The northern reaches of the South China Sea have become very busy as of late with two U.S. carrier groups and one Chinese carrier group in the region.
Tensions between China and its regional neighbors in the South China and Philippine Seas increased markedly this week. Naval exercises by both the United States and China have massed an unusual number of warships in the South China Sea at a time of renewed diplomatic friction as concerns over China’s territorial ambitions grow.
The uptick began late last week. The War Zone reported that China’s Liaoning Carrier Strike Group (CSG) maneuvered through the strategic Miyako Strait on Sunday, just southwest of Okinawa. Since then, a separate point of tension between China and the Philippines over a mass of fishing vessels identified as part of China’s People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM) led to a series of heated diplomatic exchanges between Manila and Beijing.
Open-source intelligence analysts tracked the movements of the Liaoning carrier strike group this week as it appeared to traverse the Luzon strait, the body of water that, along with the Bohai Channel, separates the Philippines and Taiwan. This crucially strategic area is also the primary boundary between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea and connects the greater Pacific to the northern reaches of the South China Sea.
As such, this area is of intense reconnaissance interest to all stakeholders in the region. The United States military paid particularly close attention to these waters in July last year, regularly flying intelligence-gathering planes such as the EP-3E Aries II and RC-135V/W Rivet Joint into the area. Since then, the surveillanceflights have continued, often spiking at times when there is heavy Chinese naval activity in the area.
The Liaoning CSG maneuvers around the strait were closely observed by Japan and the United States. Analysts identified a U.S. Navy Alreigh Burke class destroyer shadowing the group, as it headed west towards the South China Sea:
1 comment:
Sounds like the drum beat for rumors of wars has come to roost! War Planners by now, with their War Bi-Simulations Software platforms for any, and all war scenario's, need to pull out their best plan to off-set, or neutralize, stupidity occurring, IMO!
Seriously, first we need to know more, like reasons, why now, who started what, could sound negotiations be used for conflict resolutions...first???When we hear missiles are in the equation, someone needs to evaluate the big picture here; Why should good citizens get caught in the cross hairs of little men with big toys that IMO, they really don't know how to use them, and this in of itself can cause much calamity!
Someone needs their toys evaporated immediately, USA could do so, so while war hungry minds then go back to the drawing board, we all have a reprieve from stupid little minds that won't look ten years down the road as what genie in the bottle they will had unleashed!! Bluffs, ruffs, or fluffs, interceptor's, launching pads, trajectory duds, why wait, just evaporate! Just thoughts for daily inspiration like, "Believe you can and we are half way there"; Quote by Teddy Roosevelt.
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