US warships head for South China Sea after standoff

[American]

Link

Tim Reid in Washington
A potential conflict was brewing last night in the South China Sea after President Obama dispatched heavily armed American destroyers to the scene of a naval standoff between the US and China at the weekend.
Mr Obama’s decision to send an armed escort for US surveillance ships in the area follows the aggressive and co-ordinated manoeuvres of five Chinese boats on Sunday. They harassed and nearly collided with an unarmed American vessel.
Washington accused the Chinese ships of moving directly in front of the US Navy surveillance ship Impeccable, forcing its crew to take emergency action, and to deploy a high-pressure water hose to deter the Chinese ships. Formal protests were lodged with Beijing after the incident.
On a day that Mr Obama and his senior officials met the Chinese Foreign Minister, Yang Jiechi, in Washington, Beijing showed no sign of backing down. Its military chiefs accused the unarmed US Navy ship of being on a spying mission.
The US keeps a close eye on China’s arsenal, including its expanding fleet of submarines in the area. Washington says that the confrontation occurred in international waters, but Beijing claims nearly all the South China Sea as its own, putting it in conflict with five other nations that have claims over different parts of the waters.

I'm going to do something rare. I'm going to praise Obama for this, and keeping his campaign promise, so far.

 

[BulletWounD]

Link


I'm going to do something rare. I'm going to praise Obama for this, and keeping his campaign promise, so far.

This is pretty much standard operating procedure whenever a nation tries to claim shared, international waterways on the high seas as "their's."

 

[American]

This should be SOP, but from Obama I don't know what to expect. Especially with all his talk of sitting down with terrorists.

 

[bhkad]

The area is 75 miles off the tip of Hainan Island.

The U.S.-China confrontation took place while the Impeccable was sailing 75 miles south of China's newest sub base, Yulin, at the southern tip of Hainan.

War Games in the South China Sea: Behind the U.S.-China Spat - TIME

Viet Nam and other nations need access to that area. It's not China's.

 

[Arch Enemy]

The area is 75 miles off the tip of Hainan Island.





Viet Nam and other nations need access to that area. It's not China's.

Not going to stop Beijing from claiming it.

I think it would be a bit misleading to say that "Obama will/will not sit down with terrorists". There are some militant organizations, such as Al Qaedia, whom have proved their willingness to blow a hole in American democracy; I do not see Obama sitting with them. On the other-hand, I could see Obama sitting down with organizations such as the "Real IRA", as they're just trying to.. scare the bear (you know make yourself look as big as possible), and that would be an easy group to give an ultimatum to.

 

[bhkad]

This should be SOP, but from Obama I don't know what to expect. Especially with all his talk of sitting down with terrorists.

Google John Nagl + Counterinsurgency + Afghanistan and you'll find this:

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Surge In Afghanistan Can Work, With Right Resources, Enough Time ...
Feb 23, 2009 ... John A. Nagl is president of the Center for a New American Security and author of Learning to Eat Soup With a Knife: Counterinsurgency ...
Surge In Afghanistan Can Work, With Right Resources, Enough Time - US News and World Report - 45k - Cached - Similar pages
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How Not to Lose Afghanistan - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.com
Jan 26, 2009 ... John Nagl, a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, ... The essence of success is counterinsurgency, which requires boots on ...
roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/how-not-to-lose-afghanistan/ - 111k - Cached - Similar pages
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Foreign Policy: Counterinsurgency Field Manual: Afghanistan Edition
Current Article. Counterinsurgency Field Manual: Afghanistan Edition. By Nathaniel C. Fick, John A. Nagl. Page 1 of 4. January/February 2009 ...
Foreign Policy: Counterinsurgency Field Manual: Afghanistan Edition - 40k - Cached - Similar pages
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Bellum » John Nagl on the Media and COIN
Feb 25, 2009 ... John Nagl needs no introduction to most of our readers, especially those ... Iraq and a student of counterinsurgency, Nagl is now the president of the Center ... Within a couple weeks of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, ...
bellum.stanfordreview.org/?p=370 - 23k - Cached - Similar pages
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The Captain’s Journal » John Nagl on Afghanistan
Jan 27, 2009 ... In counterinsurgency (COIN), patience is a virtue. ... At a New York Times blog John Nagl weighs in on Afghanistan. ...
The Captain’s Journal John Nagl on Afghanistan - 77k - Cached - Similar pages
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In Afghanistan, 'New Spirit' To Confront The Taliban : NPR
Nov 18, 2008 ... John Nagl, an expert on counterinsurgency, says he saw a new US determination to stamp out the insurgent Taliban when he visited Afghanistan ...
In Afghanistan, 'New Spirit' To Confront The Taliban : NPR - Similar pages
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Fick/Nagl on Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan « Ghosts of Alexander
Jan 14, 2009 ... Fick/Nagl on Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. Nathaniel Fick and John Nagl have written an article on counterinsurgency in the newest ...
easterncampaign.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/ficknagl-on-counterinsurgency-in-afghanistan/ - 27k - Cached - Similar pages

Read any of them and get a better idea of why Obama would negotiate with some groups of the Taliban.