Japan Warns It May Fire On Chinese Aircraft Over Disputed Islands; China Retorts: "There Will Be No Second Shot"
A week ago we reported that following what China said was a response to counter "Japanese military aircraft disrupting the routine patrols of Chinese administrative aircraft" over the East China Sea, the world's most populous country (and one which has the largest, 2.25 million strong, standing army) scrambled several jets and put its military on high alert. Now, it is the turn of Japan, and its brand new militant and nationalistic government, to "retaliate" and escalate tensions by one more notch, in the process crashing any hope that Chinese imports of Japanese goods may resume, and obviating the ongoing temporary plunge in the yen (which while doing nothing to boost exports to this 20% trading partner, has made imports so expensive, inflation in the past two months has already soared well above the 2% target for various key goods as previously reported).
Moments ago, Japan says it may fire warning shots and take other measures to keep foreign aircraft from violating its airspace in the latest verbal blast between Tokyo and Beijing that raises concerns that a dispute over hotly contested islands could spin out of control.
Japanese officials made the comments after Chinese fighters tailed its warplanes near the islands recently. The incident is believed to be the first scrambling of Chinese fighters since the tensions began to rise last spring.
According to Chinese media, a pair of J-10 fighters was scrambled after Japanese F-15s began tailing a Chinese surveillance plane near the disputed islands in the East China Sea. China has complained the surveillance flight did not violate Japanese airspace and the F-15s were harassing it.
It was the first time the Chinese media has reported fighters being mobilized to respond to Japanese air force activity in the area and comes amid what Japan says is a rapid intensification of Chinese air force activity around the islands, where Japanese and Chinese coast guard ships have squared off for months.
Though there have been no outright clashes, the increased sea and air operations have fueled worries that the situation could spin out of control.
"Every country has procedures for how to deal with a violation of its territory that continues after multiple cautionary measures," Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said on Jan. 16 when asked if tracer shots would be fired against intruding aircraft that refuse to change course. "We have response measures ready that are consistent with global standards."
Onodera said the use of warning shots has long been provided for under Japan's defense policies and is widely accepted under international rules of engagement. Japan's air force has not actually resorted to them since 1987--against a Soviet aircraft--and none were fired last week.
But Chinese and Japanese media have suggested Tokyo is publicly floating the possibility to test China's reaction.
Perhaps it may surprise Japan, but "China's reaction" will hardly be one of a dog retreating with its tail between its legs. In fact, it will likely be quite the opposite.
And the fact that the US has once again stepped in, and is once again on the side of the party that started this whole escalation fiasco (that would be Japan for those who have forgotten), will not help:
The escalation of tensions has worried the United States, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton saying on Jan. 18 that while the U.S. doesn't take a position on who has sovereignty over the islands, it opposes "any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine Japanese administration."
That brought a sharp retort from the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Jan. 20. The comments "ignore the facts" that the islands are China's inherent territory, spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement that urged the U.S. to adopt "a responsible attitude."
In Beijing last week, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said China is on "high alert" and suggested Japan is escalating the tensions over the islands, called the Diaoyu in China and the Senkaku in Japan. Taiwan also claims the small isles, which are uninhabited but may be surrounded by valuable underwater natural resources.
"Chinese planes and ships are exercising normal jurisdiction in the waters and airspace surrounding the Diaoyu Islands," spokesman Hong Lei said. "We are opposed to the operations of Japan's planes and ships, which violate our rights around Diaoyu. We are on high alert against this escalation."
As is often the case, Chinese media quoted military academics with a much more fiery response.
"Japan's desire to fire tracer warning shots as a way of frightening the Chinese is nothing but a joke that shows the stupidity, cruelty and failure to understand their own limitations," Maj. Gen. Peng Guangqian of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences was quoted as saying by the China News Service and other state media.
"Firing tracer bullets is a type of provocation; it's firing the first shot," he said. "Were Japan to dare to fire tracers, which is to say fire the first shot, then China wouldn't stint on responding and not allow them to fire the second shot."
Sounds like a catalyst to double down and buy every ES contract in sight: just think of the GDP boost and appropriate fiscal multiplier once Japan is levelled.
(18 votes)
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It's not that much about the oil. China wnats to make sure it have access to the pacific.
Seems to me the Pacific is pretty big and China has a lot of coastline. Not clear to me how they could "lose access".
Open google map and go take a look at the Chinese coast. They are surrounded, among others, by Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines. Now zoom in in the water between those country. You will realise there are actualy hundreds of small island there. This make it harder for China to, say, sneak in a nuclear submarine undedected to the pacific.
This is spinning out of control and when it does and shots are fired you can guarantee that they won't back down.
it has nothing to do with a rock.
look... how did ww2 end?
Japan vanquished, Germany split, UK indebted to US, Russia and China go commie.
USA "wins".
ww3:
Japan vs. China for control of Asia.
Germany lating claim to Europe vis a vis the euro debt scheme.
UK and US financing/enforcing which side wins Asia
Russia grabs what it can in its sphere, all hinging on middle east oil
Why NOT have a world war? Printing money ain't working... time to steal, and obliterate.
Shit.
wealth destruction events like wars and cash for clunkers are all par for the course for covering up banker corruption and greed and their political allies complicity
C'mon Mavelick... Do some of that piRot Stuff..
now that is funny sir.
You never crose your eyes anymore when I kiss, your rips...
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
I think i read somewhere that the US defense budget could stamp out world hunger and malnutrution. Let them eat democracy, says lady liberty.
We could buy enough food, but last mile distribution is the problem, with corrupt governments taking the money, or the food.
Send food then what? One week and it's gone. Those people need to learn how to fish instead of receiving fish for free. Actually there's clear evidence that sending food has slowed down progress in the receiving countries.
Well, as my dad used to say: Give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, and he will stay drunk all day in a boat. ;)) But seriously, i agree with what you are saying, but do we understand all the factors at play in this situation? Personally, i've had suspicions that all commodity prices are rigged lower, including corn, soy, and wheat. But our farmers are propped up by the farm subsidy bureau, and the African farmers are on their own, hence starvation.
The Africans kicked out the white farmers, and then, instead of farming the land, spend all their time killing each other and sitting around starving. When they do have an abundance of food, whether from production or from international aid, what happens? Their population grows and then next time there is a shortage, the famine is worse than the last time.
Chinese Sushi Bichezzzz!!!
Don't Japan and China know Obama has issued 23 Executive Orders to end shooting and gun violence.
We ameriKans are also waiting for the translation of the EOs
All we are saying ... is give war a chance!
"...on the other hand, what if we gave a war and everyone showed up?"
When the rich wage war it is the poor that die.
Jean-Paul sartre
"Everybody Wang Chung tonight!"
-Some drunk guy
It's about the only place over there that ain't polluted. Split the island in half or keep the fighting on your side.
"Failure to understand their own limitations".
Hear hear!
What we have here is a failure to communicate.
Nobody can eat fifty eggs.
I once knew a girl who....
Japan vaporized by China? One helluva way to cover up the GE / Tepco world pollution angle.
Yen is toast anyway.
Google gets the rebuild contract (in a broken window scenario based on a bed of freely flowing fiat)
Who's running the show in Japan? General Belgrano?
Is this one of those Black Swan things everyone is talking about?
dude..your name sounds very uncomfortable
Seriously...I just checked the zit on my butt.
If it's WAR they want It's WAR they get!
As his kind uncle sam feeds ten trillion in change into his total entertainment combat video game...
Don't shoot till you see the whites of their eyes.
They're asian... Way to go knukles, jeeez....
With asians thats going to be somewhere just outside of melee range.
this is the clash of imperial titans - japan is a stooge of the usa while china - also a bankster stooge - is putting on a show to justify military intervention and justification for more military expenditures.....of course the chinese are not completely under control of the banksters and have as long an imperial history as the west - actually much longer - but they are expanding their influence......who actually pulls the strings is not altogether clear yet...
Not to mention a massive surplus male population of 32 million.
http://theweek.com/article/index/213155/chinas-looming-man-surplus
A population that better be really good at swimming if they plan to be of any use in this conflict.
Exactly. China has no sea lift capacity.
So China is Paper Tiger with short stick ?
I thought those are potential colonists for Africa, you get a wife thrown in with the plot of land to sweeten the deal.
You know if this is a scam and escalates, the Chinese will start to sequester, and the Japanese will start "deterring" - this regardless the actual stand-off/combat/or American official reaction.
Chi Commies say - Go ahead make my day.
The first of a long line of distractions from the failure of irredeemable paper currency.
History repeating Weimar circa 1920
China produced 20+ million cars in 2012... now imagine if they switch to making tanks and planes... it'll be a riot.
They're supposedly hoarding a 6 year supply of cotton...uniforms?
Fuses.......