Activity
aboard the 104,200 ton, 192 foot long USS George Washington,
now in the Yellow Sea for joint exercises with South Korea.
The China Daily, People's
Republic of China
'Double-Dealing'
America Should Avoid Yellow Sea
By conducting joint naval exercises
with South Korea in the Yellow Sea, is the United States 'trampling on the
dignity of China?' According to this warning shot across America's bow from the
state-controlled China Daily, 'The Yellow Sea is no casual place for
other nations to flex their muscles. ... We see the way America ignores Chinese security concerns as something meant to cause humiliation. ... China must stand up to the U.S. militarily, especially along its own shores.'
In a terse news release on
Monday, the People's
Liberation Army announced live fire exercises in the East China Sea from
June 30 to July 5. There was no explanation offered for the unusual operation.
The last time the East China Sea was turned into a shooting range was March
1996, when the PLA conducted ballistic missile
exercises with surface-to-surface rockets against sea targets. This was done to
deter former Taiwan leader Lee
Teng-hui from political stunts like seeking the
island's independence.
Anyone with a basic understanding
of geopolitics and military strategy would see the message behind the announcement's
timing. It's no coincidence that sensitive news like this is announced on the
day that joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises were scheduled to begin in
the Yellow Sea - citing threats from North Korea.
But the Yellow Sea is no casual
place for other nations to flex their muscles. Historically this is China's
front yard. The Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911) fought an 1894 sea battle there with Japan, in a vain attempt to
retain the empire's fast-receding influence. For Chinese sovereignty and national
security, the Yellow Sea has no less military significance to China than the Gulf of
Mexico does to the United States.
Despite repeated complaints
from China, the Pentagon shows no sign of refraining; it is intent on testing
the country's strategic bottom line by going ahead with this display of
military power. With the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS
George Washington set to participate in the exercise, key Chinese cities
like Beijing and Tianjin, as well as parts of its prosperous east coast will be
exposed to a direct military threat from U.S. forces. Given that the Pentagon
has a history of dropping "errant bombs" on the embassies of other
nations, worries like these are by no means baseless. [The 1999 bombing of
China's embassy in Belgrade. The CIA says it was an accident].
There's a Chinese saying that
even a meek and gentle rabbit will fight when cornered. The outcry being
expressed in countless chat rooms for a tit-for-tat response to this military
adventure on China's doorstep is fully justified. We see the way America
ignores Chinese security concerns as something meant to cause humiliation. To
some extent, the PLA announcement of live fire exercises
helps assuage the simmering resentment.
Because of America's policy
toward Taiwan, which is characterized by weapons sales that damage
China's "core national interests," the PLA
has put military contacts with the Pentagon on hold. And because Chinese
culture values actions over words, the sense of enmity hasn't eased - even if U.S.
Defense Secretary Gates says the United States doesn't consider China an enemy,
but a partner. America's military presence in the Yellow Sea in the face of China's
concerns, in addition to its never-ending reconnaissance activities along our
coast, only serves to reinforce Chinese impressions of Uncle Sam as a double
dealer.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
In 1996 as a countermeasure
to Chinese missile tests, the United States sent two aircraft carriers into the
Taiwan Strait in the first act of American coercion against China in nearly
four decades. That is now looked at as a provocative move intended to trample
on China's dignity.
China is still weak compared to
the United States. But if it is to emerge as a leading member of the
international community, China must stand up to the United States militarily,
especially along its own shores.
