Chinese paper says should prepare for South China Sea armed clash
China should prepare itself for military confrontation in the South China Sea, an influential Chinese paper said on Tuesday, a week ahead of a decision by an international court on a dispute there between China and the Philippines.
Tensions have been rising ahead of a July 12 ruling by an arbitration court hearing the argument between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea in the Dutch city of The Hague.
In joint editorials in its Chinese and English editions, the state-run Global Times said the dispute, having already been complicated by U.S. intervention, now faces further escalation due to the threat posed by the tribunal to China's sovereignty.
"Washington has deployed two carrier battle groups around the South China Sea, and it wants to send a signal by flexing its muscles: As the biggest powerhouse in the region, it awaits China's obedience," it said.
China should speed up developing its military deterrence abilities, the paper added.
"Even though China cannot keep up with the U.S. militarily in the short-term, it should be able to let the U.S. pay a cost it cannot stand if it intervenes in the South China Sea dispute by force," it said.
"China hopes disputes can be resolved by talks, but it must be prepared for any military confrontation. This is common sense in international relations."
The newspaper is published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, and while it is widely read in policy-making circles it does not have the same mouthpiece function as its parent and its editorials cannot be viewed as representing government policy.
It is also well-known for its extreme nationalist views.
China, which has been angered by U.S. patrols in the South China Sea, will be holding military drills in the waters there starting from Wednesday.
China's Defence Ministry said the drills are routine, the official China Daily reported.
Manila has sought to dial down tensions with its powerful neighbor ahead of the decision but resisted pressure to ignore the ruling.
"The reality is that nobody wants a conflict, nobody wants to resolve our conflict in a violent manner, nobody wants war,” Philippines Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay, told ANC television on Tuesday.
"It is my understanding that the President would like to maintain stronger, better relationships with everybody, including China, including the United States, including Japan and all," Yasay said, adding that a "special envoy" was needed to help resolve the dispute.
U.S. officials have expressed concern that the Hague court ruling could prompt Beijing to declare an air defense identification zone, or ADIZ, as it did over the East China Sea in 2013, or step up the pace of reclamation and construction on its holdings in the disputed region.
What response China takes will "fully depend" on the Philippines, the China Daily added, citing unidentified sources.
"There will be no incident at all if all related parties put aside the arbitration results," one of the sources told the English-language publication.
"China has never taken a lead in ... stirring up regional tension," another of the sources added.
About $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year though the energy-rich, strategic waters of the South China Sea, where China's territorial claims overlap in parts with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-china-idUSKCN0ZL030
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There is plenty of posturing going on prior to the July 12th decision by all parties. I would like to assume that cooler heads will prevail than what is reported by Chinese Global Times, but "preserving face" is going to be a driver for Chinese leaders in this matter.
Conversely, the US currently has two carriers operating in the region. I don't think this is a coincidence since we haven't had joint carrier operations in that region since 1983. The US and local allies HAVE to show a united force against China which has openly stated it will ignore any decision made by the Maritime Tribunal in Hamburg, Germany based upon the "9-dash line" of their historical records. What makes this worse is that China is a signatory to the act which Maritime Tribunal was founded upon.
Present day Maritime law has to mean something, or we will be thrown back into the colonial days of the 1800s, made significantly worse by the speed and lethality of 21st Century weapon systems.
I think that the Anerucan sailor's surrender to Iran is something China will take into consideration concerning what happens next, notwithstanding the penalties imposed upon the US commanders.
Especially in light of that, the US may now be forced to "save face" and may overreact militarily. Not a good picture all in all.
Pretty accurate assessment Buzz. But I also know that there is a difference in the thinking's by a junior officer in charge of a riverine boat vs. an admiral commanding a two carrier battle group with a hotline to the Pentagon and White house....
A swift boat commander worries about his mission and his men, A battle group Commander worries about that also but adds a million more things into the mix.
Like the power to blow the world to hell.
I don't think your will see a carrier group commander considering surrender as a viable alternative to killing a few people if they decide to confront someone of are being confronted.
On the other hand, good to see you again, I'm on the road finishing up breakfast and using a borrowed computer in Oregon. About to get back on the road for the next leg of our journey, just haven't decided yet which direction we are going. (probably south)
But gotta go, just had to drop in and point out a few things on the subject...
Vacations are wonderful....
A game of brinkmanship is at play. The results could be deadly.
Yep..... someone is going to have to get killed or injured for the parties involved to back down to the point they will "talk".
And if face is involved, it may take more than one incident.
Hi Fly....
Been a while.
Any one remember the Korean War? The last year of it? Was pretty much a face saving thing with the Chinese, they wanted out, but had to save face with the North cause if they pulled out without winning the north was toast.
So the went into a war of attrition. Pork Chop Hill, of no real military value but was a test of wills.
WE had to reassure them that if they really wanted a wider scale war we were quite prepared to go the distance.
The Chinese forced the North into the cease fire cause we proved to them that we would do what it takes.
DO we have that kind of resolve now? I don't know. They view this government as weak, our power declining. Now is the time for them to push and see if we have the backbone to stop them.
Is this going to be the lesson of '62 or the lesson of '78?
That is the big question.
It is also the reason for the troubles in the Ukraine. And what was needed there was a massive response in aid of the Ukraine.
What did they get in response to their request for help? A flag waving road trip from Poland across Germany to Romania. No help at all.
WE won't get away with that here and the stakes are much higher.
No choice but to make this a 62..... The whole region depends on it, and we both know it.
Yep.... I read the stories of Pork Chop hill.... A meat grinder for sure.
Bunch of chicken little's that think the sky is falling. Nothing will come of this we owe them too much money. Best thing we could do is mothball our fleet and concentrate on sealing our southern border from the hostile invasion from the south.
You want to call this a bunch of Chicken Littles Dean? The truth of the matter is that this is a very expensive, high-stakes game of chicken, winner take all affecting multiple nations and their economies. This is very much like the Cuban Missile crisis, yet I doubt you will be able to make that parallel.
I'd be willing to bet that 50% of everything you purchase from food to cars passes through those seas. Any of your business or business product depend on rare earth magnets? The fact that you are using the internet to post your opinions sure does.
The goods will continue to flow. As I said this is nothing and only chicken littles think it is.
Dean,
The goods will continue to flow as long as we have a presence there, and as long as we have a presence there the Chinese will be irritated. To what point we don't know. But you shouldn't be so flippant about what ticks off the Chinese. Their culture is all about strength and saving face, and they will not put up with what they feel is humiliation and we won't put up with a show of power from them, if they get overly aggressive.