China Protests U.S.-South Korea Exercises .

[Joanne98]

Source: WSJ

DANDONG, China—China made its first official protest over plans by the U.S. and South Korea to hold joint military exercises involving the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in the Yellow Sea on Sunday.

But Beijing's protest, in a statement from the Foreign Ministry Friday, was noticeably more restrained than when the U.S. announced similar plans, involving the same aircraft carrier, in July.

The statement also appeared to offer all sides a face-saving compromise, by implying China did not oppose exercises outside its "exclusive economic zone," a term of international maritime law that generally extends 200 nautical miles from a country's coast.

The restrained language, and the apparent diplomatic get-out, could reflect China's concern that the North Korean crisis will overshadow a planned trip to Washington in January by President Hu Jintao.



Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704008704575638420698918004.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[FreakinDJ]

1. Must be the Free Trade that makes them hate our Freedoms

[iandhr]

2. If China wants these to stop...

... the solution is to rein in the nut job Kim-Jong-il and his nut job son.

[Posteritatis]

10. Yep. (nt)

[rug]

3. It's a good thing Hu is scheduled to come to DC in January.

[earthside]

4. Well, China is correct.

The truth is that these kinds of "military exercises" are provocative and meant to intimidate.

Who is so naive and as not to believe that?

But then again, when changing radio stations this morning I heard Rick Santorum declaring (in so many words) that the only way to send a message to North Korea was to blow them up.

If the right-wing had their way I guess we'd be at war in Iran and preparing for war in Korea.

[Kennah]

5. You my friend ...

... are sadly but accurately reporting on the foreign policy of any Republican administration elected in 2012.

[killbotfactory]

6. This incident began with South Korea firing artillery into contested waters

Not that NK's response to that was appropriate or justified, but anytime they do these sorts of training exercises close to the border or in a contested area we view it as a provocation.

From the rhetoric coming from the South Korean government, It seems like both sides perversely benefit politically from these kinds of incidents.

[hack89]

9. No - they were firing south into their own waters.

there was no provocation.

[killbotfactory]

11. I read they fired into contested waters, but they only admit to firing near the border.

I don't doubt that the US and SK knew it would provoke the north. Uniting people against a common enemy is a pretty effective way to distract the populace from domestic troubles. It's standard operating procedure for NK, and I doubt that SK is above doing the same thing.

[ProgressiveMajority]

12. Exactly, South Korea provoked the north, seems pretty clear cut

The south is occupying contested border areas as well as operating in them. If they want peace they should stop doing this.

[Mhak]

7. Interesting. I must have missed it when China protested...

North Korea when they sunk a South Korean naval vessel, or North Korea when they shelled South Korea.

North Korea never does anything unless China gives them the go-ahead. North Korea gets most of their food, energy, and military equipment from China. All China has to do is say "quit being such jerks", and North Korea would stop antagonizing both South Korea and the entire Western world. So after China turns a blind eye to the past 60 years of North Korea being impudent clodpates and deliberately pushing the buttons of everybody that doesn't bow down to China, hearing them protest U.S. and South Korean military operations is more than a little hypocritical.

[jamiefoxer]

8. but not the artillery barrage that their "boys" just shot at SK?

You don't like it, China? Conduct your own military exercises then. Nations have the right to do whatever they want in international waters and the waters of ally nations (SK).