Naked Aggression!
The Chinese hate it when Russia gets all the attention. Not to mention that upstart Kim. Maybe that’s why, in reaction to “illegal surveying” in international waters, the Chinese decided to send some crappy looking faux fishing boats to crowd USNS Impeccable, instructing the crews to get naked if challenged. Or as a UK Guardian scribbler put it, it was a display of “naked aggression.”
In addition to dropping trou, they also dropped wood in front of Impeccable and tried to snag its sonar tows. No commie “wood” jokes, please.
CNN vid report.
In 2001, China waited til April to stage their first foreign policy tantrum for Bush. Back then, the Chinese pilot who was harassing a US Navy flight in international airspace lost more than his shorts. The United States got its crew back, plus the plane in parts, with only loss of face. The Chinese were subsequently upstaged as an international nuisance, and had to watch in horror as rotten dictatorships were toppled. That’s over, new era. But the way things are stacking up for Obama, maybe the PRC decided they needed to move fast, beat the rush if they didn’t want to get lost in the shuffle. Russia, Iran, North Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza. Hu Jin-tao wants Obama a little rattled in London next month … rattled about him, not those other guys. Then he can start needling him about trade imbalances, debt, Taiwan, Somalia, Pakistan and India, all that. Raise your hand if you think Obama is going to want to use this Chinese display … sorry, awkward choice of words … this Chinese incident to show how tough he is. Or does he just seize on it … sorry, bad imagery … as a new gaffe opportunity.
You know, if we did this, they’d be squawking about Yankee imperialist exhibitionism. I dunno. Maybe the US Navy should try it. Everyone is always so worried about the Chinese losing face. It’s pretty clear they know that dumb big-nosed westerners would rather lose face, grovel, bow and scrape than suffer the delicate, hyper-sensitive inscrutables to do so. Maybe once we should try it, see what happens. Moon them.
Meanwhile, it’s a little ironic that this news of Chinese ignoring international law and harassing ships in the South China Sea comes on the heels of news that China is extending its anti-piracy operation off Somalia … the operation that’s meant to show what a grown-up, responsible nation China is. AP.
Topics: China
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:10 pm on Monday, March 9, 2009
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