U.S. warplanes conduct operation near key Chinese-held reef in South China Sea

[jpak]

Source: Japan Times

A contingent of six U.S. military aircraft that were left behind in the Philippines after the conclusion of joint exercises this month have conducted their first air and maritime situational awareness flights near disputed territory in the South China Sea.

U.S. Pacific Command said in a statement released Friday that four A-10C Thunderbolt IIs, commonly known by the nickname of “warthogs,” and two HH-60G Pave Hawks departed from Clark Air Base on Luzon island on Tuesday, flying through international airspace in the vicinity of the disputed Scarborough Shoal, just 230 km west of the Philippines.

“Our job is to ensure air and sea domains remain open in accordance with international law. That is extremely important. International economics depends on it — free trade depends on our ability to move goods,” said Col. Larry Card, the air contingent commander.

The flights come as the focus in the South China Sea — where Beijing has ramped up its massive land-reclamation program — has shifted to the tiny triangular shoal. The Philippines’ ambassador to the United States said earlier this month that a top U.S. Navy official had reported what was believed to be a Chinese survey ship in the vicinity of the shoal. Officials in Manila reportedly fear Beijing may be taking steps to turn the Chinese-held shoal, which is also claimed by Manila and Taipei, into another man-made island.

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Read more: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/04/23/asia-pacific/u-s-warplanes-conduct-operation-near-key-chinese-held-reef-south-china-sea/#.VxuYljArLIV

[chapdrum]

1. corporate media, MIA

Senator Cruz, Mr. Trump (and for that matter, the Dem's):

Would you please give us your strategy as president?

[whereisjustice]

2. Hillary's plan? Send more jobs to China, decimate the middle classs here, and builld armies in Asia.

[McKim]

3. Why Stir Up Trouble?

Why stir up trouble? i guess the defense industry needs more business? Military gotta have something to do to justify their enormous budget....meanwhile homeless people are starting fires in my gentrified neighborhood......No money for that!

[PersonNumber503602]

4. Are you talking about China's military stirring up trouble?

[EX500rider]

5. Yes China should stop stirring up trouble by trying to seize the entire sea, right up..

....to their neighbors shores.

[NWCorona]

6. Amazing isn't it? nt

[Old Crow]

7. +1. China's the aggressor here.

And China's island-building projects in the South China Sea are destroying countless acres of marine reef. In addition to being an aggressive military provocation, it is an ecological crime.

[EX500rider]

8. "..it is an ecological crime." That it is.

before/after

?quality=65&strip=all&w=620

[Odin2005]

10. China is the one here stirring up shit.

Not that Hate-America-Firsters ever missed a chance to blame the US or everything.

[Sunlei]

9. China tries to wall-in their neighbor countries so they can't fish or have global trade shipping.

[EX500rider]

11. It's about to get a lot more serious for China:

April 24, 2016: China is no longer openly ignoring the deliberations of the Permanent Court of Arbitration regarding Filipino accusations that China is acting illegally with its claims in the South China Sea. In part that’s because Britain recently announced that it expected the Court of Arbitration ruling to be binding and would itself enforce any penalties levied against China. Britain is one of a growing number of major nations that are officially saying the same thing and China cannot ignore that. The court will not deliver its final ruling until May or June and China is dismayed to discover that all its economic bribes and military threats are not diminishing the growing international condemnation. The Philippines, America, Australia, Japan and South Korea were quick to openly oppose the Chinese claims. Other nations in the area (Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and India) held back for a while but are now also in open opposition. Meanwhile the Philippines and its closest neighbors are slowly losing control of their offshore waters to increasingly aggressive Chinese claims. If all these claims were enforced the Philippines would lose control of 80 percent of its waters in the West Philippine Sea while Malaysia loses 80 percent of its coastal waters off Sabah and Sarawak. Vietnam loses half its coastal waters while Brunei loses 90 percent. Even Indonesia loses 30 percent of its coastal waters facing the South China Sea. These losses include several known offshore oil and natural gas fields and a number of areas that have not been explored yet plus lucrative fishing grounds and control over vital shipping routes. China is doing all this by ignoring the 1994 Law of the Sea treaty as well as at least two other similar treaties. The widely adopted (including by China) 1994 agreement recognizes the waters 22 kilometers from land “national territory” and under the jurisdiction of the nation controlling the nearest land. That means ships cannot enter these "territorial waters" without permission. More importantly the waters 360 kilometers from land are considered the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the nation controlling the nearest land. The EEZ owner can decide who fishes there and extracts natural resources (mostly oil and gas) from the ocean floor. But the EEZ owner cannot prohibit free passage or the laying of pipelines and communications cables. While this agreement eliminated or reduced many of the existing or potential disputes it did not completely deal with all of them. Thus some nations keep violating the agreements, usually because they feel their claims supersede the EEZ treaty. China is the most frequent offender. For example China claims that American electronic monitoring ships are conducting illegal espionage while in the Chinese EEZ. But the 1994 treaty says nothing about such matters. China is simply doing what China has been doing for centuries, trying to impose its will on neighbors, or anyone venturing into what China considers areas that should be under its control. China is not alone, but because China is pushing the limits of how the 1994 law can be interpreted (or misinterpreted) other nations with similar opportunities to lay claim to crucial chunks of the seascape are ready to emulate China if some of the more aggressive Chinese ploys actually work. This is one reason why China faces strong opposition from nations worldwide.

http://strategypage.com/qnd/phillip/articles/20160424.aspx