themselves from the sun".

But it turned out Wang was not telling the truth about how much he knew about the group.

We found out later that he was not just an ordinary fisherman. He is a deputy commander of the Tanmen Maritime Militia.

He was also on one of the 12 Chinese vessels involved in a standoff with the Philippine Navy at Scarborough Shoal in 2012. He had led an unsuccessful attempt to block Philippine vessels from approaching the shoal.

The Qionghai City Government website published a profile of Wang last year.

Wang did not reveal any of that when we spoke to him, and denied knowing anything about the group.

But why were the Chinese so reluctant to talk to foreign media about the Tanmen Maritime Militia?

Perhaps because of the unflattering reports about China's maritime militias. These groups have been involved in confrontations with foreign patrol vessels in the South China Sea.

In 2014, boats belonging to maritime militias, together with Chinese coastguard and naval ships, helped form a cordon around an oil rig that the Chinese had installed in disputed waters, to prevent Vietnamese maritime authorities from approaching.

A year later, fishing vessels believed to be part of several Chinese maritime militias, were reportedly involved in harassing a US navy ship when it sailed near the Spratly Islands in October 2015.

Experts say the use of quasi-civilian forces is a tactic to avoid direct military confrontations, and allows the Chinese government some degree of deniability.

Andrew Erickson, professor at the US Naval War College, told Defense News: "China is trying to use these government-controlled fishermen below the radar to get the bonus without the onus to support its South China Sea claims."

China, however, denied this. Its foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said: "This kind of situation does not exist."

But China is increasingly assertive, aggressive even in pursuing its territorial claims.

A Pentagon report said that China's reclamation work has added 1,300 hectares of land on features in the Spratly Islands.

The next phase would probably involve building substantial military infrastructure on the man-made islands.

Lin Yongxin, from the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, dismissed questions about China's militarisation of the region: "China's goal is always to provide better public service, including meteorological service and medical help."

Analysts are in no doubt, however, that China's expansionist policies in the South China Sea would continue.

Alan Dupont, a non-resident senior fellow for the Washington-based Atlantic Council, said: "It [China] now has the military capability, the political and financial clout to get its way and I think the Chinese have decided that after 100 years of weakness, they now need to assert themselves and claim their rightful position in Asia."

The fishermen we met in Hainan would have no trouble playing a role in this.

As one of them told us, echoing China's argument for much of the South China Sea: "The sovereignty absolutely belongs to China. We don't know what laws should be applied, but our grandfathers' grandfathers' grandfathers fished there ... We will never allow anyone else to take our ancestors' sea."

[CountDeMoney]

The ching chongs don't want a war anymore than we do.

It's not about wanting a war, it's about tripping backwards into one.

And it's "Ching Chongs."  You always capitalize proper nouns, Dummy.

[11B4V]

The ching chongs don't want a war anymore than we do.

It's not about wanting a war, it's about tripping backwards into one.

And it's "Ching Chongs."  You always capitalize proper nouns, Dummy.

Won't happen.

[Jacob]

The ching chongs don't want a war anymore than we do.

It's not about wanting a war, it's about tripping backwards into one.

And it's "Ching Chongs."  You always capitalize proper nouns, Dummy.

Won't happen.

Wow, you feel really strongly about capitalization

[Admiral Yi]

No, I think racial slurs are lower case: gooks, chinks, slopes, zipperheads, krauts, frogs, poms, etc.

[11B4V]

The ching chongs don't want a war anymore than we do.

It's not about wanting a war, it's about tripping backwards into one.

And it's "Ching Chongs."  You always capitalize proper nouns, Dummy.

Won't happen.

Wow, you feel really strongly about capitalization

Wouldn't benefit them.

[11B4V]

No, I think racial slurs are lower case: gooks, chinks, slopes, zipperheads, krauts, frogs, poms, etc.

That's what I learned from watching Seedy. Capitalization would still give a sort of status.

[CountDeMoney]

As he was referring to a specific political entity in the capacity of a sovereign state, it's a proper noun.  He wasn't just referring to any group of ching chongs, you know.

And I really just wanted a reason to call 11B a Dummy.

[11B4V]

 

I just like how Tim is so matter of fact about a U.S.- Chopstick war. Like he's going to enlist. It won't happen.

[11B4V]

As he was referring to a specific political entity in the capacity of a sovereign state, it's a proper noun.  He wasn't just referring to any group of ching chongs, you know.

And I really just wanted a reason to call 11B a Dummy.

[Monoriu]

Chinese fishing boats being fired upon by various navies is nothing new.  Happens all the time with the South Korean navy.  I seem to recall that the Argentinians actually sank a Chinese fishing boat. 

Well maybe Chinese Fishing Boats should start obeying international laws.

From what I have read, they have basically exhausted the fishstocks in Chinese waters.  Chinese just aren't believers in sustainability.  So they go elsewhere.  That's not a good excuse, but that's reality. 

[CountDeMoney]

Tea Leaf Nation
Watch: China Takes Teen-Friendly Tack in South China Sea Propaganda Battle
A new video offers a peppy, commercialized angle on a hot-button issue.

China's gone upbeat and commercial in its latest effort to convince its citizens — and the world — that its claims in the South China Sea deserve respect. On June 21, state-run China Central Television shared an undated video on Weibo, a popular micro-blogging platform, that emphasizes the contested region's importance as a trading hub.

Watch the video here:  https://youtu.be/PH7sOSmyalQ

"The newest fashions. State-of-the-art electronics," the video begins, sounding like a commercial. "Don't you want to get your hands on these as quickly as possible?" Viewers are advised that if they do, "then you better pray for smooth sailing in the South China Sea!"

The future of smooth sailing in the South China Sea is currently murky. An international tribunal in the Hague will soon rule on the validity of some of China's claims in the South China Sea after the Philippines, one of several countries in the region whose territorial claims there overlap with China's, filed the case in 2013. China has repeatedly declared it will not adhere to any decision made by the tribunal. To help reduce the toll to its international image if it flouts a ruling by an internationally recognized legal body, China has launched a major public relations campaign attempting to win foreign nations over to its side. The latest video shows Beijing hasn't forgotten the importance of rallying domestic support.

The clip is the latest of several slickly produced propaganda videos designed to resonate with savvy web users. These videos resemble cartoons far more than they do traditional, staid Communist Party propaganda, which typically featured Soviet-style anthems, prominent nationalist symbols, and  bombastic jargon.

While the video is upbeat in tone, the United States comes in for some criticism. While English translation of the Chinese video softens its rhetorical edges a bit, the original Chinese says that given the U.S. position "very, very far away" from the South China Sea, the United States has been "too actively engaged" in the region, including its backing of the Philippines arbitration case and U.S. deployment of spy planes near China's border. The video calls such actions "bellicose."

Of those thousands of Weibo viewers who commented on the video, many declared themselves favorably impressed. "If you don't share this, you're not Chinese," reads one oft-repeated sentiment. Others called it "excellent" and "reasonable." There were dissenting voices; one popular comment called the video's explanation of China's historical claims "lies."

[Valmy]

Now now Guam isn't too far away from the South China Sea.

[The Minsky Moment]

Now now Guam isn't too far away from the South China Sea.

3000 km give or take.