U.S. bombers fly over South China Sea, challenge China

A pair of B-1B bombers flew over the South China Sea after leaving their base in Guam the U.S. Air Force said on Friday. They flew over international waters making the exercise totally legal as they asserted their right to be there despite China's false assertion that they own all of the waterway.

The bombers, B-1B Lancers, were conducting night training with Japanese fighters and arrived as President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepare to meet separately on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

Trump and Xi were expected to discuss what China can offer us in reining in North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, but if history can teach us anything, it's to not trust China to do anything substantial about the hermit nation.

North Korea fired yet an intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday and this has gotten as serious as cancer.

In spite of Trump cozying up to Xi to help pressure North Korea, the U.S. military has been flexing its muscles as it asserts its "freedom of navigation" rights in the South China Sea, risking the awakening of the "Sleeping Dragon."

When asked about the flight of our bombers, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said there wasn't a problem with freedom of navigation or overflight for the East and South China Seas.

"But China resolutely opposes individual countries using the banner of freedom of navigation and overflight to flaunt military force and harm China's sovereignty and security," he said.

So it's okay with them just as long as they're able to dictate who/what can fly or sail there. That's like the First Amendment as it pertains to speech with which one agrees.

"The Chinese military will resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability," he added.

The U.S. has criticized the Chinese build-up of military structures they constructed on reefs and small islands in the South China Sea. We're concerned that China could extend its strategic reach.

The B-1B Lancers that flew in the night-time drills is the first time our two forces have conducted joint operations as such.



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Chinese jets buzz U.S. plane near Hong Kong

Two Chinese fighter jets buzzed a U.S. Navy P-3 surveillance plane on Friday. Flying about 150 miles southeast of Hong Kong in international airspace, the J-10 jets came within 2 football fields away from our aircraft. That's close in aviation terms--very close.

A U.S. official said the jets were "unsafe" in the action they took, but we will not do anything about it other than scold them. One of the Chinese jets flew out in front of the Navy plane and then did a series of slow turns--their way of "flipping the bird" to us. In effect, they cut the plane off like a car might do on a highway at fast speed.

According to one U.S. official, the action occurred before one of our Navy destroyers, the USS Dewey, sailed within six nautical miles of the contested Mischief Island, in the South China Sea early Thursday.

The previous week, two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a U.S. radiation-sniffing surveillance plane over the East China Sea with an "unprofessional" maneuver, according the U.S. Air Force.

It's good to know the Chinese flyers are amateurs, just in case we have to shoot them down in the future.


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'Flattop' USS Carl Vinson heads for South China Sea

She's a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier weighing 101,300 long tons; is 1,092 feet long; boasts two Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors, 4 steam turbines and 4 shafts for propulsion, with a cruising speed over 30 knots; and her range isn't in miles, it's in time at 20 to 25 years! 

She's the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier with a crew of 6.062 sailors and air crew;  uses SLQ-32A(V)4 Countermeasures suite electronic warfare and SLQ-25A Nixie torpedo countermeasures; armed with two Mk57 Mod3 Sea Sparrows, three Phalanx CIWS; and two RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles. She carries 90 fixed winged aircraft and helicopters.

And she's on her way to the South China Sea over the weekend, accompanied by a guided-missile destroyer for the first time since President Trump took office.

The USS Carl Vinson was joined by the USS Wayne E. Meyer and Carrier Air Wing 2.

During his confirmation hearing in January, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said China should be denied access to their man-made islands in the South China Sea. The Chinese installed runways on three of these islands and bunkers to house fighter jets and bombers. We are closely watching them to determine if they deploy surface-to-air missiles (SAM) next. If they do, this could affect U.S. Navy operations in the region.

China warned us and other nations to tread carefully. "China respects and upholds the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, which countries enjoy under international law, but firmly opposes any country's attempt to undermine China's sovereignty and security in the name of freedom of navigation and overflight," their foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

International waters is 12 miles and the ships will probably respect that now. But these islands encompassing the Paracels, are artificial and appear to be set up as military installations. We've sailed close to them four times since October 2015: the first three missions challenged China's requirement for ships to obtain permission prior to transit in the area; the last one challenged their sovereignty over waters encompassing the Paracels.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis said that these types of operations will continue while also ensuring there is no military escalation occurring by China.

Cool heads will be needed by both sides. Let's just hope the orange one remains cool and clear and listens to his advisers.



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Duterte backing off from US relations, cozying up to China

Manila -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (aka "The Killah in Manila") has threatened to terminate the decades-long alliance with the U.S.  after we criticized his bloody war on drugs that killed more than 5,000 people since he became president in June.

Now the island nation is moving towards China in an attempt to "normalize" relations after a territorial dispute, the country's ambassador to Beijing said Monday.

Duterte doesn't seem to like us very much, but he doesn't seem to like anyone very much. He has even gone so far as to throw a guy out of a helicopter because he was accused of kidnapping and Duterte thought it would be fun. But while yelling at the USA, he has been making overtures to China.

The new Philippine ambassador to China, Jose "Chito" Sta. Romana told the AFP the move represented a "strategic shift in our foreign policy. We were one-sidedly imbalanced in favor of the U.S.," Chito said.

"We are not abandoning our alliance with the U.S. . . . We are basically trying to normalize our relations with China."

Actually, they are trying to have it both ways, but once Trump takes office, things may change.

Beijing is claiming most of the South China Sea for themselves, despite competing claims from the Philippines and other Asian countries. However, a UN-backed tribunal ruled over the summer that China's claims have no legal standing--a strong victory for Manila, if you take anything the UN decides seriously.

But with Duterte's decision to set aside the territorial conflict in exchange for Chinese investment and aid, it gave Beijing a boost in its quest for more control over the strategically vital waters.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens with the Philippines and our relationship with their lunatic of a leader.



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China steals our underwater drone as we scratch our butts and look on

A Chinese Navy vessel stole one of our underwater research drones while a U.S. crew watched them do it. This all took place in a South China Sea area that is being contested by the Chinese and the Philippines.

The incident occurred around noon Thursday local time and happened about 40 miles west of the Philippines and 150 miles from Scarborough Shoal after the Chinese vessel had been shadowing the USNS Bowditch,  a US Navy-owned research ship, which deployed the Slocum Glider drone.

The ship is operated by Military Sealift Command, with a contracted civilian crew composed of mariners and scientists.

"This is an act of war against the United States," said Gordon Chang, an analyst an author of "The Coming Collapse of China," told Fox News. He called it an act of war because US military equipment was stolen.

The American crew watched the Chinese take the underwater drone from a short distance away--the Chinese vessel was about a quarter mile from the impotent Americans who kept their hands in their pockets as they looked in the opposite direction and whistling a tune. The US ship tried calling the Chinese vessel but they got a 'busy signal'.

The drone's cost is around $150,000 which, in Obama terms, is 'chump change.' He spends more than that on vacation, just for golf and ice cream.

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook responded angrily: "We call upon China to return our [unmanned underwater vehicle] immediately, and to comply with all of its obligations under international law."

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest had no comments at the time it happened; he simply wet his pants and went back inside the building.

The State Department lodged a formal protest called a demarche, which the US Ambassador in Beijing delivered to the Chinese government Friday.

Chinese Embassy officials said they had no comment on the matter but we know that the incident is just China's way of flipping an 'inscrutable bird' at Barack Obama.

The United States is eagerly awaiting a response from President Obama or Secretary of State John Kerry, along with James Taylor on guitar and vocal. 

Best guess is that once Trump is sworn in, China and Russia are going to test him.

So don't blow it, Donald.


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U.S. warships challenge China's South China Sea claims

Beijing continues to try limiting freedom of navigation in the strategic waters of the South China Sea, a sea-lane that traffics about five trillion dollars in trade each year and has what is believed to be billions of dollars in oil deposits beneath its sea bed. The U.S. is making efforts to counter Beijing's efforts.

A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China and drew a warning from the Chinese warships to leave the area. China called the move "illegal" and "provocative," and reported that two of their warships had warned the U.S. to leave.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur challenged the "excessive maritime claims" near the Paracel Islands, a string of islands that China and its neighbors have been disputing over.

According to an anonymous source, this latest U.S. patrol has angered Beijing and could further increase tensions over the South China Sea. The Decatur did not sail within the 12-nautical-mile territorial limits of the island, said the anonymous official.

The Pentagon said the Decatur "conducted this transit in a routing, lawful manner without ship escorts and without incident." The ship sailed near Triton and Woody Islands and was shadowed by three Chinese ships, according to the official, and all interactions between the vessels involved was safe, Reuters reported.

The White House confirmed the Reuters report.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing that "This operation demonstrated that coastal states may not lawfully restrict the navigation rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise under international law." 

This is the U.S.'s fourth challenge this year to China's overreaching maritime claims, and the first challenge since May.

China said it declared its "baseline" for the Paracel Islands in 1996 and that the U.S. was aware of this claim. Despite that, China said the U.S. had sent a ship into Chinese "territorial waters."

That would be true if we sailed within the 12-mile territorial waters, but we didn't.

China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the U.S. ship did not ask for permission to enter Chinese territorial waters, and had broken both Chinese and international law. They say that the U.S. is deliberately creating tensions.

They are full of wonton soup.

The latest U.S. operation comes soon after Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who took office in June, visited China and announced his "separation" from Washington and his love for Beijing. (Duterte is the guy who's executing drug addicts and dealers, carte blanche.)

A government official in Washington said that our latest operation had nothing to do with Duterte's visit and that the patrol had been planned for weeks. Other officials say they will continue such operations despite Beijing's objections.

"The U.S. Navy will continue to conduct routine and lawful operations around the world, including in the South China Sea, in order to protect the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of sea and airspace guaranteed to all. This will not change," said Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson.

Although U.S. officials have said the operations will continue despite Beijing's protests, the Obama administration has been criticized in Congress for conducting them haphazardly, slapdash, and in a somewhat creampuff fashion.




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China, Russia, continue to mount threats to USA

In response to the appearance of an impotent Obama administration, the Russians and Chinese are flaunting the underbellies of their warplanes to our Navy and our military aircraft near our West Coast. 

They do this to display the weapons they're carrying and are, in effect, playing the schoolyard bully saying, "Go ahead, try something. You got no stones to do anything about it."

Air Force General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, head of Air Combat Command, told USA Today that this aggressive behavior is one of his top worries and meeting these challenges from Russia and China in international airspace is a dangerous necessity.

"Our concern is a resurgent Russia and a very, very aggressive China," Carlisle said.

President Obama's main concern appears to be which club to use to get him on the green of the seventh hole in Oahu.

Russia intends to expand their influence in Eastern Europe and the Pacific, while China is making efforts to do the same in the South China Sea.

Carlisle said that "Their intent is to get us not to be there. So that the influence in those international spaces is controlled by them. My belief is that we cannot allow that to happen. We have to continue to operate legally in international airspace and international waterways. We have to continue to call them out when they are being aggressive and unsafe."

We need to stop playing games and let them know in no uncertain terms that if you so much as appear to be threatening us, you will be shot down. In other words, "If you continue to screw around with us, we will assume that we are under attack and will take proper precautions. Be forewarned."

Carlisle believes China wants to establish control over the international airspace in the South China Sea, particularly around the Paracels and Spratley Islands. He expects they will institute an Air Defense Identification Zone over a large part of the South China Sea which will require foreign aircraft to identify themselves and give their location. We have established the same zones after consulting with neighboring countries--the Chinese did it unilaterally.


"Their expansion into the Paracels and the Spratleys is so they can declare it and then have the capability to enforce it, where they can do intercepts," Carlisle said. "They are doing it outside of what could be considered the norms."

Our president has thus far remained a non-entity as far as these two countries are concerned. They obviously don't care what Obama thinks and don't worry about what he might do. 

When Iran captured our 10 sailors, a real president would not have put up with their behavior. A real president would have demanded their immediate release or suffer the consequences. When there are no consequences to worry about, you are letting our enemies know they have carte blanche with us and we will recite the same old tired words they laugh at: "This behavior is unacceptable and we denounce it in the strongest possible terms, yadda, yadda, yadda."

But a real president would have never made the Iranian nuclear deal in the first place and then lie about the details.



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B-52 flyover angers China

China is accusing the U.S. of deliberately raising tensions over the disputed territory China claimed as its own in the South China Sea. This comes after an American B-52 flew close to the Cuareron Reef in the Spratly Islands.

China demanded that Washington (read "Obama") take immediate measures to prevent such incidents from recurring, as it will damage relations between the two nations military and possibly result in China refusing to export cheap and flimsy lead-based goods to the U.S.

Instead of the president telling China that we are within our rights to fly in that area as it does not belong to China, the Pentagon said to the Wall Street Journal they are investigating the flight path of the bomber. They believe that the B-52 may have been blown off course.

In October of this year, a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles inside the disputed zone around the Subi Reef, and Chinese officials gave warning to the ship.

The Navy officials said that the path the destroyer took was necessary to make it clear to China that their man-made islands are not considered to be sovereign territory with territorial water rights surrounding it.

The Pentagon said the recent B-52 flights were unplanned. "For this mission, there was no intention of flying to within 12 nautical miles," said Cmdr. Bill Urban, a Pentagon spokesman.

But the China Defense Ministry said the flight and other U.S. military operations in the area of the artificial islands are "serious military provocations" that could cause militarization in the region. They have been trying to impose a 12-nautical mile limit around the islands, but international law says that such limits cannot be imposed around islands built on previously submerged reefs.

So to really make them angry at us, we approved a $1.83 billion arms sale to Taiwan this week and China had a hissy-fit.

This may mean that there will be no cheap lead-based toys to poison the kids with this Christmas.


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U.S. Navy's secret plan against China

In a move designed to scare the ku zi and chen ku off the Chinese, the U.S. Navy is secretly planning to send a ship as close as 12 nautical miles to the disputed islands in the South China Sea, a U.S. official told Fox News. The official asked the network to keep their lips sealed about this mission because "Loose lips sink ships," they reminded Fox.

The purpose of this secret mission is to challenge Beijing's territorial claims. "They can't just built crap in the middle of the ocean and call it freaking China," Donald Trump may have secretly said in reaction to the boldness with which China plans to expand its borders.

According to top secret information reported by Reuters,  the Navy is planning to move on the Spratty Islands, an archipelago that China has the nerve to lay claim to by building airstrips and other features on top of reefs.

It is quite likely that a surveillance aircraft will join the Navy destroyer USS Lassen  in an American show of testicular fortitude, says Reuters.

When asked for comment at Monday's press briefing, White House Press Secretary Josh Notvery Earnest would not confirm nor deny any such operation was planned and he covertly put his index finger to his lips and made a shushing sound to indicate that no further questions on this subject will be taken.

Earnest did say, however, that ensuring freedom of navigation is critically important to a global economy and that this is the principle at stake in the secret mission. "Shush," he added.

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford Jr. will travel to Asia on Friday. So-called president Obama was set to meet with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday as that country, along with others, are worried about China's expansive maritime balderdash.

The dispute with the strategic waterways situation has intensified last year, as China is clearly upsetting it smaller and militarily weaker neighbors who all lay claim to territory in the Spratly and Paracel islands, one of the busiest shipping routes, rich in fish, oil, fish oil, and potential gas.

You may recall our so-called commander in chief met with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month at the White House. He was greeted by Mr. Obama and about eleven members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

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