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Informative post on an important subject. Thanks.
I can neither confirm nor deny reports of being augmented to the USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) in the fall of 1988 when she conducted Freedom of Navigation Operations in the western Sea of Japan along the Soviet coastline. I can neither confirm nor deny these FONOPS scrupulously observed a three mile territorial limit while rejecting the Soviet claims of sovereignty out to twelve nautical miles under the un-ratified UNCLOS. I refer interested parties to executive order 5928 issued in late December of the same year which extended the claimed territorial waters of the United States from 3 to twelve.
If in fact such FONOPS were carried out by the Bunker Hill 32 years ago, it would be fitting that she is steaming freely still today against the protestations of another totalitarian communist regime. But you would have to ask someone else about them.
Maybe we ought to build an artificial island in international waters off the coast of China, then populate it with nuclear-tipped Tomahawks. Oh wait, we have these things called Trident submarines . . .
Amen
Now that Jailer has caught the interest of most of the salty and waterlogged Ricochetti, I get to ask a question I’ve been researching recently. (Ricochet was made for lazy commenters like me. If I had to write this up in a post it’d take me an hour, then I’d have to sift out the knowledgeable voices. But all that work’s been done.)
What do you think will unfold if or when (and I think “when” is becoming more likely) China sinks a dozen shore-to-sea missiles into a task force doing FONOPS in the South China Sea?
Global Thermonuclear War.
No question.
However, they have too much to lose, so I can’t see them taking such an action. A more likely scenario would be one of their phony islands launching a single weapon into a single US warship which sails into their “territorial” waters around said island . . .
Again, I hate having to edit a post to make Youtube work.
Would be nice to see that fixed
someday
How about a nice game of chess?
I suspect things will continue to evolve more slowly. China will simply keep raising the hyperbole over FONOPS, plus the occasional unsafe and unprofessional behavior that brings about near-collisions, which they will claim were our fault. In the meantime, it will continue to be bolder in its assertions that it is the arbiter of all SCS activities.
Case in point and part of a new PRC initiative to police the SCS called Blue Sea 2020: arresting “illegal” fishermen. Y’know, to protect the environment, or something.
This is why I think the era of the CVN costing $1.5 bullion is over. We need subs, including diesel, and what used to be called “Jeep Carriers.” The small carriers are perfect for the use of UAVs.
http://abriefhistory.org/?p=1786
and
http://abriefhistory.org/?p=286
Those post were 10 and 12 years ago. Obama intervened but I hope not too destructively.
The danger is not deliberate acts. It’s someone with an itchy trigger finger who over interprets their orders. Or, a demonstration of force gone awry. And that holds true for both sides.
China has more to gain by peacefully pursuing its strategic aims. You don’t generally prevail by attacking your most valuable customer.
You’re probably right that their position will evolve gradually for a while longer. But the first dynamic hostile act is a natural line that can’t be ignored or taken back. It is not a winning strategy to employ violence gradually – it needs to be done fast and quickly. They won’t start with one or two missiles.
I forgot GTW was a board game! Some of the other officers on my boat played it. I never did, but I enjoyed watching them play. The fun was guessing who would start dropping nukes first.
I think he’s referring to the movie, War Games.
Not really. I was just responding to the question of what would happen if China launched a bunch of missiles at our ships.
And the board game is just called Nuclear War.
Pretty sure War Games was tic-tac-toe, not chess.
Anyway, I don’t think we’re yet at that point. China has shown no particular interest in nuclear brinksmanship, or even direct conflict with the U.S. for that matter. The trick with China is that they wage a quite different kind of war. Please indulge me whilst I quote myself from November, when I argued that we are already at war with China. We just don’t know it.