On this episode of China Uncensored,
China launches Missiles for Peace.
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Hi, back welcome to China Uncensored,
I’m your host Chris Chappell.
Ah, the South China Sea.
Home to warm, turquoise waters,
delicious sea life,
and a bunch of anti-ship cruise missiles
and surface-to-air missile that were recently installed
by the Chinese Communist Party.
According to US Navy Admiral Philip Davidson,
“China is now capable of controlling the South China Sea
in all scenarios short of war with the United States."
Now wait a minute,
I remember back in 2015 when Chinese leader Xi Jinping
met with President Barack Obama.
At the time, Xi Jinping swore,
“We are committed to maintaining peace and stability
in the South China Sea...
and addressing disputes through negotiation,
consultation, and peaceful manner.”
Could it be that his incredibly high pants are on fire?
Of course not.
You see, it’s very easy to make people
cooperate with you in a peaceful manner
when you have a missile pointed at them.
Or in this case,
missiles plural.
This is the South China Sea.
These five countries have territorial claims.
But China claims the whole thing.
Now as China’s Foreign Ministry recently said,
China has the right to peaceful activities
in the South China Sea.
Peaceful activities,
which apparently include taking submerged reefs
and building islands on them
and then building 10,000-foot runways on them.
Plus hangars for fighter planes.
Plus ammunition bunkers.
And, sometime in the past month or so,
putting missile systems on them.
This is the Fiery Cross Reef.
It’s one of three fortified outposts China has built,
including Subi Reef and Mischief Reef.
They’re part of the Spratly Islands.
As you can see from this map,
clearly much closer to China
than any other countries.
CNBC broke this story
after talking to unnamed sources
with access to US intelligence reports.
And according to their report,
the Chinese regime has put some serious hardware
on these islands.
You know, for peace.
It was that same drive for peace that lead
the Chinese Communist Party to put
jamming equipment on two of those same reefs.
Hmmm...maybe this is all a simple misunderstanding.
Maybe it’s all part of the Chinese Communist Party’s
new Missiles for Peace foundation.
After all, nothing says an end to violent conflict
and promotion of stable security
than a few of these bad boys.
Ok, let’s be honest.
The only thing worse than Missiles for Peace
is Jazz for Peace.
But would the Chinese Communist Party
really lie about their peaceful activities
in the South China Sea?
Sure, they seized a shoal claimed by the Philippines,
using a gunboat.
And sure, since 2012 they’ve reclaimed
more than 3,000 acres of land to make artificial islands,
despite this 2002 agreement they signed with
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
not to change any geographic features
in the South China Sea.
I mean, they probably forgot what they promised
at that 2015 meeting with Obama
when they said they wouldn’t militarize
those made-made islands.
And of course they completely ignored
the 2016 ruling by the Hague,
telling the Chinese regime to stop building.
But as Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman
Hua Chunying recently said,
"Those who do not intend to be aggressive
have no need to be worried or scared.”
The current commander of the US Pacific fleet,
Admiral Harry Harris agrees.
“Ladies and gentlemen,
China’s intent is crystal clear.
We ignore it at our peril.“
Right.
China’s intent is very clear
and it would be perilous to ignore
how peaceful all these missile systems are.
I mean, even that CNBC article was very careful to say
these were “defensive weapons.”
Yes, surely we can all trust the Chinese Communist Party
has no further ambitions with these
rapidly expanding military installations.
Though some think the Party may actually be
lying about its peaceful defensive weapons.
Ashley Townshend,
defense expert at the United States Studies Centre
at the University of Sydney, tweeted,
“Calling missiles ‘defensive’ that are deployed
on illegally seized features in international waters...
strains the definition of the word.
This is power projection.”
Yes, it’s Power Projection.
Which is also the name of my fantasy hair metal band
featuring Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping, and Donald Trump.
No wonder they built those jamming stations!
But the United States has repeatedly challenged
China’s military ambitions in the South China Sea
by conducting Freedom of Navigation Operations,
or FONOPS.
There’s been at least six in the past 10 months.
At the end of April,
the US Air Force conducted training
over the South China Sea.
Before that, it was three US warships.
And while the Communist Party hates that,
Major General Jin Yinan of China’s National Defense University
might have said it best
when he spoke to state-run China National Radio.
“Even if all three carriers came to the South China Sea,
what about it?...
What else can you do
apart from a show of strength?
Can you attack me?
Do you dare to open fire?”
Which brings us back to what Admiral Davidson said.
“China is now capable of controlling the South China Sea
in all scenarios short of war with the United States."
And just when it looked like we avoided war with North Korea.
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No reason they shouldn’t also live in terror.
Thanks for watching this episode of China Uncensored.
Once again I’m your host Chris Chappell,
see you next time.
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