South China Sea Buildup Brings Beijing Closer to Realizing Control

[jpak]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/09/world/asia/south-china-sea-militarization.html?_r=0

HONG KONG — When the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis and four other American warships sailed into the South China Sea last week for what were described as routine exercises, the message was clear: The United States is the dominant military power in the region and plans to keep it that way.

But numerous Chinese naval ships were operating nearby, the United States Navy said, noticeably more than in past years. A Chinese officer told the state-run news media that the ships were there to “monitor, identify, follow and expel” foreign vessels and aircraft, depending on how close they came “to our islands.”

The encounter, which passed without incident, was the latest episode in a wary standoff between the United States and China over two contested island chains known as the Paracels and the Spratlys.

Since taking office three years ago, President Xi Jinping has used the isles to expand China’s military footprint in the region, taking one step after another to build and equip outposts far from the Chinese mainland over protests from its neighbors and from Washington.

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[Blue_Tires]

1. It's a shame

I'd said last year that China's stunt needed to be nipped in the bud, and now they are fully entrenched...

Good luck to the next president who has to untangle this bullshit...

[Jeffersons Ghost]

3. Look at labels on clothing...

Xi destroyed coral reefs by building military bases right off the coast of nations, which compete with China on low cost manufacturing. These islands also destroyed entire species indigenous to the region and fishing for impoverished villagers. Xi plans to control trade routes in South China Sea to destroy competition.

[Lizzie Poppet]

2. If we end up at war with China...

...we will become possibly THE laughingstock in modern history: actually bankrolling our enemy's military because of corporate greed and short-sighted consumer behavior.