Only WAR can stop China in the South China Sea – US Admiral delivers TERRIFYING warning

First comes the securing of the South China Sea, then comes China’s power projection into the Western Pacific — America’s doorstep.

 

“China is now capable of controlling the South China Sea in all scenarios short of war” (Image: GETTY )

 

ONLY war can stop China controlling the South China Sea, where it is currently building up bases on artificial reefs, according to a shocking warning from a top US Admiral.

The assessment was made by Admiral Davidson who currently leads the US Indo-Pacific Command, putting him in charge of US armed forces in the region.

Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee he said: “China is now capable of controlling the South China Sea in all scenarios short of war with the United States.”

India increases military posture along border with China

The Indian Air Force (IAF) inaugurated its new Pasighat advanced landing ground (ALG) on 19 August by landing a Sukhoi Su-30MKI multirole fighter there.

South China Sea War: China Threatens Australia to Keep ‘Peace’

China has issued a blunt warning against Australia, asking the nation to keep itself out of the South China Sea dispute.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop commented on China’s decision of slamming The Hague verdict. She said on Wednesday that the Asian nation must respect the UN ruling. “To ignore it would be a serious international transgression,” she added. Bishop also confirmed that Australia will continue patrolling the Sea while enjoying its freedom of navigation exercises.

Tribunal rejects China’s expansive South China Sea claims

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An international tribunal rejected China’s extensive claims in the South China Sea in a landmark ruling Tuesday that also found the country had aggravated the seething regional dispute and violated the Philippines’ maritime rights by building up artificial islands that destroyed coral reefs and by disrupting fishing and oil exploration.

While the decision is seen as a major legal declaration regarding one of the world’s most contested regions, China immediately rejected it as a “farce” and the true impact is uncertain given the tribunal has no power of enforcement.

While the findings cannot reverse China’s actions, it still constitutes a rebuke, carrying with it the force of the international community’s opinion. It also gives heart to small countries in Asia that have helplessly chafed at China’s expansionism, backed by its military and economic power.

PLA capable of removing Philippines military base in disputed area of South China Sea, warns Communist Party mouthpiece

The Philippines military vessel grounded on the shoal in 1999 and used a base. Photo: SCMP Pictures

 

China has shown patience, but it is committed to defending its territory, says commentary in the People’s Daily ahead of tribunal ruling on maritime disputes in the region

China is fully capable of removing a Philippine naval vessel set up as a permanent base in a disputed atoll in the South China Sea, but has so far shown restraint, the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece said on Monday.

The commentary in the People’s Daily comes ahead of an imminent ruling from a international court in The Hague on China’s claims to territory in the region’s disputed waters. The case was bought by the Philippines.

China Warns U.S. Over South China Sea Presence

 

The Red Dragon government is not happy about a treaty reached between the United States and the Philippines last Friday…

The agreement allows for a “rotating” U.S. military presence on five Philippine bases in the South China Sea.

China believes this kind of presence is tantamount to “militarization.”

U.S. slams Taiwan president’s planned visit to contested South China Sea island

Washington under the current Obama administration have chosen to take sides of its traditional adversaries instead of its traditional allies. Iran being the first major example with the nuclear ‘deal’, turning the entire Middle East into a powder keg and putting Israel’s existence into jeopardy. Now they’re playing into China’s hands by slamming Taiwan, an independent nation the United States is legally bound to protect and defend — despite the interpretations of the Taiwan Relations Act by those who despise Taiwan.

 

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou’s planned trip to the Taiwanese-held island of Itu Aba in the disputed South China Sea is “extremely unhelpful” and won’t do anything to resolve disputes over the waterway, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

Ma’s office earlier announced that the president, who steps down in May, would fly to Itu Aba on Thursday to offer Chinese New Year wishes to residents on the island, mainly Taiwanese coastguard personnel and environmental scholars.

Obama Says U.S. Will Defend Japan’s Senkakus

Invokes Article 5 of defense treaty in message to China (Updated)

President Obama on Tuesday invoked U.S. military defense guarantees for Japan’s disputed East China Sea islands that have been the target of coordinated Chinese military provocations since 2012.

During a Rose Garden press conference with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Obama repeated a promise to defend the Senkaku Islands, a statement that is likely to anger China, which claims the uninhabited islands as its own, calling them the Diaoyu Islands.

120 Chinese boats protecting oil rig off Paracel Islands

China deployed around 120 vessels on June 8 to keep Vietnamese boats from getting close to its controversial oil rig in waters off the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, according to a spokesperson from Vietnam’s Bureau of Fisheries Inspection.

Japan plans ‘to set up military bases near Diaoyus’ amid row with China

Japan is to establish new military outposts on remote islands, a report said today, as Tokyo looks to bolster its defence amid a territorial dispute with China.

Up to 350 troops each could be stationed on three islands in the far southwest, close to the Senkakus, which Beijing claims as its own under the name Diaoyus, the mass-selling Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

With the exception of the main Okinawa island, Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Forces, its army, have no bases on the chain of islands that runs from the bottom of Kyushu to Taiwan. There are limited air force facilities in the area.

China planning permanent structures on Bajo de Masinloc?

MANILA, Philippines – China has maintained a continued naval presence on Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal, which is widely seen as a preparation for the establishment of a permanent structure well within Philippine territorial waters in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

A confidential Philippine government report acknowledged that Beijing will use its growing military capability to assert its sovereignty and control in the disputed territories despite Manila’s assertions and continued diplomatic efforts to resolve the disputes.

Korea expands its ADIZ

The zone incorporates airspace claimed by both China and Japan

The Korean government yesterday announced its plans to expand its 62-year-old air defense identification zone (ADIZ), which overlaps with remote islands declared by China and Japan under similar zones.

The move, intended to counter Beijing’s unilateral declaration of a newly mapped East China Sea ADIZ on Nov. 23 that incorporates areas claimed by Korea and Japan, may only serve to further escalate tensions regarding air space in a region already riddled with territorial disputes.

Germany in the Island Dispute

BERLIN/WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Own report) – Despite escalating tensions in East Asia, German companies have announced new arms exports to Western allies in China’s vicinity. Kiel’s HGW shipbuilding company has confirmed its decision to sell two submarines to Singapore. In the island disputes in eastern and southeastern Asia, Singapore is seen as one of the West’s reliable partners. The current territorial disputes over the archipelago known as the “Diaoyu Islands” (in China) and the “Senkaku Islands” (in Japan), which are claimed by both countries, gives an indication of the conflicts emerging in the region. Interest in these islands is based not so much on their resources but rather on conflicting geo-strategic interests: These Islands are part of a chain of islands Beijing considers an important defense against possible aggression. Berlin is observing these tensions with apprehension because they could threaten German business interests. German arms exports to the region, as well as the Bundeswehr’s growing cooperation with Japan, South Korea and other Western allies, are an indication that, in the case of an escalation of conflict, Germany would take sides – against China.

China threatens military action over East China Sea islands

China has claimed the right to take military action against aircraft that enter a newly declared “air defence identification zone” that covers an area contested by Japan, in a move that is likely to escalate an already tense territorial dispute in the East China Sea.

The Defence Ministry released a map and geographical co-ordinates for the zone, which covered areas very close to Japan and South Korea, and included the skies over islands that China claims as Diaoyu, and the Japanese claim as Senkaku.

India could take out Qinghai-Tibet Railway to cripple PLA

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway — which runs between Xining in western China’s Qinghai province and Lhasa in Tibet — could become a potential target for the Su-33MKI fighters of the Indian Air Force if a territorial dispute between China and India escalates into a full-scale war, according to the Kanwa Defense Review operated by Pinkov also known as Andrei Chang, a Canada-based journalist specializing in military issues.