US warships head for South China Sea after standoff

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.

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American said:

Link


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

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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

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bhkad said:

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.

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American said:

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

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