Islands in dispute in the East China Sea

[Ray]

Of course they don't. FONOPS are simply a declaration that the US cares as little about China's declaration of sovereignty as China cares about UNCLOS. A gesture, of course, but most of what goes on in the SCS is composed of gestures of one sort or another. I've yet to see any very credible suggestions for what the US - or anyone else - could or should do that isn't already being done.

The pot is boiling.

It is still to boil over to see the effects.

Japan has also jumped into the fray.

And Japan is no pushover!

[Dayuhan]

I'd say the pot's simmering, rather than boiling. The Japanese are certainly not pushovers, but of course from the standpoint of Chinese domestic politics standing up to the Japanese carries a lot of flag-waving nationalist points that the Chinese government will be eager to score. They will not want that to boil, though, let alone boil over, so I'd expect them to keep just enough heat on to generate a simmer without ever pushing too near the boiling point.

[AdamG]

Living in interesting times.

BEIJING (AP) — A territorial flare-up between China and Japan intensified Tuesday as two Beijing-sent patrol ships arrived near disputed East China Sea islands in a show of anger over Tokyo's purchase of the largely barren outcroppings from their private owners.

The China Marine Surveillance has drawn up a plan to safeguard China's sovereignty of the islands and the ships were sent to assert those claims, said the Chinese government's official news agency, Xinhua. The marine agency is a paramilitary force whose ships are often lightly armed.

http://news.yahoo.com/china-sends-pa...051725925.html

RUSSKY ISLAND, Vladivostok – Singapore is fully behind the Philippines in its claim over the Spratly islands that is being contested by economic and military giant China and four other neighboring countries, a top Philippine diplomat said here yesterday.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx...bCategoryId=63

On Aug. 31, National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-chen visited the island with a group of senior government officials to assert Taiwan's territorial claim, but he did not comment on whether the government will redeploy marines there.

Coast Guard Administration (CGA) personnel have been responsible for defending Taiping, one of the Spratly Islands, since 2000, after the government decided to withdraw marines stationed on the island to reduce tensions in the region.

http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNe...D=201209050019

[The Cuyahoga Kid]

Wow, I'm surprised the Chinese are becoming so assertive over the Senkaku/Diaoyutai spate. Panetta made it pretty clear that US security guarantees to Japan extend to the disputed islets by offering UAV overflights. Between this and Xi snubbing Hillary I'm starting to worry the weakening Chinese economy and pending leadership transition may be pushing the CCP off the deep-end.

[Dayuhan]

Re this item:

RUSSKY ISLAND, Vladivostok – Singapore is fully behind the Philippines in its claim over the Spratly islands that is being contested by economic and military giant China and four other neighboring countries, a top Philippine diplomat said here yesterday.

Singapore has specifically denied this:

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09...rt-sea-dispute

The MFA spokesman clarified it does not take sides in the dispute. “We have seen the reports in question. You all know how free the Filipino media is; they can even be very free with the facts. There has been no change to Singapore's position.”

Wow, I'm surprised the Chinese are becoming so assertive over the Senkaku/Diaoyutai spate. Panetta made it pretty clear that US security guarantees to Japan extend to the disputed islets by offering UAV overflights. Between this and Xi snubbing Hillary I'm starting to worry the weakening Chinese economy and pending leadership transition may be pushing the CCP off the deep-end.

The Japanese have also been fairly assertive, notably with the recent decision to purchase the islands from private owners despite Chinese warnings that the move would be ill received. US security guarantees are in no way the only issue for China in the area: Japan is not the Philippines or Vietnam, and I'd be very surprised to see China push anywhere near the shooting point, though of course they'll feel obliged to put on a show of defiance. I don't think the Chinese would be at all interested in provoking a shooting incident at sea with the Japanese.

[AdamG]

...which are getting even more interesting

Alaska’s fleet of F-22 fighter jets and their elite pilots have been deployed to an airbase in the Pacific U.S. territory of Guam, according to officials at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. The deployment has been planned for some time, but happens to coincide with a period of escalating tension in the Pacific Theater, as Japan and China dispute who has the rights to a set of uninhabited, resource-rich islands.

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/articl...en-china-japan

[Ray]

Massive U.S. Fleet Nears Disputed Islands



It’s probably just a coincidence; no need to worry yet. But the U.S. has quietly assembled a powerful air, land and sea armada not far from where Japan and China are squaring off over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Two Navy aircraft carrier battle groups and a Marine Corps air-ground task force have begun operating in the Western Pacific, within easy reach of the Senkaku Islands. That’s where Japanese and Chinese patrol boats are engaged in an increasingly tense standoff....

Navy officials confirmed Sunday that the USS George Washington carrier strike group has begun operating in the East China Sea, near the disputed islands. The USS John C. Stennis group is only slightly further away in the South China Sea. Each carrier is armed with more than 80 warplanes, and strike groups typically include guided-missile cruisers and destroyers, submarines and supply ships.

In the nearby Philippine Sea, some 2,200 Marines are embarked aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard and two escorts. The Marines are equipped with amphibious assault vehicles, light armored vehicles, artillery, helicopters and Harrier fighter jets.....

While the big U.S. fleet might have been intended as a warning to China not to escalate the islands dispute, it may have been intended to focus Japan’s attention, as well.

http://nation.time.com/2012/09/30/bi...-but-what-for/