China demonstrated its growing naval confidence again in the latest standoff between American and Chinese ships.
The fifth such incident in two months occurred on Friday in the Yellow Sea when a US Navy surveillance ship turned its fire hoses on two Chinese fishing vessels.
A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the American ship was operating in China’s exclusive economic zone without permission and had violated Chinese and international laws. “We express our concern about this and demand the US side take effective measures to ensure a similar incident does not happen again,” he said.
The USNS Victorious, an ocean surveillance ship designed for anti-submarine warfare and underwater mapping, was conducting what the Pentagon called routine operations in the waters between China and the Korean peninsula. The Chinese vessels came within 100ft (30 metres) of the vessel.
The Pentagon, which accused five Chinese fishing vessels of harassing another US surveillance ship in the South China Sea near Hainan island in March, cited the incident as an example of unsafe Chinese seamanship.
The Chinese vessels did not withdraw until after the Victorious had sounded an alarm and a Chinese military ship, identified by the Pentagon as WAGOR 17, arrived in response to the call for assistance. It shone a light on the fishing vessels until they left.
The Pentagon earlier played down the confrontation, striking a more low-key tone than during the incident two months ago.
A spokesman for the US Defence Department suggested that the United States was looking to avoid the kind of angry exchanges that followed the March incident. He said: “We will be developing a way forward to deal with this diplomatically.”
The comments by the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry were also less strident than in March, when Beijing accused the US of distorting the truth.
Niu Jun, a professor of international relations at Peking University, said that both sides could do more to calm tensions. “The US should make its intention more transparent. But the two sides should also have talks on this issue and establish a mechanism to solve it,” he said.
It was not the first time the Victorious had encountered Chinese boats. On April 7 and April 8, Chinese-flagged fishing vessels approached the ship and the USNS Loyal as they operated within China’s 200-mile economic zone.
13 comments:
It would be rediculously horrible if tensions between America and china were to escilate into conflict. That would probably would result in a war if it goes that far. Even if it doesn't get that far, if china got upset at us they may enact an embargo on us which would be rediculously terrible for our economy. As we know almost everything sold in america was made in china.
The Chinese dislike us, and its probably mutual. And because of this, we will go at each others throats whenever possible. This seems to be a petty issue, but it is inflamed due to our unsteady relations. We need to rethink our strategy when it comes to China. They are now a superpower and the second largest economy in the world. I would like to see a little more positive relations, even if they are the commie dogs everyone paints them as.
I think that the chinese can take a chill pill we were not harming them it's not a big deal. We were trying to be helpful also so they ccan just deal. It's a routine pentagon thing they should know anyways.
Ok..well i dont see what the big deal is about these ships i dont see why they cant just share the land or somebody move.Its not that serious of all the places in the world why does everyone want to be there??
Cant everyone just get along? GEE WIZ! Maybe i just don't understand or maybe im just missing something... in my opinion the sea is humungus, and their is enough room for the chinese and the americans to all fish in it. I don't think that their is a need for exclusive economics zones. Just do your fishing in your boat and go home season your fish up, then fry, bake, or grill it. I think id rather be doing that then being in an ocean surveillance ship designed for anti-submarine warfare and underwater mapping all day. Seem to me like people need to learn how to keep and stay at peace instead of conjuring up problems under water and stuff!
I think this is just a big misunderstanding. The US needs to get together with China an discuss where each others ships are allowed to go. There will be alot less tension and both places can sail in peace and do what they need to do.
I think the US government needs to explain to the Chinese government why it was in their waters to begin with. I don't think the US should hose down Chinese boatman just because they happened to be in waters surrounding their home country.
Well, Mr. Jun is completely correct. Both China and the U.S should plan more diplomatic and professional ways to deal with this situation. And with the U.S already in a war that has lasted several years, the U.S government should be extremely careful with foreign relations. The last thing the U.S needs it to stir up another fight.
I think it's a good thing that China has shown it is also a naval power but I think everything possible should be done to avoid confrontations.
You would think that if both sides were trying to resolve this issue they would stop invading each others' territory. Since that is not happening, I think they are both playing a game to see which country will cave in first. This will ultimately show to the world who is the more aggressive country.
I think that they just need to take a chill pill. Can't we all just get along. I think that its silly that we are making this such a big deal.
Well mabe this will be a good thing for the US, if they do get mad at us and cut us off then mabe our economy would turn around. This way our resources would stay in the US and our people would have jobs. We really dont need any more tension between any other countries though, we are already in enough turmoil.
I think that it wouldn't be good
if conflict starts between China and America at all.
First off we don't need anymore conflict.
Second it's not such a big deal as it seems.
Instead of people thinking negative
there needs to be more positive thinking in this.
Post a Comment