
U.S. Flies Over a Chinese Project at Sea, and Beijing Objects - Sideloader
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/23/world/asia/us-flies-over-a-chinese-project-at-sea-and-beijing-objects.html
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mikerichards
_Hong Lei, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, warned that the American flights,
which he called “very irresponsible and dangerous,” were “likely to cause an
accident.”_

Oh really? What are the Chinese going to do in international waters to "cause
an accident".

Maybe the U.S. should build their own island next door to the Chinese island.

~~~
Abraln
Or better yet, build islands around it so they have no access. (Of course I am
just joking here)

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1971genocide
"Hua pointed out that the South China Sea is a vital area for maritime
shipping and fishing activities, but is located far from major land masses.
China’s new construction will allow ships to “take shelter” from typhoons and
other inclement weather, as well as providing “navigation aid, search and
rescue … [and] fishery service and administration” to ships from China and its
neighbors alike, Hua said." [1]

This reminds me of that argument against super-intelligence.

"Humans do not want to actively kill a snail when we walk over them to get to
our destination"

China is trying to improve the stability of its trade routes which are vital
to their economy. I am sure if there existed the kind of infrastructure china
wanted they wouldn't go out and do this by themselves as land reclamation is
very expensive in the sea.

I however agree that China could have taken a less aggressive route towards
doing this. Why they haven't is an interesting question. The Chinese govt seem
to really value trade relations and wouldn't be stupid to enough to risk going
to war with a multitude of countries + United States.

So there is some missing piece of information that we are not being told about
by either the media or government.

Also these projects help explain Obama's push for TIP.

[1]:[http://thediplomat.com/2015/04/revealed-chinas-reasons-
for-i...](http://thediplomat.com/2015/04/revealed-chinas-reasons-for-island-
building-in-the-south-china-sea/)

~~~
samspenc
The problem is that with all the growing media hype about China's economy over
the past few years, no free government or media seems to want to criticize the
Chinese regime, so the Chinese regime seems to be able to do whatever it wants
- including constructing these mini-islands in disputed territory and
threatening to shoot down any planes that cross it.

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Sideloader
I can't recall the source at the moment (it was linked to a military history
site), but the U.S. apparently took similar actions when its geopolitical
power was on the rise. It didn't create artificial islands but it showed up in
areas far away from home and claimed them as U.S. territory. The British
didn't ask if half the world wanted to be subservient to its empire.

It's not a simple matter of right or wrong, it's just what countries with
power do. Although where the line is drawn is ever shifting. It's generally
agreed Germany invading Poland in 1939 was wrong but European nations prior to
the mid-20th century claimed large parts of Africa, Asia and, of course, the
Americas, and felt perfectly justified doing so. Invading ones neighbor became
more of a taboo after the creation of the nation state and whether an
aggressive annexation or expansion is "right" or "wrong" depends entirely on
who is writing the narrative. The U.S. is always in the right and justified
according to...the United States. China is always right according to China.
Which narrative prevails in the historical record depends upon which nation or
group exerts the most influence over its competitors. Sometimes acts are
universally condemned as atrocities if they go far beyond the unwritten
rules... the Holocaust being the most obvious example. OTOH the decimation and
subjugation of indigenous people in the Americas by the European colonialists
and later the United States, Canada and the Latin American nations barely
registers on the contemporary "atrocity radar" even though the effects are
still present today.

It's a funny old world... or perhaps it's a nasty mess of a world or a
combination of the two, depending on who is doing the assessing. It will be
interesting to see how China's island building adventure pans out in the long-
term.

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DyslexicAtheist
this is about oil & natural gas reserves. The US has a strong interest to back
any country friendly to it's own interest (Vietnam, Japan). I urge you to look
at google maps to see how far this place is actually away from China, Japan!

Who really is the rightful owner is hard to say. A total of 48 nations made
full claims, and dozens more made preliminary submissions to extend their
continental shelf claims in 2009.

Just to illustrate how messed up this is: Tomas Cloma claimed the islands his
own [1] as "Freedomland".
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%C3%A1s_Cloma#Free_Territory...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%C3%A1s_Cloma#Free_Territory_of_Freedomland)
and was later forced to hand them back over to the Philippines for 1 peso.

IMO one of the most potentially explosive topics in politics. Can you imagine
any of these countries (China, Japan/US), backing down? I don't! And the
Chinese will continue to lock (military & economic) horns with anyone who
dares.

