New islands constructed by China in international waters

[yorkie]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35031313

Last year the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes travelled across the South China Sea in a fishing boat and became the first journalist to observe close-up how China is constructing new islands on coral reefs. A few days ago he returned to the area in a small aircraft - provoking a furious and threatening response from the Chinese Navy.

The scattered atolls, reefs and sand bars known as the Spratly Islands are a very difficult place to get to. Some are controlled by Vietnam, others by the Philippines, one by Taiwan, and then of course there are those controlled by China.

Don't expect an invitation from Beijing....

This has been brewing for a while... sounds rather concerning to me.

Thoughts?

 

[Tim R-T-C]

This area has been a hotpoint for years now - Dale Brown wrote a thriller novel in the mid 1990s set in this there. There is escalation afoot, but I can't see anything actually happening. China have been the primate power in the area for generations but don't seem to have any real territorial ambitions towards sovereign states.

 

[yorkie]

... but don't seem to have any real territorial ambitions towards sovereign states.

A quick search for a phrase like 'china territorial ambitions' finds a lot of evidence to the contrary!

 

[Gathursty]

36% of Earth's population, maybe they do need the extra space. Maybe they could ask Russia if they could buy a bit of their land as they clearly have a ridiculous amount of it compared to their population.

 

[krus_aragon]

This area has been a hotpoint for years now - Dale Brown wrote a thriller novel in the mid 1990s set in this there. There is escalation afoot, but I can't see anything actually happening. China have been the primate power in the area for generations but don't seem to have any real territorial ambitions towards sovereign states.

Tom Clancy also wrote a "captain's POV" submarine thriller based on a Chinese invasion of the area (where oil was the motivation). It was published back in 1996.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

A quick search for a phrase like 'china territorial ambitions' finds a lot of evidence to the contrary!

But given their overwhelming size and power they could have invaded Taiwan, Vietnam, North Korea many years ago if they wanted to.

 

[bb21]

Nothing will happen. Chill.

Both China and US have too much to lose in an all out war.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Nothing will happen. Chill.

Both China and US have too much to lose in an all out war.

But suppose the US electorate play their Trump card?

 

[krus_aragon]

But suppose the US electorate play their Trump card?

Mass emigration? https://xkcd.com/180/

 

[bb21]

But suppose the US electorate play their Trump card?

Trump is an attention seeking whore. He is a conniving little so-and-so who knows how to use publicity to his advantage.

He will not have the balls to engage in an all-out war with China. The Republicans will stop him from doing so themselves, otherwise they could all be staring at bankruptcy.

All potential candidates for the presidency talked of taking a hard stance on China pre-election, they always mellow after winning office. Reality is more important than ideology.

 

[Tetchytyke]

China have been the primate power in the area for generations but don't seem to have any real territorial ambitions towards sovereign states.

That must come as something of a shock to the government of Taiwan. I agree they could wipe Taiwan out if they really wanted to, but that doesn't mean they don't have territorial ambitions.

Like Russia, they are big enough and strong enough to be allowed to do whatever they want.

What bothers me is that western governments don't even have the decency to even pretend to disapprove any more. The likes of Economics George will do themselves an injury one of these days from kissing so much Chinese ass. I don't expect them to actually disapprove, but it'd be nice if the war criminals in Moscow and Beijing weren't sucked up to quite so gratuitously.

 

[ainsworth74]

Nothing will happen. Chill.

Both China and US have too much to lose in an all out war.

Agreed. Some saber rattling and much huffing and puffing from both sides but neither (and particularly the US seeing as China already hold the ground) will do anything about it.

The only thing I would say is that whilst that will be their intention I wouldn't rule out an accidental exchange of fire. Highly unlikely but not as unlikely as an actual war.

That being said it appears that, on the whole, both sides, on the ground, are being perfectly professional and indeed sometimes quite friendly:

"A few weeks ago we were talking to one of the ships that was accompanying us, a Chinese vessel ... (We) picked up the phone and just talked to him like, 'Hey, what are you guys doing this Saturday? Oh, we got pizza and wings. What are you guys eating? Oh, we're doing this. Hey, we're planning for Halloween as well'." The intent, Francis said, is "to show them ... that we're normal sailors, just like them, have families, just like them."

The Chinese sailors, speaking in English, responded by talking about where they were from, their families and places they have visited, Francis said.

Eventually, the Chinese destroyer that had followed the Lassen on its mission past the artificial islands peeled away.

"They were very cordial the entire time ... even before and after the Spratly islands transit," Francis said.

"When they left us they said, 'Hey, we're not going to be with you anymore. Wish you a pleasant voyage. Hope to see you again'."

Source

So I think we can safely avoid stocking our fallout shelters just yet.

 

[backontrack]

A quick search for a phrase like 'china territorial ambitions' finds a lot of evidence to the contrary!

Hmm. Now Google Search has a few online news articles about this, but Google Books can't find anything.

36% of Earth's population, maybe they do need the extra space. Maybe they could ask Russia if they could buy a bit of their land as they clearly have a ridiculous amount of it compared to their population.

I can't see that happening, even though Russia has a declining population. Putin might see it as a threat to Russia, so they'd have to pay a lot.