US Provocation in Chinese Waters. The Militarization of the South China Sea
By Stephen Lendman
Global Research
October 28, 2015
Imagine the following scenario. One or more Chinese warships sail provocatively into US Gulf of Mexico waters, or perhaps off its West Coast – after being warned by Pentagon and administration officials not to.
Washington would interdict the vessel, perhaps consider its intrusion a casus belli – with full US media support.
Here’s today’s reality. In mid-October, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said: “Make no mistake, the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, as we do around the world, and the South China Sea is not and will not be an exception,” code language for laws are what Washington says they are, regardless of their precise meaning.
America considers all global waters its own, intending to sail provocatively through them whenever it wishes, even at the expense of world peace and stability. Hegemons operate this way, by its own rules alone.
China justifiably considers the Nansha (Spratly) Islands and waters surrounding them its sovereign territory. America respects only its own sovereignty, no one else’s.
Last May, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said America should avoid “risky and provocative approaches to maintain regional peace and stability.”
She stressed China will defend its territorial sovereignty. Unauthorized intrusions will be challenged. At the time, a state-run Global Times editorial bluntly warned:
If the United States’ bottom line is that China has to halt its activities, then a US-China war is inevitable in the South China Sea.
“China will have no choice but to” respond to US provocations. Its message says it won’t tolerate US intervention where it doesn’t belong.
China is concerned about America’s increasing Asia/Pacific presence, provocatively challenging its sovereignty and security.
The Rest…HERE
