This looks like something the Chinese had planned as a provocation since they shadowed the US ship waited for the drones to emerge from the water and then snatched one. They also made sure to snatch a drone that did not have sensitive US military technology which could have really increased the scale of a possible US response to this action:
This file picture shows the Chinese Navy frigate Daqing 576 approaching the waterfront in San Diego, Calif., with a U.S. aircraft carrier on the North Island base in the background in December. The Three People’s Liberation Army (Navy) ships were visiting San Diego as part of a routine port visit. [USA Today]
China “unlawfully” seized an unmanned US naval probe in international waters in the South China Sea, the Pentagon said Friday, a move sure to heighten tensions around Beijing’s military presence in the disputed area.
The underwater vehicle was taken around 50 nautical miles (90 kilometers) northwest off Subic Bay in the Philippines late Thursday in a non-violent incident, said Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
The event unfolded as the civilian-crewed USNS Bowditch was retrieving a pair of “naval gliders” that routinely collect information on water temperatures, salinity and sea clarity.
A Chinese Dalang-III class submarine rescue ship then stopped within 500 yards (meters) of the Bowditch and snatched one of the probes. The Americans safely hoisted the other one back onto their ship.
Davis said he could not recall another time when something like this has happened, and the Pentagon issued a statement calling on Beijing to “immediately” return the probe that it had “unlawfully seized.”
The US personnel “were asking over bridge-to-bridge radio to please leave it there,” Davis said.
Other than a brief acknowledgment that it had received the message, the Chinese ship did not respond.
“The only thing they said after they were sailing off into the distance was: ‘We are returning to normal operations,'” Davis said.
Washington has issued a formal request through diplomatic channels to ask for the probe back.
“It is ours. It is clearly marked as ours. We would like it back, and we would like this not to happen again,” Davis said.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said China had acted unlawfully.
“The UUV (unmanned underwater vehicle) is a sovereign immune vessel of the United States. We call upon China to return our UUV immediately, and to comply with all of its obligations under international law,” Cook said in a statement. [AFP]
Here is what they stole:
Davis said the seized vessel is off-the-shelf technology that is commercially available for about $150,000. Data it gathers are unclassified and can be used to help submarines navigate and determine sonar ranges in murky waters.
You can read the rest at the link, but here is what Donald Trump had to say:
China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters – rips it out of water and takes it to China in unprecedented act.
Beijing hit back in the diplomatic spat over its seizure of a US Navy drone in the South China Sea after Donald Trump claimed in a message on Twitter that China has stolen the device.
Chinese officials had earlier indicated there would be a “smooth” resolution of the diplomatic incident, but after the President-elect’s tweet, they accused Washington of “hyping up” the issue. [UK Independent]
Stealing seems pretty accurate to me, did the Chinese want him to say they are borrowing the drone?
You can read the whole article at the link, but I would speculate that China has been playing the “North Korea card” for years considering they have done little to nothing to stop North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs:
– China could exercise a veto against any new U.N. sanctions on North Korea, ignore existing sanctions and even accept the communist neighbor as a nuclear state if the incoming administration of Donald Trump plays the “Taiwan card,” a U.S. expert said.
Trump sparked China’s anger by accepting a call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen earlier this month in breach of the decades-long diplomatic tradition that the U.S. has kept under its “One China” policy since severing ties with Taiwan and normalizing relations with Beijing.
China considers Taiwan a renegade province that must be unified with the mainland and rails against any support for Taiwan’s independence or the notion that the island is not part of the country. Despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties, the U.S. has maintained friendly relations with Taiwan.
On Sunday, Trump went a step further, saying he doesn’t understand “why we have to be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade.” The remark suggests Trump could use the Taiwan card in dealings with Beijing. [Yonhap]
I wonder if this is a loan shark tactic that has come to Korea yet?:
A hand written loan slip. The interest rate of lending 2000 yuan is 100% for two month. One of the leaked photo circulated online.
It is an open secret that some online finance service platforms are asking female debtors to give them nude photos in exchange for a loan, or to extend the deadline of debt payment. Now, with the leaking of female debtors’ nude photos and videos online — thanks to the circulation of a 10-gigabytes file on the Chinese internet — the alarm has been sounded.
The zipped file contains photos and sex tapes of at least 161 women, the majority of which are college students between 17 to 23 years of age. Along with the visual materials are chat records and identity information — including relatives’ names and personal particulars.
The leaked documents come from Jiedaibao, a social network-based, online finance service platform, which facilitates one-on-one loans. Debtors must use their real identity in their profile, while the lenders can remain anonymous. The finance company has issued a statement denouncing any involvement with the leak, and is reportedly cooperating fully with the police in the investigation.
In order to get a loan, the young women were asked to take nude selfies holding their identity card; some were even asked to masturbate in front of the camera. In addition to this, other documents were shown — include student identity cards, and screenshots of university student user platforms. [Global Voices]
Here is the latest on the Trump phone call with the President of Taiwan that the media was initially trying to frame as him bungling US foreign policy:
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s phone call with Taiwan’s president shows the incoming administration believes China should work hard on North Korea as much as it cares about the cross-strait issue, a transition team official was quoted as saying Tuesday.
The official made the remark during a meeting with a group of South Korean lawmakers, pointing out that China has been unwilling to use its influence over Pyongyang even though Beijing provides most of the North’s energy and food supplies, according to the participating lawmakers.
They declined to identify the official.
On Friday, Trump spoke by phone with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, breaking the decadeslong diplomatic tradition that the U.S. has kept under its “One China” policy since severing ties with Taiwan and normalizing relations with Beijing.
China considers Taiwan a renegade province that must be unified with the mainland and rails against any support for Taiwan’s independence or the notion that the island is not part of the country. Despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties, the U.S. has maintained friendly relations with Taiwan. [Yonhap]
It looks like Japanese pop culture is filling the vacuum caused by the K-Pop ban in China caused by the THAAD dispute:
China has become hostile toward South Korea’s entertainment content but is welcoming to cultural products from Japan despite its strained political ties with both countries, sources close to the matter said Sunday.
Relations between China and South Korea took a hit earlier this year after Seoul announced the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) on its soil. While South Korea and the U.S. argued the system would only be used to deter North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats, China protested the move as a serious threat to its security interests.
In the months that followed, a number of South Korean celebrities were reportedly forced to cancel their scheduled events in China, while various South Korean TV programs and films had to postpone their release in the country.
“Judging from what I’ve determined through various channels, the ban on Korean cultural products appears to be real,” said one source who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Chinese broadcasters have not only banned the appearance of South Korean entertainers but also taken down commercials featuring them.”
The Chinese government has refused to verify rumors of the ban, although according to the sources, many Chinese enterprises have stopped applying for government permission for concerts or appearances by South Korean stars.
Before the THAAD decision, China was a huge market for South Korean cultural products mostly related to “hallyu,” or the K-pop and K-dramas that have gained increasing popularity worldwide.
As Korean content took a hit, Japan’s cultural content has shown no signs of losing ground in China.
In fact, the Japanese animation film “Your Name” drew 2.24 million people on Friday, breaking the opening day record for a 2D animation in China. Moreover, local media have praised the film with top ratings and rave reviews. [Yonhap]
It looks like more people are beginning to realize that the North Korean problem is really a Chinese problem. Here is what journalist Gordon Chang thinks should be done by the incoming Trump administration to address the Chinese backing of North Korea:
North Korea looks impossible to solve, and it is if we see China as on our side. It is not. But if we treat China as part of the problem, which it most certainly is, then we can begin to craft solutions, like secondary sanctions. Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, will stop supporting North Korea only when the costs of doing so are too high. So far, his country has suffered almost no penalty.
To impose costs, Trump’s administration could, among other things, cut offending Chinese banks off from the global financial system, sanction every Chinese proliferator, and impose his threatened 45% across-the-board tariff on China’s goods. He could end negotiations on the Bilateral Investment Treaty and treat Chinese businesses like Beijing treats American ones.
And Mr. Trump, starting January 20, will have the tools to raise the costs on Beijing. The Chinese will surely retaliate, but they have few effective options for a long-term struggle. After all, last year they ran a $334.1 billion trade surplus in goods and services against the United States. Trade-surplus countries are vulnerable in trade wars, and that is especially true of a China with an already fragile economy that is dependent on the American market. [Forbes]
