China Defies U.S. and Japan in Asserting Rights to Disputed Seas

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) China dismissed calls for arbitration to resolve disputes in Asian waters vital to world trade after the U.S. and Japan vowed to resist attempts to seize contested territory by force.

Qi Jianguo, deputy chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army, told a forum in Singapore yesterday that Chinese patrols in disputed waters off its coasts were “totally legitimate.” He spoke a day after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the U.S. “stands firmly against any coercive attempts to alter the status quo” in the seas.

The world’s biggest economies been unable to agree on rules for operating in the waters and resolving territorial disputes as China’s neighbors grow more concerned over its military might. The tension adds to disagreements over cyber-espionage, Iran’s weapons program and Syria’s civil war that may be discussed when President Barack Obama meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping in California on June 7.

“China does seem to be in certain instances changing the status quo in its favor,” said Bonnie Glaser, a China specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “If it’s doing so through economic pressure and coercion and the use of government paramilitary vessels, the U.S. just doesn’t have a good toolbox to use and try to respond to it.” ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-02/china-spurns-sea-claim-arbitration-pushed-by-u-s-and-allies.html

[Bonobo]

1. Chinese govt. has shown that, at the very least,

they allow their captains and pilots to be rather trigger happy. What do you expect after all the bellicose, govt. sponsored hate propaganda.

This is dangerous shit. China will pull the trigger first one day and it will be a fighter jet. I think they think Japan are pussies and they can get away with this forever.

Now they are even making overtures about how Okinawa is disputed.

[davidpdx]

3. That is the scary thing

eventually one side or the other will push it too far and shots will be fired. All it takes is a few people to be killed and it escalates in to a nasty mess. I agree, Japan won't be pushed around. They are cautious, but if pushed they'll use force.

[Benton D Struckcheon]

2. The Dotted Line Map

Look it up. It's insane. That's where the real dispute is, and it takes in Vietnam, the Phillipines, and a bunch of other Asian nations.

[davidpdx]

4. I've seen the map

There are quite a few countries that are tied into the dispute. Japan, South Korea, and China happen to be the well armed ones, however it is possible one of the other countries if threatened would take shots as well. The main one that I know of that Korea has been arguing over is what is referred to internationally as Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo in Korea).