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Pompeo’s Arctic Shipping Lanes

May 12, 2019

Pompeo’s Arctic Shipping Lanes

Drawing by Nathaniel St. Clair

America’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking at the prestigious Arctic Council biannual meeting in Finland, christened the Arctic meltdown: “A wonderful economic opportunity for international trade.” In a nutshell, here’s a critique of the Secretary’s advice: An ice-free Arctic reduces travel time for shipping lanes between Asia and the West by three weeks, which qualifies as one of the biggest transport revolutions since cargo planes first crossed the Atlantic in the early 20th century.

Additionally, more goodies are at stake, as highlighted by the portly stout Secretary in his address to the biannual in Finland: “Arctic sea lanes could become the 21st century Suez and Panama Canals. Pompeo also called the region, which has lost nearly 90,000 square miles of sea ice since last year, the forefront of opportunity and abundance. It houses 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil, 30 percent of its undiscovered gas, an abundance of uranium, rare earth minerals, gold, diamonds, and millions of square miles of untapped resources, fisheries galore, he said.” (Mike Pompeo: Reductions in Sea Ice Will Open Up Trade Opportunities, The Daily Beast, May 6, 2019)

The Arctic is the newest frontier for commercial interests, drilling, mining, and fishing galore, with remarkably little concern for spills or accidents in one of the harshest yet most sensitive ecosystems on the planet. The Secretary also emphasized American supremacy, by putting both China and Russia on notice for their “aggressive behavior.”

Surprisingly, there is a silver lining within this exercise of pomposity and heavy-duty bombast by Mr. Secretary ignoring, rejecting the inherent dangers of global warming and clearly stating a preference for complete meltdown of the Arctic. Thereafter, the most powerful forces of nature will be un-leashed much sooner than would otherwise be the case. Still, there is a surprising silver lining to all of this nonsense.

 …click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Chinese Air Force Holds Live-Fire War Drill In South China Sea Days After US Exercise

September 30, 2018

Chinese Air Force Holds Live-Fire War Drill In South China Sea Days After US Exercise

China Central Television, as per the Twitter account of the official People’s Daily newspaper, reported Saturday that the Chinese military deployed fighter jets and bombers to conduct live-fire war drills in the disputed South China Sea, just days after the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and nuclear-capable US B-52 strategic bombers held exercises over the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan on September 27.

The report said dozens of jet fighters from the People’s Liberation Army Naval Air Force from the Southern Theater Command on early Saturday conducted “live-fire drills to tests pilots’ assault, penetration and precision-strike capabilities at sea,” said The Japan Times.

Beijing on Thursday blasted the US and Japan exercise over the East China Sea, calling them a “provocation.”

“China’s principle and standpoint on the South China Sea are always clear,” Defense Ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said, according to Chinese state-run media. “China firmly opposes U.S. military aircraft’s provocation in the South China Sea, and will take all necessary measures.”

Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun News said the joint drills between the US and Japan were highly “unusual,” as what we pointed out last week, a China-Japan maritime crisis is inevitable over the disputed Senkaku Islands.

It seems that Thursday’s move was aimed at keeping China in check amid increasing tensions between Beijing and Washington, including an intensifying trade war.

But in a tit-for-tat effort, China hit back with war drills of their own on Saturday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang criticized unnamed countries (US, United Kingdom, and France) for using freedom of navigation and overflight as excuses to disrupt other countries’ sovereignty and security, disturbing regional peace and stability.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

China Slams Another “Provocative” US B-52 Flyover Above Disputed Seas

September 28, 2018

China Slams Another “Provocative” US B-52 Flyover Above Disputed Seas

Another incident involving US military operations over disputed waters near China has resulted in Beijing issuing a scathing condemnation of Washington amidst already soaring trade war tensions.

China’s defense ministry on Tuesday denounced recent US-B52 bomber flyovers of the South China Sea and East China Sea, calling the military maneuvers “provocative”. Though Pentagon officials are downplaying this and prior such incidents, it demonstrates just how fast the currently escalating trade war could easily translate into a potential military “mishap” between the two countries.

“Regarding the provocative actions of US military aircraft in the South China Sea, we are always resolutely opposed to them, and will continue to take necessary measures in order to strongly handle (this issue),” Chinese defense ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said before reporters, according to the AFP.

A Pentagon spokesman quickly shot back, rejecting Chinese territorial claims which interpret its expanding man-made island chains as a natural extension of its sovereign space. The flights were part of “regularly scheduled operations,” said Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn.

The Pentagon further confirmed that its heavy bombers are operating in the area as part of combined exercises with Japan over the East and South China seas, and that flights were being conducted over recognized international airspace. US officials have over the past year repeatedly confirmed that the Air Force and Navy will “continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows at times and places of our choosing.”

Under international law, a country’s airspace is considered to be 12 nautical miles distant from the coastline of the nation, but China has used its man-made islands — on which it’s frequently stationed military assets — to lay claim to vast swathes of the South China Sea as falling under its definition of what constitutes sovereign Chinese space.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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