Territorial disputes are a delicate thing… and potentially deadly as well.
That’s why the U.S. is backing up its positions with an ever-increasing
presence of warships in the South China Sea.
China is very touchy about these territories, and unwilling to give up
what they perceive as their waters, even as a UN tribunal just denied their
claims and strengthened the U.S. hand.
Indeed, the entire situation is combustible and very dangerous.
As James Holbrooks of the Underground Reporter
noted:
In a congressional hearing on Wednesday, former Director of
National Intelligence and retired Navy admiral Dennis Blair told
the panel that the United States should be prepared to use military force to
oppose Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.
“I think we need to have some specific lines and then encourage China to
compromise on some of its objectives,” Blair, who headed the U.S. Pacific
Command while in the Navy, said at the hearing.
The admiral’s recommendation came the day after a United Nations tribunal invalidated
China’s claim of territorial rights to nearly all of the waters in the South
China Sea.
The U.S., citing the territorial dispute and security
concerns raised by its allies in the region, have for months
been sending
warships into the South China Sea as a check against Chinese hostility.
Beijing, acutely aware of the military buildup off its coast, has
publicly warned
the U.S. it’s more than ready to defend against provocations. “China hopes
disputes can be resolved by talks… but it must be prepared for any military
confrontation.”
It seems that the situation is being deliberately stoked into conflict,
and that tensions are programmed to reach a boiling over point. If true,
there is no indication of where the point of no return would be.
The U.S. has the excuse of protecting its ally, and former territory, the
Philippines, and thus has a pretext to play policeman in the region.
But in turn, that is only a thinly-veiled ruse to amplify the military
pressure, and let bloated speech and menacing saber-rattling episodes set the
tone for ‘diplomacy’ with the Red Dragon.
Now, there is not only an escalation, but an acknowledgement on both sides
of the Pacific that things are headed towards war – and it is being openly discussed in those stark terms:
“If our security is being threatened, of course we have the right
to demarcate a zone,” Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said
Wednesday at a briefing in Beijing. “We hope that other countries will not
take this opportunity to threaten China and work with China to protect the
peace and stability of the South China Sea, and not let it become the origin
of a war.”
And war, it appears, is becoming increasingly likely by the day —
with other countries in Southeast Asia beginning to take sides.
[…]
So, with the U.S. demanding compromise from a China who refuses to
bow down — and forcing local powers to choose sides in the process — it seems
the stage is being set for a potential military conflict in the South China
Sea that could engulf the entire region.
Are we really to expect a looming world war from China, who has played the
parts of villain, ally, trade partner and rival all at the same time?
No one can say, but there is plenty of worry that war could really happen.
Even billionaire George Soros warned that the potential danger of WWIII breaking out with China
was ‘not an exaggeration’:
The US government has little to gain and much to lose by treating
the relationship with China as a zero-sum game. In other words it has little
bargaining power. It could, of course, obstruct China’s progress, but that
would be very dangerous. President Xi Jinping has taken personal
responsibility for the economy and national security. If his market-oriented
reforms fail, he may foster some external conflicts to keep the country
united and maintain himself in power. This could lead China to align itself
with Russia not only financially but also politically and militarily. In
that case, should the external conflict escalate into a military
confrontation with an ally of the United States such as Japan, it is not an
exaggeration to say that we would be on the threshold of a third world war.
And yet, President Obama and numerous other U.S. officials have been
deliberately stoking the tension and adding fuel to the fire with provocation
in the disputed waters.
As Michael Snyder wrote several months ago:
Barack Obama sent a guided missile destroyer into disputed waters
in the South China Sea to see if the Chinese would start shooting at it. Yes,
this is what he actually did. Fortunately for us, the Chinese backed down and
did not follow through on their threats to take military action.
Instead, the Chinese have chosen to respond with very angry words. The
Chinese ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, says that what Obama
did was “a very serious provocation, politically and militarily.” And as you
will see below, a state-run newspaper stated that China “is not frightened to
fight a war with the US in the region”. So why in the world would Obama
provoke the Chinese like this? Yes, the Chinese claims in the South China Sea
are questionable. But there are other ways to resolve things like this.
Most Americans assume that an actual shooting war between the
United States and China is not even within the realm of possibility, but many
of our leaders see things very differently. For instance, just check out what
CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell thinks…
The current posturing in the area has led to heightened tensions between
the world’s preeminent military powers, and in May Former CIA Deputy Director
Michael Morell told CNN that the confrontation indicates there is
“absolutely” a risk of the U.S. and China going to war sometime in the
future.
Not long ago, the U.S. also demonstrated ballistic missiles
– armed with nuclear warheads – over the coast of California in an apparent
demonstration towards China regarding the readiness and seriousness of their
clash.
Though it isn’t on the front burner right now amid other sensational
headlines, keep an eye to the fact that World War III is slowly being brewed
on the back burner. Someday, it could ignite into a full blown nightmare. Stay
vigilant. Hope for peace, prepare for war.
Read more:
As Yuan Rivals Dollar, U.S. Launches Ballistic Missiles Over
West Coast: “Lit Up California”
Has He Become “Mentally Unstable”? Obama Now Provoking China
With Warships
New Choice for World Currency: “Chinese Yuan Will Supersede
Dollar as Top Reserve Currency”
A Force To Be Reckoned With: China And Russia Are Building
Some Seriously Advanced Sea-Based Weapons
