A Chinese naval vessel tried to force a U.S. guided missile warship to stop in international waters recently, causing a tense military standoff in the latest case of Chinese maritime harassment, according to defense officials.
The guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens, which recently took part in disaster relief operations in the Philippines, was confronted by Chinese warships in the South China Sea near Beijing’s new aircraft carrier Liaoning, according to officials familiar with the incident.
“On December 5th, while lawfully operating in international waters in the South China Sea, USS Cowpens and a PLA Navy vessel had an encounter that required maneuvering to avoid a collision,” a Navy official said.
“This incident underscores the need to ensure the highest standards of professional seamanship, including communications between vessels, to mitigate the risk of an unintended incident or mishap.”
A State Department official said the U.S. government issued protests to China in both Washington and Beijing in both diplomatic and military channels.
The Cowpens was conducting surveillance of the Liaoning at the time. The carrier had recently sailed from the port of Qingdao on the northern Chinese coast into the South China Sea.
According to the officials, the run-in began after a Chinese navy vessel sent a hailing warning and ordered the Cowpens to stop. The cruiser continued on its course and refused the order because it was operating in international waters.
Then a Chinese tank landing ship sailed in front of the Cowpens and stopped, forcing the Cowpens to abruptly change course in what the officials said was a dangerous maneuver.
According to the officials, the Cowpens was conducting a routine operation done to exercise its freedom of navigation near the Chinese carrier when the incident occurred about a week ago.
The encounter was the type of incident that senior Pentagon officials recently warned could take place as a result of heightened tensions in the region over China’s declaration of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently called China’s new air defense zone destabilizing and said it increased the risk of a military “miscalculation.”
China’s military forces in recent days have dispatched Su-30 and J-11 fighter jets, as well as KJ-2000 airborne warning and control aircraft, to the zone to monitor the airspace that is used frequently by U.S. and Japanese military surveillance aircraft.
The United States has said it does not recognize China’s ADIZ, as has Japan’s government.
Two U.S. B-52 bombers flew through the air zone last month but were not shadowed by Chinese interceptor jets.
Chinese naval and air forces also have been pressing Japan in the East China Sea over Tokyo’s purchase a year ago of several uninhabited Senkaku Islands located north of Taiwan and south of Okinawa.
How would the US react if chinese ships were 120 miles off the coast of California, technically international waters? No reaction? I think not.
A fair assessment.
Much as the article is describing the Chinese being aggressive, we were in their backyard.
A fair assessment.
Much as the article is describing the Chinese being aggressive, we were in their backyard.
We were in international waters, that's the point, and not "in their backyard."
They are going to do something stupid, and find out what it's like to get curb stomped.
Bring it on, I say. Our boys need some target practice.
The problem is this is china's view on the sea as they think they can claim the entire thing more or less:
China has expansionist ambitions. Because it's called the "South China Sea", China is adopting the attitude that it belongs to them, and they think they've built up enough military muscle to make it stick.
The question now is what happens next.
What happens next is either China smartly does nothing, or gets curb stomped. Like it or not they don't have anything resembling the military capacity to take and hold the region. The most they can do is fume and be assholes about it, like what happened in the OP.
In purely naval terms sure it would be a route. But China can certainly do alot of killing and taking of ground. Taiwan would be a speed bump. While we may be able to project force into the region it would be hubris to think we could stop China from expanding it's borders.
There is also the larger implications of world war. All it takes is a spark. China has had Japan on their shit list for longer than we've been a country. The damn Ruskies still have all sorts of nasty stuff at their disposal and would be all too happy to sell/supply the chinese. Then that idiot Kim Jong will start in and we'd be sitting in our fancy ships with no way of getting anywhere even close to the entire eastern coastline.
I think we should tred lightly. Yes, we have a big stick but it's best not to have to use it.
In purely naval terms sure it would be a route. But China can certainly do alot of killing and taking of ground. Taiwan would be a speed bump. While we may be able to project force into the region it would be hubris to think we could stop China from expanding it's borders.
There is also the larger implications of world war. All it takes is a spark. China has had Japan on their shit list for longer than we've been a country. The damn Ruskies still have all sorts of nasty stuff at their disposal and would be all too happy to sell/supply the chinese. Then that idiot Kim Jong will start in and we'd be sitting in our fancy ships with no way of getting anywhere even close to the entire eastern coastline.
I think we should tred lightly. Yes, we have a big stick but it's best not to have to use it.
I was under the impression the Chinese lacked any real amphibious capabilities? Thats the first thing anyone says when a Chinese invasion of the mainland US is brought up.
In purely naval terms sure it would be a route. But China can certainly do alot of killing and taking of ground. Taiwan would be a speed bump. While we may be able to project force into the region it would be hubris to think we could stop China from expanding it's borders.
There is also the larger implications of world war. All it takes is a spark. China has had Japan on their shit list for longer than we've been a country. The damn Ruskies still have all sorts of nasty stuff at their disposal and would be all too happy to sell/supply the chinese. Then that idiot Kim Jong will start in and we'd be sitting in our fancy ships with no way of getting anywhere even close to the entire eastern coastline.
I think we should tred lightly. Yes, we have a big stick but it's best not to have to use it.
The ROC's armed forces number approximately 300,000, and reserves reportedly total 3,870,000. Conscription remains universal for qualified males reaching age 18. Force streamlining programs under way since 1997 are combining redundant institutions and steadily reducing the military to 270,000 personnel by 2012. However, even then there would be compulsory basic training for all males reaching 18. As the size of the force decreases, the ROC intends to gradually expand the number of volunteer soldiers with the eventual goal of forming an all volunteer career force.[14]
How would the US react if chinese ships were 120 miles off the coast of California, technically international waters? No reaction? I think not.
I agree it's best not to provoke a confrontation, but appeasement of Chinese expansionism isn't healthy. China could use a stern reminder to keep its hands to itself.