China lashes out at Mattis remarks on East China Sea islands

[Independent voter]

I remember Japan and China got into a fight about some tiny islands that weren't even above the water sometimes. I remember asking myself, why is Japan making such a fuss.

Well it turns out China claims these pseudo islands, where people can't even normally live, and then tries to enforce a 200 mile territory around them. China hopes to take over the whole China Sea this way.

Looks like Mattis is doing a good job so far, not sure what Trump had to do with Mattis trip to Asia if anything, but at least Trump is letting Mattis do his job.

One way to thwart this Chinese expansion is to ignore the 200 mile territory around these pseudo islands. Just sail right next to them if you want.








http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...02-04-03-16-16

BEIJING (AP) -- The U.S. is putting regional stability in East Asia at risk, a Chinese spokesman said Saturday following remarks by President Donald Trump's defense secretary that a U.S. commitment to defend Japanese territory applies to an island group that China claims.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang on Saturday called on the U.S. to avoid discussion of the issue and reasserted China's claim of sovereignty over the tiny uninhabited islands, known in Japanese as the Senkaku and Chinese as Diaoyu.
The 1960 U.S.-Japan treaty is "a product of the Cold War, which should not impair China's territorial sovereignty and legitimate rights," Lu was quoted as saying in a statement posted on the ministry's website.
"We urge the U.S. side to take a responsible attitude, stop making wrong remarks on the issue involving the Diaoyu islands' sovereignty, and avoid making the issue more complicated and bringing instability to the regional situation," Lu said.
On his first trip to Asia as secretary of defense, Mattis explicitly stated in Tokyo that the Trump administration will stick to the previous U.S. stance that the U.S.-Japan security treaty applies to defending Japan's continued administration of the Senkaku islands.
The islands that lie between Taiwan and Okinawa were under U.S. administration from the end of World War II until their return to Japan in 1972. China cites historical records for its claim, and Japan's move to nationalize several of the islands in 2012 set off anti-Japanese riots in China and prompted the government to dispatch ships and planes to the area around them as a challenge to Japanese control.
China also registered its displeasure with Mattis' remarks Friday in South Korea that Trump's administration is committed to carrying through on a deal the Obama administration reached with the Seoul government last year to deploy a high-end U.S. missile defense system to South Korea this year.
The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, is meant to improve protection of South Korea and Japan - as well as U.S. troops stationed in both countries - against a North Korean missile attack.
Beijing objects to the system because its powerful radar would allow it to peer deep into northeastern China, possibly allowing it to observe Chinese military movements.
At a Friday news conference, Lu said China's "resolute opposition to the deployment ... remains unchanged and will not change."
The deployment "will jeopardize security and the strategic interests of regional countries, including China, and undermine the strategic balance in the region," Lu said.
Chinese officials and scholars say they anticipate further turbulence in relations with the U.S. under Trump. The president sparked anger among Chinese following his election when he broke with decades by talking on the phone with the president of Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy that Beijing considers its own territory.
Trump has also raised concerns with criticism of China's military buildup in the South China Sea, accusations of currency manipulation and unfair trade policies and allegations that Beijing was doing too little to pressure its communist neighbor North Korea.
In a lighter moment, however, Chinese media and internet users praised an appearance by Trump's daughter Ivanka and granddaughter Arabella Kushner's visit to the Chinese Embassy in Washington on Wednesday to attend Lunar New Year festivities. A video clip of Arabella singing a song of holiday greetings also set alight China's internet.

[Noogai131]

China autistically screeching at anybody that doesn't kowtow to them? Wow, what else is new?

[Mavett]

Huffing and puffing over the natural gas reserves surrounding the islands.

[Deleted]

China autistically screeching at anybody that doesn't kowtow to them? Wow, what else is new?

So the Chinese are mirroring America?

[Auxora]

Later Mattis also said that the issue of the South China Sea should be solved diplomatically and that he didn't see any need for a US build-up in the area. The Japanese island issue is a lot more minor than that. His trip was more to reiterate the US commitment to Japan as a whole, and re: North Korea at that. North Korea hates Japan almost as bad as they hate the US, and all of Japan is already well within North Korean missile range.

As for the 200 mile zone, I don't think even China really believes that. They may say it at high levels but that's as far as it goes. The US has sailed ships 12 miles out from the islands many times just to prove that point, even a bit less at times. China has complained when it's been under the 12 mile limit, but they don't even complain if it's outside that.

[Independent voter]

Later Mattis also said that the issue of the South China Sea should be solved diplomatically and that he didn't see any need for a US build-up in the area. The Japanese island issue is a lot more minor than that. His trip was more to reiterate the US commitment to Japan as a whole, and re: North Korea at that. North Korea hates Japan almost as bad as they hate the US, and all of Japan is already well within North Korean missile range.

As for the 200 mile zone, I don't think even China really believes that. They may say it at high levels but that's as far as it goes. The US has sailed ships 12 miles out from the islands many times just to prove that point, even a bit less at times. China has complained when it's been under the 12 mile limit, but they don't even complain if it's outside that.

Or.... China is going to enforce 200 mile territorial waters around each pseudo island. The US is the only country willing to sail close to these islands, everyone else is too afraid of China.

[McFuu]

We should get China to back off in the China Sea area by giving them N. Korea. By that we all come together, have a little N Korea barbeque, and give the area to China afterwards. S Korea won't have an asshole as a neighbor, Japan won't have to worry about circa 50s missiles flying overhead, we won't have to hear about Un's idle threats anymore, and China and Japan won't be at each others throats anymore.

[Noradin]

I remember Japan and China got into a fight about some tiny islands that weren't even above the water sometimes. I remember asking myself, why is Japan making such a fuss.

Well it turns out China claims these pseudo islands, where people can't even normally live, and then tries to enforce a 200 mile territory around them. China hopes to take over the whole China Sea this way.

Yes, and those 200 mile zones around those islands would cut off Japans (and other neighbouring countries) most important trade routes (or in some cases all of them).

[minteK917]

Islands give you part of the water around them as your territory. Good for industry like fishing, trade routes, etc.

[ParanoiD84]

Mattis is such a boss, good thing they have him.

[Magical Mudcrab]

Or.... China is going to enforce 200 mile territorial waters around each pseudo island. The US is the only country willing to sail close to these islands, everyone else is too afraid of China.

It's because the US understands that its naval superiority ensures that other countries, such as China, cannot reasonably oppose their decisions. Currently the US acts as the naval police, and it's their ships that are generally used to secure the oceans and seas for shipping and other activities. A good example of this is the number of aircraft carriers the US has: 19, which is 7 more than the rest of the world has combined, and those owned by the US are significantly larger and more technologically sophisticated.

[Skulltaker]

I remember Japan and China got into a fight about some tiny islands that weren't even above the water sometimes. I remember asking myself, why is Japan making such a fuss.

Well it turns out China claims these pseudo islands, where people can't even normally live, and then tries to enforce a 200 mile territory around them. China hopes to take over the whole China Sea this way.

Islands like this make a good basis for naval bases etc. It's easy to fill them up (sorry, don't know the english word for it) and then you can start constructing whatever on them. I doubt they want them to live on.

[Puremallace]

China autistically screeching at anybody that doesn't kowtow to them? Wow, what else is new?

My kid might have Autism can you not use language like that?

[Zogarth]

My kid might have Autism can you not use language like that?

My kid might be deaf, can you please not talk about language like that?

[Noogai131]

My kid might have Autism can you not use language like that?

Offense is taken, not given.