China acting up again

[sbp]

Australian Naval Move Draws Complaints From China taken from here: http://charlotte.realcities.com/rc/n...s/08413363.htm

China lodged a complaint with Australia after three Australian naval vessels moving through the Taiwan Straits were challenged by the Chinese navy, a spokesman for Australia's foreign affairs minister said on Sunday.

A Chinese navy vessel told three Australian ships moving through the straits earlier this month that they were in territorial waters.

However, the Australian vessels said they were exercising their right to free navigation in accordance with the laws of the sea and continued.

The spokesman for minister Alexander Downer said the Chinese had raised an official protest with Australia about the transit.

``We maintain that our ships were always abiding by their rights under the law of the sea,'' the spokesman told Reuters.

Diplomatic relations are already on edge, with China on Friday criticizing Australia's Prime Minister John Howard for supporting a pledge by President Bush to help defend Taiwan.

China regards Taiwan as a renegade province that must be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Australia's Prime Minister John Howard said the issue should not be blown out of proportion.

``I don't think we should attach any new significance to what China has done, we have to keep it in perspective,'' said Howard, according to a report by Australian Associated Press.

``We won't be over-reacting to it ... it is important ... to look at the totality of the relationship and see everything in proper perspective,'' he told reporters in Sydney.

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This is how much of the South China Sea China claims as its territorial waters.


How many more times is China going to act like a bully?

[OC]

Australia has a navy?

[ProMinx]

Australia also has the most advanced spy-plane in existence (that the public knows about)...of course...it's owned by the Americans, but for some totally random reason we "loaned" it to Australia along with the only pilot who knows how to fly it.

Now why would America want to give (there was no compensatoin coming from australia to the US for the plane) an advanced spyplane to some other country that dislikes China immediately after a massive China powerplay involving another spyplane? Maybe because in this last case...we weren't actually breaking the law, but we're willing to let Australia take the fall in case the plane gets caught in the middle of an illegal spy-flight through Chinese airspace. The best part about the latter option is that...the American pilot we sent to Australia still won't be caught because he pilots the plane via Remote Control.

Heh heh, gotta love when the government does back-handed (yet publicly announced) deals like that.

ProMinx

PS - China is an ugly bloated beast! Oh...you meant the country, not the ugly-a$$ "woman" from wrestling or whatever. Why the hell did she show up in Playboy?!

[Doomer]

I wonder if China's attitude is really as bad as it seems or if it's just the western press parroting Government propaganda ?

Oh well, guess we won't know until WW3.

[ultrajared]

The chinese people, for the most part, are pretty dang cool. But their government sucks hairy arse. Their attitude is abysmally stupid, chauvanistic, and immature. I have spoken to a few chinese over the internet who were commenting that the government has convinced a large part of the population that the US is trying to oppress them, etc. etc. It is pretty pathetic. I can't believe that ANYONE falls for that...but I guess anyone not on the internet doesn't know any better, eh? If they rely on the government-controlled boob tube, I guess it's all you can expect...

[zenbooty]

Originally posted by ultrajared
If they rely on the government-controlled boob tube, I guess it's all you can expect...

Exactly. Some people here think Vietnam was a just war, as well.

Beware of propaganda! Everyone uses it. No one is absolutely free from it. Have you cleaned out your reality tunnel lately?