Archaeology and the South China Sea

[Disir]

Recently, Vietnamese and Western media resumed reporting on China’s HD-981 oil rig, after it was redeployed to disputed waters, dredging up memories of the intense anti-Chinese protests in Vietnam and the diplomatic standoff that occurred last year when the rig was moved to waters between Vietnam and China for the first time. The HD-981 oil rig gives China a mobile, economic platform from which to project its sovereignty in disputed waters, but what about a cultural-historical platform? Well, “they have a ship for that,” too, and its recent deployment in the Paracel Island chain went relatively unnoticed. The vessel in question is China’s first domestically designed and developed archaeological ship, and its deployment reflects China’s ability to rapidly introduce dedicated ships for virtually every function it desires
Archaeology and the South China Sea The Diplomat
There is more than one way to skin a cat or He with the baddest archaeology ship wins.

 

[Unkotare]

I can imagine these "archaeology ships" planting relics throughout the region to establish 'indisputable' proof of PRC claims to territory.

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - we gotta show `em who's boss...

China's Military Buildup in Pacific Could Require US Response
Feb 27, 2016 | WASHINGTON -- Navy and Marine Corps leaders warned Friday that China's rapid military buildup in the Pacific Ocean could force the United States to move ships and forces in response.

Friday's comments from Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller followed a week of warnings by Adm. Harry Harris to Congress that the pace of China's militarization on a string of man-made islands in the South China Sea is changing operations in the Pacific. During his testimony this week on Capitol Hill, Harris, commander of the Pacific Command, cautioned China has swiftly moved jets, missiles, bombers and radars onto many of the man-made islands that it built during the last year. China developed the islands by building on top of submerged coral reefs and other underwater land features in the South China Sea. "These are actions that are changing, in my opinion, the operational landscape in the South China Sea," Harris told lawmakers.

The weapons that China is placing on those islands could require the United States to reconsider its own presence in the region, Richardson and Neller said Friday at an event hosted by the Brookings Institution, public policy research group in Washington, D.C. The Navy already wants to have 60 percent of its planned fleet of 308 US warships committed to the Pacific by 2020. For example, Richardson said China's advances might require the United States to reassess its attack submarine fleet. The Navy has said for years that 48 attack submarines is what it needs to carry out its mission. But Richardson said Friday that might not be enough. "That number is really based on analysis from 2006," he said. With China's recent developments, "that's becoming a more urgent situation."

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) transits the South China Sea​

China has completed three 10,000-foot runways and dispatched advanced attack aircraft and bomber aircraft to the islands. In recent weeks, it has also installed advanced surface-to-surface missiles and radar systems that could make US aircraft carriers more vulnerable. "The DF-21 [anti-ship ballistic missile], which they have developed, and the DF-26 [intermediate range ballistic missile], which they're developing, could pose a threat to our carriers," Harris told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week. "I think, though, that our carriers are resilient and we have the capability to do what has to be done if it comes to that."

Neller said China's movements have the Marines also rethinking its posture in the Pacific. "The survivability ... because of the missiles, when we did the lay down and the plan, the capabilities that our potential adversaries had didn't exist," he said. "So do we need to take a look at how we are going to harden ourselves, or where we are going to position ourselves?" On Thursday, Harris said the recent developments on the man-made islands would not stop the Navy from deploying an aircraft carrier to the South China Sea. "Short of war, I'm aware of the threat. I'll pay attention to the threat," he said. "But that is not going to prevent us from flying, sailing or operating wherever international law allows."

China's Military Buildup in Pacific Could Require US Response | Military.com

See also:

US conducts ICBM test to show military might to rivals
Saturday 27th February, 2016 - The United States Thursday night conducted its second nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile test in a week amid rising tensions with "strategic rivals" like Russia, China and North Korea.

The test, which was a clear show of military might by the US, was part of the American efforts to demonstrate to the world that its ground-based missile system is still powerful in accuracy, reach and effectiveness. The unarmed Minuteman III missile blasted out of a silo from the military base shortly after 11 p.m. and shot skyward before travelling nearly 6,760 km in about half an hour. The missile landed on target in the ocean near the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific. The Minuteman III missiles, dating to the 1970s, have a range of nearly 10,000 km and travel at speeds of up to 24,000 km per hour.

Another unarmed Minuteman III missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base over the weekend. "The test tonight is one of the ways in which we demonstrate that these missiles are safe and reliable and effective," Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said shortly before the launch of the missile. Work later witnessed the launch.

He said the US tests, conducted at least 15 times since January 2011, send a message to strategic rivals like Russia, China and North Korea that Washington has an effective nuclear arsenal. "That's exactly why we do this," Work told reporters. "We and the Russians and the Chinese routinely do test shots to prove that the operational missiles that we have are reliable. And that is a signal... (to demonstrate) that we are prepared to use nuclear weapons in defense of our country if necessary."

He said that "anyone who is a nuclear power is sure to be watching these tests and has to be at least aware that the United States nuclear deterrent is as strong as it has ever been." According to Reuters, the Defense Department has pumped in millions of dollars into improving conditions for troops responsible for staffing and maintaining the nuclear systems. The administration is putting more focus on upgrading the weapons. President Barack Obama's final defense budget unveiled this month calls for a $1.8 billion hike in nuclear arms spending to overhaul the country's aging nuclear bombers, missiles, submarines and other systems.

US conducts ICBM test to show military might to rivals