Not just the oceans, but the air as well
Apparently, owning and controlling the seas is not enough for China. It now wants to own and control the air as well. In a report by China's Air Force Academy seen by Kyodo News Agency, it wants to broaden its surveillance and attack capabilities well over the Western Pacific. These would be the areas near Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Mind the words 'surveillance' and 'attack'. And China insists that they merely want the area to be secure. Superiority over the oceans is not enough, which it already has achieved. Now they want everybody's air as well. There really is no slaking China's lust for power.
What China wants is to be able to go toe-to-toe with the US in terms of air superiority. It knows that the time may come when they would have to face the US in case the current situation worsens. It wants to develop or purchase UAVs or unmanned aerial vehicles such as drones that are capable of both surveillance and attack. This is what America's Predators and Reapers are. They want high altitude aircraft capable of launching cruise missiles. They want a new generation fighter similar to the F-22 and F-35 that the US already have in service. Add to this wish list are smart bombs and high-tech military satellites.
China is in fact building a second aircraft carrier that would greatly enhance its naval superiority over the ocean. Japan knows all too well the value of a strong naval force, led by aircraft carriers. It allowed them to easily control almost the whole of Asia in World War II. Which is why all these actions of China have put them on guarded footing. A belligerent country that strengthens its military exponentially is always seen as a threat.
Nobody believed China's press conferences regarding their reclamation of islands and subsequent construction of structures as peaceful. These are purposely built for their military. Remote outposts and garrisons that they can operate from. The BRP Sierra Madre where a handful of our Marines are stationed are now clearly threatened.
China has really turned the region into a powder keg. If the US continues its flights and patrols, it is only a matter of time when these two superpowers start pressing the wrong buttons. If the United Nations has any jurisdiction at all, it should start intervening. I would think that all countries in the region must respond as well. China's island-building will be the top agenda at that meeting, so we will have to see what happens. China has already stated that it will not entertain any talk of disputed islands in the ASEAN meeting. We may actually have a glimpse of things to come.
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