China establishes 'air-defence zone' over East China Sea

[mark46th]

Scooter- It's a reference to Sadaam's statement just before we rolled into Baghdad.

[scooter]

No no, got that..... I wasn't sure of he was drawing a direct comparison between Saddam in '91 and China today.

Saddam miscalculated on the world's reaction, and his blustering afterwards about the "Mother of all Battles" was something he couldn't back up. On a side note, I have a "Mother of All Battles Victory Medal" I acquired in Iraq, it's a nice souvenir.

China may be miscalculating, and so many wars have started from miscalculations and failed expectations of what the other guy would do in a given situation that I could never list them here. However, there hasn't been a major, large scale naval engagement since 1945. So much has changed in the technologies surrounding Naval warfare and US naval institutional practices that a major naval battle in the south china sea might not go as planned. Almost none of our current technologies that the Navy relies on have been battle proven against a near-peer competitor since their adoption. Think of WWI, when 19th century tactics were mixed with rapid fire breech loading artillery and machine guns. Bad.

I just think that the idea that we are pre-ordained to come out smiling from a scuffle with the PLN isn't a sure fire thing. How do you think a commando raid on airbases in Korea or Okinawa would look turn out? There are so many ways for this thing to escalate and get out of hand, and the Chinese military has openly talked of needing to defeat us in open battle in order for China to take its proper place on the world stage. I have seen dickheads in dresses almost wipe out prepared US military defenses. Never underestimate the other guys.

[Richard]

We're tracking it all...but it just might get ugly if Santa crosses the PRC's ADIZ.

http://www.noradsanta.org/

Richard

For the past 3 almost 4 years now, Vietnam has wanted even more broader relations with us. They too are worried about China's Bi-Polar government. I'm thinking that if the Phillipines want us back in their country as rumors persist, then Vietnam will want some sort of "in-country" status with us also.

[MR2]

Ominous warning: Admiral concedes U.S. losing dominance to China

“Our historic dominance that most of us in this room have enjoyed is diminishing, no question,” Adm. Locklear, chief of U.S. Pacific Command, said Wednesday at a naval conference in Virginia.

Although Adm. Locklear said it is obvious that Chinese military power is growing, he suggested that it is unclear whether China will seek to be a hard adversary to the U.S. in the long term, so Washington should be working overtime on steering Beijing toward a cooperative security posture.