http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7933171.stm

- How odd. Any ideas on this one?

I have no idea what China is up to. This doesn't bode well ;(

They're pissed at us b/c we owe them so much money!

In all seriousness however, I would not be surprised to learn that stuff like this happens frequently but doesn't get reported that often and I wonder what we were doing there? Is it at all possible we provoked something? Hard to say but dropping wood in front of a vessel is pretty damn low.

It happened in the South China Sea where several countries (including China) are angling to claim ownership as territorial waters. There are supposed to be natural gas deposits as well as oil there and China is basically laying claim to the area as their territory, telling others to butt out. Sort of like what is going on in the arctic between Russia, Canada, etc.

Yes but so much so that US personnel had to repel them with water spray?

Very ominous.

Probing for response.

Ominous would be threatening with weapons, locking on fire control radars, etc. This was petty harassment. I understand four of the five Chinese vessels involved were small craft and would have come out far the worse in a collision.

/tinfoil hat on

China in the last week or two has made overtures to Taiwan, with regard to easing the tension between them. This was a highly uncharacteristic move by the Chinese. Was it an attempt to distract, while their submarines are inserting commandos and positioning themselves for a strike?

Keep in mind, they harassed two ships that are designed for detecting underwater threats, such as submarines. What is it they want to keep us from finding out?


/tinfoil hat off


I am guessing that they are going to be trying to get President Obama to make some new treaty or agreement with regard to their territorial waters in exchange for their lightening up on Taiwan.

Collisions never end well. I just hope we don't go overboard in a response. It is a good thing our ship was unarmed as I think if they were willing to use hoses they might have opened fire.

Basically what they did was get really close and then moon the American ship. Kind of funny.

Basically what they did was get really close and then moon the American ship. Kind of funny.

Funny because they were unarmed. If they had weapons it would not have been funny.

Funny because they were unarmed. If they had weapons it would not have been funny.

Hey thanks for the lesson in the dangers of combat, I'll be sure to note that in my DD214

There have to be factions within China that are disgusted with financing our sloth, gluttony, and greed. Those types would probably like nothing more than to start a conflict, thinking they could take our place in the world.

There have to be factions within China that are disgusted with financing our sloth, gluttony, and greed. Those types would probably like nothing more than to start a conflict, thinking they could take our place in the world.


I'll go with that. Every society has its nut jobs.

Hey thanks for the lesson in the dangers of combat, I'll be sure to note that in my DD214

Hey no problem, only speaking from experience. But you take note.

Hey no problem, only speaking from experience. But you take note.


Good for you...stay frosty!

There have to be factions within China that are disgusted with financing our sloth, gluttony, and greed. Those types would probably like nothing more than to start a conflict, thinking they could take our place in the world.


Oh but how they love taking our money to peddle their cheaply made widgets.

Our sloth, gluttony and greed gave them the wealth and power they have now to enjoy. One hand washes the other on this little planet we call Earth.

Good for you...stay frosty!

Yay for Aliens! Boo for you!

Good for you...stay frosty!

You have no clue what that means?

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy ship that got into a scrape with five Chinese vessels last weekend in the South China Sea was looking for threats such as submarines _ presumably Chinese _ in waters that China claims as its own, defense officials acknowledged Tuesday.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/10/officials-us-ship-in-chin_n_173715.html

There is a Chinese underground sub bases on the tip of Hanan Island..

http://www.koaradio.com/cc-common/mlib/668/03/668_1236629023.jpg

Just because China 'claims' it, doesn't mean it is theirs. These are international waters, no acts of harassment or of aggression should be permitted.

Interesting pic Osg, cheers.

Aye. Some country's like to claim 250 miles or something ridiculous.

Indeed, in this case it's 200 nautical miles, they call it their Economic Zone, or something similar, where they say international ships cannot conduct intelligence surveys, while the US disagrees.

Maybe more will be said when Obama meets the Chinese premier in London in April?

Maybe more will be said when Obama meets the Chinese premier in London in April?

Yeah, maybe he will challenge the Premier to a game of one on one to decide it. :rolleyes:

I'm curious, miltary people mind answering a question for me? What would our response be if china was scanning for subs 200 nautical miles off our coast?

First of all, the US ship was not "scanning for subs", they were mapping the bottom features of the area (presumably to allow *our* subs to monitor Chinese activity without themselves running aground).

Secondly, Russia and to a lesser extent China routinely try to monitor US navy activity (including subs) wherever it may be, including 200 miles off our coast (or less). Half the Russian "trawler" fleet used to be dedicated for this purpose until they fell on hard times. Our response is to ignore them or avoid their known areas of surveillance, not to harass them.

*edit* Now I see where the Navy is acknowledging the ship was surveilling submarine activity, so Jedd appears to be correct in his statement...apologies.

I'm curious, miltary people mind answering a question for me? What would our response be if china was scanning for subs 200 nautical miles off our coast?

One would have to be in a higher command position than you see here to answer this with any accuracy.

I would think we could assume we would be tracking their movements with Ships, Subs and aircraft.

What we probably would not do is pull up next to them and moon them, although I am certain there are individual sailors that would happily oblige that option.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8114210.stm

- /bump

Let's see if the talks can ease tension. I doubt it.

I'm just an old Zoomie but tbh I'd not have an issue with them playing 200 nautical miles off our shores. If we do it we should expect it...

However, just as it is in their case they shouldn't get upset if we have a fleet interposed between them and our home ready in the event someone gets stupid...

ala North korea firing at an area not far from heaven...err Hawaii.

Let's see if the talks can ease tension. I doubt it.


Having the lead negotiator for the U.S. be a woman puts us at a disadvantage right off the bat, as the Chinese are still a fairly chauvinistic culture from all I have seen. (Would be curious if Rybit can tell us the highest ranking woman in their political structure) Whether the Chinese will engage in serious discussions with a female is hard to say, as I do not recall much of substance being done via Secretary Albright, or Secretary Rice.

We are also giving a slight sign of disrespect by not having Secretary Gates at the table for these discussions, taking into account the varied issues at hand and the incidents of the past year.

I doubt these talks will be substantive.