China Set To Establish No-Fly Zone Over Islands After Successful Test Flight
When last we checked in on the dispute over Beijing’s land reclamation efforts in the South China Sea, several dozen protesters from the Philippines were camped out on Pagasa island in a demonstration aimed at raising awareness of what they say is an illegal occupation of the Spratlys.
To let China tell it, it’s the other way around.
That is, the Filipino troop presence in the archipelago represents an illegal occupation of territory that belongs to Beijing and China would be well within its rights to forcibly expel the occupying army.
The entire dispute centers around China’s construction of some 3,000 acres of new sovereign territory atop reefs in disputed waters. Although other countries have undertaken similar efforts, Beijing’s project is by far the most ambitious and Washington’s regional allies fear China is attempting to build what amount to a series of forward military operating bases in the Spratlys. The argument over the new islands reached a crescendo in October when the US sent a warship to the region in what Washington called a "freedom of navigation" exercise but what was, in reality, a show of force.
For those unfamiliar with the history here, the alarm bells didn’t start ringing in earnest until April, when satellite images showed China was building a runway on Fiery Cross reef. The 10,000 foot airstrip is long enough to accommodate fighter jets and surveillance aircraft and has been variously described as “a game changer” and an effort to “vastly expand China’s zone of competition with the US.” Here's a look at the runway in question when it was one-third complete:
On Saturday, Beijing tested the runway for the first time, a move which drew sharp criticism from the islands various claimants. Vietnam, for instance, has filed a formal diplomatic complaint.
"China's first landing of a plane on one of its new island runways in the South China Sea shows Beijing's facilities in the disputed region are being completed on schedule and military flights will inevitably follow," Reuters writes, adding that "China's increasing military presence in the disputed sea could effectively lead to a Beijing-controlled air defence zone, ratcheting up tensions with other claimants and with the United States in one of the world's most volatile areas." Here's more:
Vietnam said the plane landed on Jan 2 and launched a formal diplomatic protest, while Philippines Foreign Ministry spokesman Charles Jose said Manila was planning to do the same. Both have claims to the area that overlap with China.
"That's the fear, that China will be able take control of the South China Sea and it will affect the freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight," Jose told reporters.
In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said China's landing of the plane "raises tensions and threatens regional stability."
Senator John McCain, the chairman of the influential U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, criticised the Obama administration for delaying further "freedom of navigation" patrols within 12 nautical miles of the islands built by China.
China has been building runways on the artificial islands for over a year, and the plane's landing was not a surprise.
The runway at the Fiery Cross Reef is 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) long and is one of three China was constructing on artificial islands built up from seven reefs and atolls in the Spratlys archipelago.
The runways would be long enough to handle long-range bombers and transport craft as well as China's best jet fighters, giving them a presence deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia that they have lacked until now.
The airfield on Fiery Cross Reef will serve to "significantly" cut travel time between the Spratly islands and mainland China, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing a top engineer from the transport ministry.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at the weekend that the test flight was intended to check whether the runway met civilian aviation standards and fell "completely within China's sovereignty".
Asked about McCain's remarks on Tuesday, she said: "We hope the U.S. can take an objective and fair attitude, and not make statements that confuse the situation and are harmful to regional peace and stability," she said.
Right. So once again, both sides are accusing the other of jeopardizing "regional peace and stability." And while Beijing insists the airstrip is being tested for civilian purposes, analysts say it's just a matter of time before fighter jets touch down on Fiery Cross. "The next step will be, once they've tested it with several flights, they will bring down some of their fighter air power - SU-27s and SU-33's - and they will station them there permanently," Leszek Buszynski, a visiting fellow at the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre says. "That's what they're likely to do."
After that, China will effectively establish a no-fly zone according to Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore's ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. "As these facilities become operational, Chinese warnings to both military and civilian aircraft will become routine," Storey said. "These events are a precursor to an ADIZ, or an undeclared but de facto ADIZ, and one has to expect tensions to rise," he says.
If that's the case then the ball is now back in Obama and Abe's court. Pressure will now mount for the US and Japan to take concrete steps to deter China from effectively seizing control of key shipping lanes through which some $5 trillion in global trade passes each year. How far Washington is willing to go to beat back Xi's ambitious maritime powerplay is as yet unclear, but if the past is any guide, you can expect The White House to err on the side of cowardice caution.
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ahaahahahahaaahaha!!! ... really ... denial? That's it? LOL
is it worth going to war over?
John McCain thinks so.....
Lesson: Do not postpone resolving an issue forever. 70 years ago, after WWII, these island issues were marked as to be 'resolved later'. Never happened. Leadership was always busy elsewhere since 1945. Fine leadership, exceptional!
"John McCain thinks so....."
Its on account of that Mekong whisky he was swilling when he RnR at the Hanoi Hilton. Musta've swallowed sumthing that rotted his brains.
Naaa McCain never forgave them for putting electrodes on his bollocks, they all look the same to him.
Diego Garcia.
At least the Chinese had the dignity to build the runway for all to see, on their own, instead of stealing it.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_truth_about_the_us_military_base...
eh, well no, china illegallly occuppied and annexed islands from Vietnam in 1980's...so it's kinda like squatter claiming ownership.
hope US bomb their ass
I hope you are flexible enough to kiss your own ass goodbye. You are going to need it.
Why are so many nations in a hussy fit? So China builds an island, puts an air base there and soon they'll be a few town homes then more homes then a few Chinese restaurants and so on. They are industrious busy bees building alot from nothing.
As contrast to less industrious people like in Africa where they started with nothing, and now, a few thousand years later, they still have almost nothing.
So a hat tip to the Chinese! ...esp those foxy female Chinese soldiers:
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3cbMLeeV1ww/maxresdefault.jpg
What's not to like?
Wow! Where can I surrender?
The "one" whose face is visible from the Top Left Corner - first full face along the top edge - has to be a Man/Trannie - ROTFL!!
ZH kept insisting global trade had come to a sqeeching halt, see Baltic dry index. Now it has recovered to $5t again? lol
I don't see it. I can't find what you are claiming. Unless you are a disinformation hack please leave some links to backup your claim.
http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/BDIY:IND
I don't see any recovery for the BDI, presently at 468.
I hope our leaders remember what they told the world after a Turkish fighter shot down a Russian bomber. I would call in sick if I was a US navy pilot and was told I'ld be making a flyby. Didnt even take a year for it to come back and bite us in the ass
If you were a Navy pilot you'd be gung-ho for the mission. Those guys are driven and dedicated.
And you're not.
That's the fastest way to end up dead. Enjoy !
Darwin award winners.
China is going to get what the soviet union got.........Bankruptcy leading to regime change......
Because, like the Russians, they will have the choice of civil war, or a backing down of the government oligarchs......
Elites will choose billionaire living abroad, over civil war with a hungry, angry populace anytime.......
You're not at the Comedy Club, bub. And it wasn't that funny anyway.
Dear bid:
Hold off on making room on the mantle for your Nobel in Economics.
China is bankrupt, and the "New Rich" working class murders owners and .gov without hesitation.
Mars (eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs etc ect)
Alas, I don't have a mantle to make room on for my Economics prize.
But you're going to need copious space for all your honors associated with being the Dalai Lama of Denial.
Oh boy
best
bid
:o)
"Elites will choose billionaire living abroad, over civil war with a hungry, angry populace anytime......."
Same could be said for the States as well. Or most of us would be happily reading the MSM and workout with the remote control.
Sorry, but US will be in trouble long before China. Sweet dreams, though...
Really?.....Maybe you should go review the data on how much food China must import to feed their billion mouths.........
They can`t eat sh*t, like a billion flys who can`t be wrong......
Really ! What's that trade deficit between US and China again ? Half a trillion ??
Another few years of climate change and those babies will be under water again.
invest in 'jack-o-slab'
Why don't you give me an exact figure for your prediction, so I can laugh in the future when your belief in the man made climate change lie (as the scare mongering media presents it) leaves you high and dry not wet and sunken.
The US has circa 800 foreign military bases (Link: www.thenation.com/article/the-united-states-probably-has-more-foreign-military-bases-than-any-other-people-nation-or-empire-in-history), including those in Okinawa, S Korea, Philippines, Guam, etc., no doubt housing nuclear weapons targeting China. In addition, US Naval destroyers and submarines (nuclear armed) spend a lot of time in the South Pacific. Given this reality, coupled with Japan’s historical imperialist/colonial aspirations in the region, is it any wonder that China is going to protect itself? Not deep.
One Good Jewish Lightning Tidal Wave....
they still have to install the waterproof hangers and air defense
congratulations to China
& with that the hegemoney of evil America & its allies should diminish
take the bull by horns dragon
dragon eats the bull
dragonborn ahoy
Why don't the Americans land on it and plant a flag.
Easier if done on a movie set.
Oh wait...
Worked in Grenada /sarc - China is not Greneda.
Landing might be a tad difficult if the runway is blocked with assorted debris and vehicles, put there by the Chinese when they see US planes coming in.
Our UFOs don't need runways.
Folks,
It ain't the responsibility of the US to police the world. Take a good look at whats happening. Exceptionalism was created in Hollywood.
People around the world used to admire the US, for the good standard of living, the opportunity to get ahead in life, caring for other people irrespective of race or religion. Kennedy did a fine thing when he created the Peace Corps and send young Americans to developing countries to help people in need and promote the image of a caring America.
What have we got now ? We got "allies" like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and a whole host of humanitarian organizations like ISIS, Al Qaeda etc etc spreading peace and goodwill all over.
And now we're talking about standing up to the Chicoms over a patch of sand ? What do we need to prove ? The Chicoms aren't going to shoot at an American plane or ship. It would lead to a whole host of international sanctions and then who are the Chicoms going to trade with ? What is the point of having all of the South China Sea and nobody buying goods from you ?
If conflict does arise, it should be countries with vested interests that should stand up to the Chicoms eg Japan, Vietnam, Philippines etc etc Where's the Samurai spirit ? Does it need an American backbone before it becomes a Samurai ? If these guys have a beef with the Chicoms, let them stand up to the Chicoms. None of them are worth an American in a bodybag.
For the moment, the world looks at what Russia has accomplished in Syria within a short space of time as compared to the US and its coalition with their duplicity in dealings with ISIS and other CIA sponsored humanitarian organizations for more than a year in Iraq and Syria.
Washington has lost the plot, it doesn't speak for me.
That's it, NO GUNZ for you!
This bears repeating:
"It ain't the responsibility of the US to police the world. Take a good look at whats happening. Exceptionalism was created in Hollywood.
People around the world used to admire the US, for the good standard of living, the opportunity to get ahead in life, caring for other people irrespective of race or religion. Kennedy did a fine thing when he created the Peace Corps and send young Americans to developing countries to help people in need and promote the image of a caring America."
It is the America I used to know. The America that people around the world admired, respected and aspired to emulate. The America that brought many good things to the table of mankind.
Then the criminal banksters, neo-cons, joint passport holders and assorted political slime seized control. The rest is history.
Only the American people can make America great again. The people who wrecked it cannot be allowed to fix it, because they won't.
This is a very dangerous situation. China is claiming all of the seas in this area, which when you look at a map is plain ludicrous.
The easiest way to stop them is for all the countries involved to simply ban all imports from China. China is pushing limits to see what it can get away with and once you oppose them with determination, they will back off and call it a misunderstanding.
However, that being said, do you honestly think that Wal Mart, Apple, et al will let a peaceful means of opposition happen????
china should build an air base over the top of israel.... 2 birds killed with one stone