The Geography Of WWIII

[Dot Com]

These Muslims have some complicated issues. The sunni/shiite war has to end entirely. Their vehement hatred and self-loathing perspectives are hardly a surprise. not really sure Obama's decision to stay out of the strategic objectives was such a great idea. Great read....

The entire world situation is way beyond Obama's ability....

....one failure after another in foreign policy.

Did you see this today?

" Despite the growing threat from the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Libya, the Obama administration has turned down a U.S. military plan for an assault on ISIS’s regional hub there,three defense officials told The Daily Beast.

In recent weeks, the U.S. military—led by its Africa and Special Operations Commands—have pushed for more airstrikes and the deployment of elite troops, particularly in the city ofSirte. The hometown of former Libyan leaderMoammar Gadhafi, the city is now under ISIS control and serving as a regional epicenter for the terror group."
Exclusive: Obama Refuses to Hit ISIS’s Libyan Capital


This, from the man who made ISIS possible.

oh rlly? Stop making stuff up dummy.

Getting involved in civil wars is a bad move in case you missed 2003- 2015 you hack

 

[PoliticalChic]

"Chinese media calls for government to 'fire shots and ram U.S. warships to teach them a lesson' over disputed South China Sea islands

• Chinese media have urged their military to fire warning shots at the U.S.
• Satellite images show missile systems on Chinese-controlled islands
• But China maintains U.S. presence in the region is threatening peace"

China should 'fire shots and ram U.S. warships to teach them a lesson'
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[Dot Com]

Daily Mail? Why all you rw tinfoil-types got to go waaay out to get a source for your hysterical claims?

Guess what Polispice? SE Asia is the area I served-in. Had some good times in Pusan

I know that area of the world better than you ever will

 

[PoliticalChic]

"Since 2013, Beijing has built artificial islands in disputed regions well in excess of 2,000 acres. If American officials are honest, China’s “progress” in this context meets the definition of what White House advisers would have termed the worst-case scenario when the Obama administration gained office in 2009. Now that the proverbial horse has bolted, the question is what one can do about it.

We are still some distance away from the need for a military response or solution, and it would mean collective failure of American leadership and the region if it came to that. The key is to force China to more seriously consider the non-military costs of its actions than it has had to do up to now."
Chinese Missiles In The South China Sea: Don't Waste The Opportunity

 

[Holos]

Americans, like any other people, are granted more than a single account of history, as well as more than a single factual history.

What to do, you ask? The simple answer is to exert public and private power to effect change towards sustainability.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Americans, like any other people, are granted more than a single account of history, as well as more than a single factual history.

What to do, you ask? The simple answer is to exert public and private power to effect change towards sustainability.

" sustainability"????

Please elucidate.

 

[Holos]

Americans, like any other people, are granted more than a single account of history, as well as more than a single factual history.

What to do, you ask? The simple answer is to exert public and private power to effect change towards sustainability.

" sustainability"????

Please elucidate.

Yes, it is my pleasure.

First we have to consider traditionality before we continue to pragmatics and practice.

The concept of history, even if taught by a single tradition, always includes the existence of other traditions. Sometimes these cited traditions are only supportive of the predominating professing tradition as the latter describes their trajectory. However, all traditions by their own right can only in fact be recognized as traditions if they are also able to establish consistent and continued primary teaching.

Okay. I am mentioning all this because sustainability offers a very different interpretation of and base of references for war in contrast of 20th century industrialism portrayed in your posts to this point. I want you to understand the legitimacy of each methodology between relative traditions before I am able to effectively elucidate the proposal of action for sustainability.

In short, we each are coming from a different tradition, therefore we must be inquisitive of each other whenever communication seems failing.

Sustainability is the idea opposite to that which you have shared in the initiating OP. Sustainability means the reliance on renewable energy sources, rather than reliance on expendable energy sources. You have mentioned petroleum as the example for your economy. I will mention in return sunshine (which is renewable by the return of day after night), harvested not from a soiled compound of a few million years by the formation of specific planetary layers but harvested from a soiled compound of a few billion years by the formation of entire stars.

That is, petroleum finishes quickly because it took very long to be formed and ceased its production at some point as it began being harvested. Sunshine, in contrast, does not finish quickly because it took also very long to be formed and continues its production to this day even as its harvest has been initiated prior to that of petroleum. Petroleum is formed from fossilized plants. Sunshine, assistive in plant growth which eventually fossilizes, is formed from internal solar combustion. In other words, petroleum is an expendable resource because it depends indirectlty not only on other physical bodies to be formed but also to be produced and harvested. Sunshine is a renewable resource because it depends directly on a single physical body for its formation, production and harvest.

The exact same can be accomplished with both types of resources: expendable and sustainable. The essential difference is expendability cannot be maintained for long and sustainability can be maintained forever.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Americans, like any other people, are granted more than a single account of history, as well as more than a single factual history.

What to do, you ask? The simple answer is to exert public and private power to effect change towards sustainability.

" sustainability"????

Please elucidate.

Yes, it is my pleasure.

First we have to consider traditionality before we continue to pragmatics and practice.

The concept of history, even if taught by a single tradition, always includes the existence of other traditions. Sometimes these cited traditions are only supportive of the predominating professing tradition as the latter describes their trajectory. However, all traditions by their own right can only in fact be recognized as traditions if they are also able to establish consistent and continued primary teaching.

Okay. I am mentioning all this because sustainability offers a very different interpretation of and base of references for war in contrast of 20th century industrialism portrayed in your posts to this point. I want you to understand the legitimacy of each methodology between relative traditions before I am able to effectively elucidate the proposal of action for sustainability.

In short, we each are coming from a different tradition, therefore we must be inquisitive of each other whenever communication seems failing.

Sustainability is the idea opposite to that which you have shared in the initiating OP. Sustainability means the reliance on renewable energy sources, rather than reliance on expendable energy sources. You have mentioned petroleum as the example for your economy. I will mention in return sunshine (which is renewable by the return of day after night), harvested not from a soiled compound of a few million years by the formation of specific planetary layers but harvested from a soiled compound of a few billion years by the formation of entire stars.

That is, petroleum finishes quickly because it took very long to be formed and ceased its production at some point as it began being harvested. Sunshine, in contrast, does not finish quickly because it took also very long to be formed and continues its production to this day even as its harvest has been initiated prior to that of petroleum. Petroleum is formed from fossilized plants. Sunshine, assistive in plant growth which eventually fossilizes, is formed from internal solar combustion. In other words, petroleum is an expendable resource because it depends indirectlty not only on other physical bodies to be formed but also to be produced and harvested. Sunshine is a renewable resource because it depends directly on a single physical body for its formation, production and harvest.

The exact same can be accomplished with both types of resources: expendable and sustainable. The essential difference is expendability cannot be maintained for long and sustainability can be maintained forever.

1. "Sustainability means the reliance on renewable energy sources, rather than reliance on expendable energy sources."
There are no other sources capable of sustaining an industrialized world.

2. "That is, petroleum finishes quickly because it took very long to be formed and ceased its production at some point as it began being harvested."
Utter nonsense.

1. There is every reason to believe that we have far more energy reserves than the government estimates.
   1. The2008 USGS assessmentestimated 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in the U.S. portion of the Bakken Formation, elevating it to a “world-class” accumulation. The estimate had a mean value of 3.65 billion barrels. The USGS routinely conducts updates to oil and gas assessments when significant new information is available, such as new understanding of a resource basin’s geology or when advances in technology occur for drilling and production…. The 2008 USGS assessment showed a 25-fold increase in the amount of technically recoverable oil as compared to the agency's 1995 estimate of 151 million barrels of oil. Bakken Formation Oil Assessment in North Dakota, Montana will be updated by U.S. Geological Survey
   2. Oil giant BP says it has made a "giant" new oil discovery in its fields in the Gulf of Mexico…. BP said the discovery, amounting to more than three billion barrels, would "support the continuing growth of our deepwater Gulf of Mexico business into the second half of the next decade". BBC NEWS | Business | BP in 'giant' new oil discovery
   3. According to theUS Geological Survey, the Arctic sea floor has 13% of the world's undiscovered "conventional" oil reserves and 30% of undiscovered natural-gas reserves. Oil-Drilling Trade-Offs: Keystone for Alaska | OilPrice.com

The Marcellus Shale [Pennsylvania, Oho, New York] could be one of the USA's most promisingnatural gas...that the Marcellus might contain more than500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.... Marcellus Shale: Results Continue to Amaze Geologists


3. "Sunshine, in contrast, does not finish quickly because it took also very long to be formed and continues its production to this day even as its harvest has been initiated prior to that of petroleum."
Solar energy provides four-tenths of 1 percent of the total energy consumed in the United States."
Solar - IER
Basically, used to heat swimming pools.


Welcome to the board.
Your internship may provide quite an education for you.

 

[Holos]

Americans, like any other people, are granted more than a single account of history, as well as more than a single factual history.

What to do, you ask? The simple answer is to exert public and private power to effect change towards sustainability.

" sustainability"????

Please elucidate.

Yes, it is my pleasure.

First we have to consider traditionality before we continue to pragmatics and practice.

The concept of history, even if taught by a single tradition, always includes the existence of other traditions. Sometimes these cited traditions are only supportive of the predominating professing tradition as the latter describes their trajectory. However, all traditions by their own right can only in fact be recognized as traditions if they are also able to establish consistent and continued primary teaching.

Okay. I am mentioning all this because sustainability offers a very different interpretation of and base of references for war in contrast of 20th century industrialism portrayed in your posts to this point. I want you to understand the legitimacy of each methodology between relative traditions before I am able to effectively elucidate the proposal of action for sustainability.

In short, we each are coming from a different tradition, therefore we must be inquisitive of each other whenever communication seems failing.

Sustainability is the idea opposite to that which you have shared in the initiating OP. Sustainability means the reliance on renewable energy sources, rather than reliance on expendable energy sources. You have mentioned petroleum as the example for your economy. I will mention in return sunshine (which is renewable by the return of day after night), harvested not from a soiled compound of a few million years by the formation of specific planetary layers but harvested from a soiled compound of a few billion years by the formation of entire stars.

That is, petroleum finishes quickly because it took very long to be formed and ceased its production at some point as it began being harvested. Sunshine, in contrast, does not finish quickly because it took also very long to be formed and continues its production to this day even as its harvest has been initiated prior to that of petroleum. Petroleum is formed from fossilized plants. Sunshine, assistive in plant growth which eventually fossilizes, is formed from internal solar combustion. In other words, petroleum is an expendable resource because it depends indirectlty not only on other physical bodies to be formed but also to be produced and harvested. Sunshine is a renewable resource because it depends directly on a single physical body for its formation, production and harvest.

The exact same can be accomplished with both types of resources: expendable and sustainable. The essential difference is expendability cannot be maintained for long and sustainability can be maintained forever.

1. "Sustainability means the reliance on renewable energy sources, rather than reliance on expendable energy sources."
There are no other sources capable of sustaining an industrialized world.

2. "That is, petroleum finishes quickly because it took very long to be formed and ceased its production at some point as it began being harvested."
Utter nonsense.

1. There is every reason to believe that we have far more energy reserves than the government estimates.
   1. The2008 USGS assessmentestimated 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in the U.S. portion of the Bakken Formation, elevating it to a “world-class” accumulation. The estimate had a mean value of 3.65 billion barrels. The USGS routinely conducts updates to oil and gas assessments when significant new information is available, such as new understanding of a resource basin’s geology or when advances in technology occur for drilling and production…. The 2008 USGS assessment showed a 25-fold increase in the amount of technically recoverable oil as compared to the agency's 1995 estimate of 151 million barrels of oil. Bakken Formation Oil Assessment in North Dakota, Montana will be updated by U.S. Geological Survey
   2. Oil giant BP says it has made a "giant" new oil discovery in its fields in the Gulf of Mexico…. BP said the discovery, amounting to more than three billion barrels, would "support the continuing growth of our deepwater Gulf of Mexico business into the second half of the next decade". BBC NEWS | Business | BP in 'giant' new oil discovery
   3. According to theUS Geological Survey, the Arctic sea floor has 13% of the world's undiscovered "conventional" oil reserves and 30% of undiscovered natural-gas reserves. Oil-Drilling Trade-Offs: Keystone for Alaska | OilPrice.com

The Marcellus Shale [Pennsylvania, Oho, New York] could be one of the USA's most promisingnatural gas...that the Marcellus might contain more than500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.... Marcellus Shale: Results Continue to Amaze Geologists


3. "Sunshine, in contrast, does not finish quickly because it took also very long to be formed and continues its production to this day even as its harvest has been initiated prior to that of petroleum."
Solar energy provides four-tenths of 1 percent of the total energy consumed in the United States."
Solar - IER
Basically, used to heat swimming pools.


Welcome to the board.
Your internship may provide quite an education for you.

You have understood number 1. Sustainable resources are the only capable of maintaining an industrialized world. Congratulations (since you have indulged in greetings I will too).

You have not understood number 2, however, as the data you provided spans less than 500 years. All the calculated statistics you shared have exceedindingly short parameters, which is the single cause for economic failure. I have stated petroleum finishes quickly in the same context I have referred to billions of years. Fifteen thousand (15.000) years can represent either constantly maintained stability or fluctuating instability. A reference of a mere 500 years would obviously be preceding and giving way to instability without the least recognition of constant, maintained, progressive and advancing stability. In short, the statistics you provided are unqualified for international economic decisions.

Likewise, you have not understood number 3 either. Again, the statistics you provided are unqualified considering the actual span of economics in human history (a very long tradition, longer than American history) and the span of production I have shared with you in the scale of millions of years. Solar energy also provides for growing American crops, not just for heating accomodations. Perhaps we should also inform the United States of the advantages in metering solar energy for crop growth, given the increasing interest in and benefit of solar energy. That way there would be less obstruction in effecting substantial and inclusive progress.

 

[PoliticalChic]

. "Sept. 25, 2015 6:00 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON—China’s PresidentXi Jinpingmade a public commitment for the first time on Friday not to “militarize” artificial islands that Beijing has been building in the disputed South China Sea."
China’s President Pledges No Militarization in Disputed Islands


To show the depth of their respect for Barack Hussein Obama....this is how China kept its promise:
March 4, 2016
"China has stationed surface-to-air missiles on a contested island in the South China Sea and is expanding its footprint in the waterway through energetic island-building. New runways allow Chinese fighter jets to land on disputed turf, ..." China to U.S.: It's Not Us Who's Militarizing, It's You

 

[Dot Com]

Gawd but I hate Asians. Goes to show how you can't trust those fuckers.They smell funny too.

Amiright OP?

 

[waltky]

Granny says mebbe dey should name it KKK Reef...

Do not militarize Spratlys: US
Thu, Apr 21, 2016 - PENTAGON CONCERNED: A US spokesman said it was ‘difficult to understand’ why China used a military aircraft to evacuate sick workers from Fiery Cross Reef

The Pentagon on Tuesday called on China to reaffirm it has no plans to deploy military aircraft in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands) after Beijing used a military plane to evacuate sick workers from a new airstrip on an island it has created in the disputed South China Sea. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense earlier dismissed US queries as to why Beijing had used a military aircraft rather than a civilian one in Sunday’s evacuation from Fiery Cross Reef (Yongshu Reef).

US Department of State spokesman John Kirby told a regular news briefing it was “difficult to understand” why China would have had to use a military aircraft for the evacuation. He also said it was “a problem” that the workers had apparently been working on “infrastructure improvements of a military nature.” A Pentagon spokesman, Commander Gary Ross, called on China to clarify its intentions. “We urge China to reaffirm that it has no plans to deploy or rotate military aircraft at its outposts in the Spratlys, in keeping with China’s prior assurances,” Ross said. Ross also called on all rivals in the South China Sea to clarify their claims in accordance with international law and “to avoid unilateral actions that change the ‘status quo.’”

The ministry said Beijing had indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and the Pentagon had no right to comment on Chinese building works and defensive facilities there. It said it was Chinese military tradition to “wholeheartedly serve the people” and help those in need. “In sharp contrast, the US side is expressing doubts about whether it’s a military or civilian aircraft at a time when somebody’s life is in danger,” the ministry said. “We cannot but ask: if a US citizen suddenly took ill on US soil, would the US military look on with folded arms?”

Chinese activity in disputed waters of the South China Sea, including the construction of islands by dredging sand onto reefs and shoals in the Spratly Islands, has alarmed rival claimants Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines. The US has repeatedly criticized the construction of the islands and worries that China plans to use them for military purposes. It worries that trade in what is one of the world’s busiest waterways could be threatened, but China says it has no hostile intent. The runway on the Fiery Cross Reef is 3,000m long and is one of three China has been building in the archipelago. Civilian flights began test runs there in January, but Sunday’s landing was the first China has publicly reported by a military plane at Fiery Cross Reef.

Do not militarize Spratlys: US - Taipei Times

See also:

China warns of foreign spies with 'Dangerous Love'
Tue Apr 19, 2016 — China is marking National Security Education Day with a poster warning young female government workers about dating handsome foreigners, who could turn out to have secret agendas.

Titled "Dangerous Love," the 16-panel, comic book-like poster tells the story of an attractive young Chinese civil servant nicknamed Xiao Li, or Little Li, who meets a red-headed foreign man at a dinner party and starts a relationship. The man, David, claims to be a visiting scholar, but he actually is a foreign spy who butters Xiao Li up with compliments on her beauty, bouquets of roses, fancy dinners and romantic walks in the park.

After Xiao Li provides David with secret internal documents from her job at a government propaganda office, the two are arrested. In one of the poster's final panels, Xiao Li is shown sitting handcuffed before two policemen, who tell her that she has a "shallow understanding of secrecy for a state employee." The poster has appeared on local governments' public bulletin boards, targeting mainly rank-and-file state employees.

A Beijing district government said in a statement that it would display the poster to educate its employees about keeping classified information confidential and reporting to state security agencies if they spot any spying activity. It said it would familiarize employees with ways to counter espionage. The central government's inaugural National Security Education Day, which was last Friday, was meant to make people aware about security problems in China, and was marked by speeches and the distribution of materials.

China warns of foreign spies with 'Dangerous Love'

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - dem politicians gonna get us involved in a `nother crazy Asian war...

China trains 'fishing militia' to sail into disputed waters
Apr 30 2016 - The fishing fleet based in this tiny port town on Hainan island is getting everything from military training and subsidies to even fuel and ice as China creates an increasingly sophisticated fishing militia to sail into the disputed South China Sea.

The training and support includes exercises at sea and requests to fishermen to gather information on foreign vessels, provincial government officials, regional diplomats and fishing company executives said in recent interviews. "The maritime militia is expanding because of the country's need for it, and because of the desire of the fishermen to engage in national service, protecting our country's interests," said an advisor to the Hainan government who did not want to be named.

But the fishing militia also raises the risk of conflict with foreign navies in the strategic waterway through which $5 trillion of trade passes each year, diplomats and naval experts say. The United States has been conducting sea and air patrols near artificial islands China is building in the disputed Spratlys archipelago, including by two B-52 strategic bombers in November. Washington said in February it would increase the "freedom of navigation" sail-bys around the disputed sea.

BASIC MILITARY TRAINING

The city-level branches of the People's Armed Forces Department provide basic military training to fishermen, said the Hainan government advisor. The branches are overseen by both the military and local Communist Party authorities in charge of militia operations nationwide. The training encompasses search and rescue operations, contending with disasters at sea, and "safeguarding Chinese sovereignty", said the advisor who focuses on the South China Sea. The training, which includes exercises at sea, takes place between May and August and the government pays fishermen for participating, he said.

Government subsidies encourage fishermen to use heavier vessels with steel - as opposed to wooden - hulls. The government has also provided Global Positioning Satellite equipment for at least 50,000 vessels, enabling them to contact the Chinese Coast Guard in maritime emergencies, including encounters with foreign ships, industry executives said. Several Hainan fishermen and diplomats told Reuters some vessels have small arms. When "a particular mission in safeguarding sovereignty", comes up government authorities will coordinate with the fishing militia, the advisor said, asking them to gather information on the activities of foreign vessels at sea.

ROW WITH INDONESIA

See also:

US senators urge more operations in South China Sea
Fri, Apr 29, 2016 - There is growing concern on Capitol Hill over a new flashpoint and Beijing’s increasing militarization of the South China Sea. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker on Wednesday called on US President Barack Obama to be “more strident” with China.

During a hearing on US-China relations both Democratic and Republican senators indicated support for more freedom of navigation patrols to limit Beijing from claiming control of trade routes. Senator Marco Rubio asked US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken if China was consistently pursuing a long-term strategy with the goal of gaining effective control of the entire South China Sea. “Yes, I think that is China’s objective,” Blinken said. Rubio said China was pursuing its “nine-dash-line” position, citing a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article that said the Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island) had emerged as a new flashpoint. “There are far more downsides than upsides in the US-China relationship over these last days,” Corker said. “Regrettably, as the strategic challenges increase the opportunities for positive engagement diminish.”

There was no denying that China had positioned itself as a geopolitical rival to the US and it was even more troubling that the Obama administration did not seem to have a coherent China policy, he said. “In the South China Sea, neither the rhetoric nor the freedom of navigation operations have deterred or slowed down China’s reclamation activities, including the stationing of military-related assets on these artificial islands,” Corker said. Many experts have said that it is increasingly likely that Beijing would soon declare an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea and could undertake “further destabilizing actions” if an international tribunal ruled against Chinese interests, he said. There was a sense that the Obama administration was just “managing differences” with China and that the committee felt that coherent policy was missing, he said.

The relationship with China is still the most important relationship the US has, but committee members hope “the administration will be more strident in their actions and more clear over time [as to] what the overall strategy is,” Corker said. Democratic Senator Robert Menendez said the US needed to take a stronger stance, adding that US instruments of national power “are only useful when they are fully deployed.” Blinken told the committee that the US was not a claimant to the territorial and maritime disputes in the South China Sea, but had a clear national interest in the way claims were pursued. All claims must uphold freedom of navigation, respect for international law and the peaceful resolution of disputes, he said. “We oppose the use of force or the threat to use force to advance maritime or territorial claims and we call on all parties in the South China Sea — not just China — to resolve disputes in a peaceful manner,” he said.

According to the WSJ article, the US military has observed Chinese ships conducting survey work around the Scarborough Shoal and had flown three air patrols near the shoal in recent days to signal its concern. “There is growing concern among US and Philippine officials that Beijing plans to begin work at the shoal, possibly in response to a ruling on its territorial claims by an arbitration panel in The Hague, expected this summer,” the newspaper said.

US senators urge more operations in South China Sea - Taipei Times

Related:

China plans to build on Scarborough Shoal: report
Tue, Apr 26, 2016 - Beijing is to start construction this year on a South China Sea islet within the Philippines’ claimed exclusive economic zone as it seeks to project its power in the disputed waters, Hong Kong media reported yesterday.

China would establish an outpost on Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island), 230km off the Philippine coast, the South China Morning Post newspaper cited an unnamed source close to the People’s Liberation Army as saying. Beijing claims nearly all the strategically vital sea, despite competing claims from several Southeast Asian nations, and in recent months has developed contested reefs into artificial islands, some topped with airstrips. Manila claims the Scarborough Shoal, but says China took effective control of it in 2012, stationing patrol vessels in the area and shooing away Philippine fishermen, after a two-month stand-off with the Philippine Navy.

The newspaper cited the source as saying construction at the outpost would allow Beijing to “further perfect” its air coverage across the South China Sea, suggesting it plans to build an airstrip. Speaking at a news conference, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she was not aware of the report, but the area was China’s “inherent territory.” Beijing will “adopt the necessary measures to resolutely protect China’s sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests,” she said. The report comes ahead of an international tribunal ruling, expected within months, on a case brought by the Philippines over the South China Sea.

It also follows an announcement by the US and the Philippines that they would launch joint naval patrols in the area. The construction plans were likely to be accelerated in light of the upcoming ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the newspaper cited the source as saying. “China should regain the initiative to do so, because Washington is trying to contain Beijing by establishing a permanent military presence in the region,” the source said.

Hua said the recent patrol flights in the area by the Philippines and the US were “deserving of suspicion,” urging “some countries” active in the region to exercise restraint and “make cooperative efforts with China.” Beijing admits building military-capable airstrips and deploying unspecified weapons on some of the islands, but insists US patrols have ramped up tensions. Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have claims to parts of the sea, which is home to some of the world’s most important shipping lanes.

China plans to build on Scarborough Shoal: report - Taipei Times

 

[PoliticalChic]

Granny says, "Dat's right - dem politicians gonna get us involved in a `nother crazy Asian war...

China trains 'fishing militia' to sail into disputed waters
Apr 30 2016 - The fishing fleet based in this tiny port town on Hainan island is getting everything from military training and subsidies to even fuel and ice as China creates an increasingly sophisticated fishing militia to sail into the disputed South China Sea.

The training and support includes exercises at sea and requests to fishermen to gather information on foreign vessels, provincial government officials, regional diplomats and fishing company executives said in recent interviews. "The maritime militia is expanding because of the country's need for it, and because of the desire of the fishermen to engage in national service, protecting our country's interests," said an advisor to the Hainan government who did not want to be named.

But the fishing militia also raises the risk of conflict with foreign navies in the strategic waterway through which $5 trillion of trade passes each year, diplomats and naval experts say. The United States has been conducting sea and air patrols near artificial islands China is building in the disputed Spratlys archipelago, including by two B-52 strategic bombers in November. Washington said in February it would increase the "freedom of navigation" sail-bys around the disputed sea.

BASIC MILITARY TRAINING

The city-level branches of the People's Armed Forces Department provide basic military training to fishermen, said the Hainan government advisor. The branches are overseen by both the military and local Communist Party authorities in charge of militia operations nationwide. The training encompasses search and rescue operations, contending with disasters at sea, and "safeguarding Chinese sovereignty", said the advisor who focuses on the South China Sea. The training, which includes exercises at sea, takes place between May and August and the government pays fishermen for participating, he said.

Government subsidies encourage fishermen to use heavier vessels with steel - as opposed to wooden - hulls. The government has also provided Global Positioning Satellite equipment for at least 50,000 vessels, enabling them to contact the Chinese Coast Guard in maritime emergencies, including encounters with foreign ships, industry executives said. Several Hainan fishermen and diplomats told Reuters some vessels have small arms. When "a particular mission in safeguarding sovereignty", comes up government authorities will coordinate with the fishing militia, the advisor said, asking them to gather information on the activities of foreign vessels at sea.

ROW WITH INDONESIA

See also:

US senators urge more operations in South China Sea
Fri, Apr 29, 2016 - There is growing concern on Capitol Hill over a new flashpoint and Beijing’s increasing militarization of the South China Sea. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker on Wednesday called on US President Barack Obama to be “more strident” with China.

During a hearing on US-China relations both Democratic and Republican senators indicated support for more freedom of navigation patrols to limit Beijing from claiming control of trade routes. Senator Marco Rubio asked US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken if China was consistently pursuing a long-term strategy with the goal of gaining effective control of the entire South China Sea. “Yes, I think that is China’s objective,” Blinken said. Rubio said China was pursuing its “nine-dash-line” position, citing a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article that said the Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island) had emerged as a new flashpoint. “There are far more downsides than upsides in the US-China relationship over these last days,” Corker said. “Regrettably, as the strategic challenges increase the opportunities for positive engagement diminish.”

There was no denying that China had positioned itself as a geopolitical rival to the US and it was even more troubling that the Obama administration did not seem to have a coherent China policy, he said. “In the South China Sea, neither the rhetoric nor the freedom of navigation operations have deterred or slowed down China’s reclamation activities, including the stationing of military-related assets on these artificial islands,” Corker said. Many experts have said that it is increasingly likely that Beijing would soon declare an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea and could undertake “further destabilizing actions” if an international tribunal ruled against Chinese interests, he said. There was a sense that the Obama administration was just “managing differences” with China and that the committee felt that coherent policy was missing, he said.

The relationship with China is still the most important relationship the US has, but committee members hope “the administration will be more strident in their actions and more clear over time [as to] what the overall strategy is,” Corker said. Democratic Senator Robert Menendez said the US needed to take a stronger stance, adding that US instruments of national power “are only useful when they are fully deployed.” Blinken told the committee that the US was not a claimant to the territorial and maritime disputes in the South China Sea, but had a clear national interest in the way claims were pursued. All claims must uphold freedom of navigation, respect for international law and the peaceful resolution of disputes, he said. “We oppose the use of force or the threat to use force to advance maritime or territorial claims and we call on all parties in the South China Sea — not just China — to resolve disputes in a peaceful manner,” he said.

According to the WSJ article, the US military has observed Chinese ships conducting survey work around the Scarborough Shoal and had flown three air patrols near the shoal in recent days to signal its concern. “There is growing concern among US and Philippine officials that Beijing plans to begin work at the shoal, possibly in response to a ruling on its territorial claims by an arbitration panel in The Hague, expected this summer,” the newspaper said.

US senators urge more operations in South China Sea - Taipei Times

Related:

China plans to build on Scarborough Shoal: report
Tue, Apr 26, 2016 - Beijing is to start construction this year on a South China Sea islet within the Philippines’ claimed exclusive economic zone as it seeks to project its power in the disputed waters, Hong Kong media reported yesterday.

China would establish an outpost on Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island), 230km off the Philippine coast, the South China Morning Post newspaper cited an unnamed source close to the People’s Liberation Army as saying. Beijing claims nearly all the strategically vital sea, despite competing claims from several Southeast Asian nations, and in recent months has developed contested reefs into artificial islands, some topped with airstrips. Manila claims the Scarborough Shoal, but says China took effective control of it in 2012, stationing patrol vessels in the area and shooing away Philippine fishermen, after a two-month stand-off with the Philippine Navy.

The newspaper cited the source as saying construction at the outpost would allow Beijing to “further perfect” its air coverage across the South China Sea, suggesting it plans to build an airstrip. Speaking at a news conference, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she was not aware of the report, but the area was China’s “inherent territory.” Beijing will “adopt the necessary measures to resolutely protect China’s sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests,” she said. The report comes ahead of an international tribunal ruling, expected within months, on a case brought by the Philippines over the South China Sea.

It also follows an announcement by the US and the Philippines that they would launch joint naval patrols in the area. The construction plans were likely to be accelerated in light of the upcoming ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the newspaper cited the source as saying. “China should regain the initiative to do so, because Washington is trying to contain Beijing by establishing a permanent military presence in the region,” the source said.

Hua said the recent patrol flights in the area by the Philippines and the US were “deserving of suspicion,” urging “some countries” active in the region to exercise restraint and “make cooperative efforts with China.” Beijing admits building military-capable airstrips and deploying unspecified weapons on some of the islands, but insists US patrols have ramped up tensions. Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have claims to parts of the sea, which is home to some of the world’s most important shipping lanes.

China plans to build on Scarborough Shoal: report - Taipei Times

Walt....see if granny thinks we should turn the South China Sea over to China.

 

[Damaged Eagle]

WWIII will be a cyber war

WWIII is already started and it's not being fought on the internet.

*****SMILE*****

 

[Cruz-Clinton]

China are our friend.

Iran, Nigeria and Sudan are true enemies.

And still maybe Japan.

 

[Cruz-Clinton]

Al Qaida are only terrorist how really are enemy for America.

 

[Moonglow]

Al Qaida are only terrorist how really are enemy for America.

I am sure we can find plenty more..

 

[Cruz-Clinton]

No I will. U.S. has give ISIS money to handle Weapons and Equipment and entertainment for more members who may not cost money or what do you think about the state of holy warriors who were originally Bin Laden's basic ideology of the West. Bin Laden does not like Western world's rock music as he was against us. He's alive still in Scandinavia the dead terrorist Bin Laden if I know he is here.

 

[PoliticalChic]

"U.S. Warship Challenges China's Claims in South China Sea
The U.S. Navy sent its third warship in less than seven months into waters of the South China Sea claimed by China as tensions rise ahead of an international court’s ruling on the territorial dispute.
....China has dumped hundreds of thousands of tons of sand and coral to create an island on which it has built an airstrip.

The [US] warship “threatened” China’s sovereignty and put staff and facilities on the island at risk, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a briefing in Beijing Tuesday. The U.S.’s regular freedom-of-navigation operations since 1979 were “a naked challenge” to the maritime order, he said."
U.S. Warship Challenges China's Claims in South China Sea




This thread began a full year ago.
The title seems......prescient.