Do you remember President Clinton ordered two US aircraft carrier battle groups into the Strait of Taiwan in 1996 to “send a message” to China? Well, it appears that Barak Obama, the lame duck spineless multi-humiliated and multi-defeated President of the US of A just had a surge of testosterone and decided to provoke China yet again by mocking its decision to extend its air defense zone over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. The way Uncle Sam sent his usual message of imperial contempt was to send two B-52 bombers to flout the Chinese air defense zone. Not content to do something so mind-bogglingly stupid and irresponsible, the Americans also decided to make sure to add an inflammatory statement. According to the BBC, (emphasis added)
US Colonel Steve Warren at the Pentagon said Washington had “conducted operations in the area of the Senkakus”. “We have continued to follow our normal procedures, which include not filing flight plans, not radioing ahead and not registering our frequencies,” he said. There had been no response from China, he added.
Brilliant, no?
The geniuses at the Pentagon sent two strategic bombers (capable of nuclear strikes) directly into an airspace which the Chinese have just declared “air defence identification zone” in which non-compliance with Chinese rules would trigger “emergency defensive measures” and to make sure to inflict the maximal amount of loss of face on China they have essentially mocked the Chinese for not taking any measure.
I would qualify all these actions as criminally reckless and phenomenally stupid.
First, imagine just for a second that the Chinese had shot down the two US bombers. Then what? Would the US which did not even have the balls to strike Iran or Syria attack China? The US sure could not go to the UNSC for support where they would be laughed out from the Council chambers by both Russia and China and, probably most other UNSC members too. So did the Americans count on the Chinese doing the right thing? If that is the case, then the only message sent to Beijing is “look, we are irresponsible and reckless, and we count on your sanity”. This is most unlikely to impress anybody in China.
Second, now that the Chinese did the smart thing and ignored the US stupidity, what has this move achieved beyond alienating China even further? One really ought to know absolutely nothing about Asia to believe that you can impose a major loss of face on a superpower like China and not have to pay dearly for it. The big difference between the US and China is that the former acts like a spoiled teenager brat with an attention and memory span in the 5-10 minutes range: “The Chinese did not attack our bombers – that must mean that we taught them a good lesson!”. Wrong. The Chinese will make you pay – dearly – for each such humiliation (and God knows there have been many such humiliations the past couple of decades – remember the Chinese embassy in Belgrade?), but they will make you pay on their own time, when they decide, and that could take literally centuries. Chinese diplomats and politicians have 4000 years of experience dealing with uneducated and uncivilized barbarians and they know how important it is not to act in haste but with slow focused determination. And they will remember that humiliation for as long as it takes to avenge it.
Third, does anybody in the Pentagon, Foggy Bottom or the White House really think that US colonies allies in the region will be positively impressed? Of course not! Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese diplomats will be horrified to be associated to a such a sorry bunch of nuke-wielding cowboys, but they will keep their mouths shut because they all know that their countries are simply vassal states of the USPACOM province of the US Empire.
Lastly, what has the US proven to the rest of the world. That is is powerful? Hardly. Having lost the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, having lost control of Libya, and having been defeated by Russia and Iranian diplomats over Syria and Iran, the US is an obese and obnoxious giant, but hardly a powerful one. Yes, it is reckless to send bombers literally into China’s backyard (or doorstep – pick you metaphor), but recklessness is not a quality which impresses anybody in Asia and the Americans are deeply deluded if they think that they “scared” the Chinese. Truly, the one thing that this latest US provocation has achieved is to prove to the world and, especially, Asia, the US simply does not understand the nature and purpose of diplomacy.
I am personally take no position whatsoever on the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dispute itself. What I am saying is that type of dispute can only be resolved with careful and time consuming diplomatic negotiations and measures and that if Japan truly wanted to get China to give up its claim on these islands the best way to do that would be to make sure that this does not involve any loss of face. But for a country which has not had Administration capable of diplomacy since the years of George Bush (senior) the kind of provocation we have just witnessed is par for the course.
In conclusion, I would like to say here that US politicians are wrong to be ignorant of Hegel’s dialectics and its rules. Gradual quantitative changes (over time) do eventually result in qualitative changes and this very much applies to the Chinese military which is currently embarked on a huge program of deep modernization and reform which, when completed, will result in a profound strategic shift in the Asian-Pacific Ocean region. In contrast to the aging and completely overstreched US armed forces, the Chinese armed forces are catching up and catching up really fast. Yes, in the 1980s the Chinese military did look at lot like the Soviet military of the late 1950s, but the economic boom of China has deeply changed this and today the Chinese armed forces are gradually acquiring more and more 21 century characteristics and soon they will easily surpass the capabilities of the ROK and Japan. Next, and before the folks in the White House fully understand it, the US will be facing a large and technologically equal or even superior Chinese military. China is also being very smart in forging and informal but truly strategic alliance with Russia which, unlike the USA, does every effort possible to show respect and support for its large neighbor. Should it ever come to a shooting match between the US and China there is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that Russia will offer its fullest support for China short of actually attacking US targets.
In the meantime, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel that China’s extension of its air defense zone was “destabilising attempt to alter the status quo in the region” while the White House said it was “unnecessarily inflammatory“.
Yeah, right.
Have these cowboys ever looked into a mirror?
The Saker
Everything, everything is about power and control. How this is interpreted, asserted, and made real is the issue. I am not saying that this is part of MY life, but I accept it as reality over which I have very little control and so try to live my life with wholeness and and an honor code which includes ethics and morality. I love China and the Chinese people! I simply wish that China would not play into America’s hand and start a different game. (Right now it is only playing America’s game, which is to dominate and control its own citizens). That would involve taking care of its own people and land. If you wish to change the world, keep the focus on you. You cannot heal the past; you can only try to understand it and not repeat it. 1.) Do not admire oppression; do not attempt to be like that which demeans you and makes you less human., 2.) Do not fight the American “nazi”. Fight the nazi in yourself., 3.) See and experience other places and the rest of the world so that one may find how other people live and resolve lifes’ issues, (Work the nomadic spirit). Realize that it is one world. 4.) “Mix & Match” — try different ways of doing things, realizing that we may be wrong. Be creative and different in solving problems. Lastly love the “Chinese farmer”.
kainrath, erebus..
*china has shown its true color, a bully, driving other asians to run to big uncle sam* !
wise guys , we dont come to sites like saker’s only to be fed such msm driven meme !
the bruahaha in ecs, scs are such transparent booby traps, engineered by uncle sham to bait china, so as far as im concerned, anybody who parrot that panda turn grizzly bear bs should go back to reading harry potter !
as for anon
*What did you expect the U.S. to do??*
i’d have thought its a no brainer !
go back to where it belong, its 2000 miles off base , forchrissake !
http://space4peace.blogspot.sg/2013/11/looking-for-trouble.html
@WizOz
Yes, the Chinese would like to ask Uncle Sam, what’s the point wasting money year after year flying jets in circle outside China? What is the point acting like teenagers impressing chicks trying to get laid.
Some articles on the new silk road:
China’s $50bn spending spree on new Silk Road
China bypasses American ‘New Silk Road’ with two of its own
Trans-Asian Railway Network Map
By the way, the new underwater tunnel that links Turkey with the UK is now using China built trains (The Japanese dug the tunnel, thinking Turkey will buy their trains, but then China took over after the deal), that tunnel effectively links Europe and Asia together, goods sending from China to the UK now saves 60% on time and fuel, and Turkey is right in the middle of it, that’s why Turkey is now considering ditching Nato and buying from China on arms deal.
Eventually everyone will be rich in Euroasia while the US will keep thumping its chest outside, foaming at the mouth, making strange noises while drowning in own sea of debt.
The commenter who keeps harping on how the Chinese only respect “power” is the typical yahoo who is salivating over serving knuckle sandwiches to the “orientals”.
Listen, the stronger party is not the one posturing or even delivering blows to weaker countries like Iraq after having killed a generation of their youngest with sanctions. The stronger party is the one that can calmly withstand humiliation, “knuckle sandwiches” and other crude demonstrations of “power” in order to further its end goals.
China has never hesitated to send their troops to the front to fight the Americans, eg. armed to the teeth with nukes in Korea, when they had to.
Isn’t “show of power” unnecessary after witnessing the two nukes dropped on Japan?
China has a long plan, they plan in centuries. Go, or rather Wei Qi, the game of encirclement and territorial control, is different from chess as it is a game of fluidity, change and many fronts. Sometimes, you have to retreat in order to push forward down the road. Sometimes, you have to wage action on several fronts, by doing so with the least waste and sacrifice of your own.
The only weak front for China (and Russia) is the MSM, where idiotic CIA propaganda, eg. Mao killed 60 million, actually became unquestioned beliefs.
One thing is certain, the Eurasian project is key to China’s future. There will be no wars on Eurasia, or future mischief by Anglos there.
U.S. airlines United, American and Delta, have notified Chinese authorities of flight plans when traveling through an air defense zone Beijing has declared over the East China Sea, following U.S. government advice.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/30/us-japan-china-idUSBRE9AT02K20131130
Honk
Recall a few years ago, Chen Siu Bian of Taiwan talked about Taiwan independence. China then passed a law that mandate the country to use military means to protect its sovereignty if any part of China attempts to secede. Now not a whimper from those independence advocates. You see, not that China wants to resort to military means; it is just a strategic move. ADIZ is just about that, a response to Japan’s nationalization of the disputed island. China may not be able to enforce it, not now, but it has made a point. Should they go to war in the future, it won’t be a new the equation.
Recall a few years ago, Chen Siu Bian of Taiwan talked about Taiwan independence. China then passed a law that mandate the country to use military means to protect its sovereignty if any part of China attempts to secede. Now not a whimper from those independence advocates. You see, not that China wants to resort to military means; it is just a strategic move. ADIZ is just about that, a response to Japan’s nationalization of the disputed island. China may not be able to enforce it, not now, but it has made a point. Should they go to war in the future, it won’t be a new the equation.
Ok, US is mighty. It flew its B-52 near to China’s border. Then what? Does it scare China? It’s time the superpower grows up.
i have a theory about the near future: this conflict about the adiz and the sen/dia islands is a prelude to the end of free trade with china, an end to the dumping of crappy goods, and the return of manufacturing to the west, meaning the end of western financial crisis and the collapse of chinese economy. to save the dollar the west will forgo the free trade ideology. maybe that trillion of us foreign debt will evaporate in exchange for the factories and manufacturing capacities left behind, that will leave china without oil. so either their navy wins, or maybe they will have no navy left and turn against russia for resources. this will also entail russia and europe getting closer, some reconciliation. so if you put on your glasses like this you might see everyone getting ready for these events.