U.S. Flies Over a Chinese Project at Sea, and Beijing Objects | Hacker News Reader

U.S. Flies Over a Chinese Project at Sea, and Beijing Objects

nytimes.com

8 pointsSideloader7 comments

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.

Omg, they should with Japan, their logic on territory is so warped.

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

"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...

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.

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.

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... 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.

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