China calls in U.S. diplomat over South China Sea

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry has called in a senior U.S. diplomat to protest remarks by the U.S. State Department raising concerns over tensions in the disputed South China Sea, in the latest political spat between the two countries.

In a statement released late on Saturday, China's Foreign Ministry said Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Kunsheng summoned the U.S. Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Wang to make "serious representations" about the issue.

The State Department on Friday said it was monitoring the situation in the seas closely, adding that China's establishing of a military garrison for the area runs "counter to collaborative diplomatic efforts to resolve differences and risk further escalating tensions in the region".

The South China Sea has become Asia's biggest potential military flashpoint as Beijing's sovereignty claim over the huge area has set it against Vietnam and the Philippines as the three countries race to tap possibly huge oil reserves.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/08/05/uk-china-usa-southchinasea-idUKBRE87401020120805

[Berlum]

1. Greazy Oil Grab. Showing that Republican Family "Values" are truly multicultural

[Berlum]

2. Like Republicans, Chinese Plutocrats get off on profiteering from fossil fuel

[sofa king]

3. There is a lot more to it than that.

Someone has to control the Spratly Islands and associated sand-bars, or pirates will simply move up from Palawan and elsewhere and they will snipe commerce between at least seven nations.

Many of the nations involved have powerful allies or potential allies, and the strategic question is powerful enough to potentially drag in those allies. The Philippines and Taiwan have the Americans. The Vietnamese have the Russians. Brunei and Singapore have the British.... which means that the four most powerful navies in the world are on a possible collision course there.

But if any one of those seven nations--or their naval ally--controls the South China Sea, the others will correctly perceive that that one nation has a strategic and commercial advantage over all the others.

Me? I'm rooting for global warming. The Spratlys are going to be one of the major flashpoints of the 21st Century--unless they sink beneath the waves. There are 30,000 sand-bars and islands in the South China Sea today, but the highest point among them all is only thirteen feet above the rising oceans.

[Berlum]

4. Thanks for rounding the picture out

The convergence of global powers in the area is indeed concerning...

[lib2DaBone]

5. Viet Nam War started because of Oil Companies prospecting in South China Sea....

Well, actually, they blamed it on the "Gulf of Tonkin Incident".. which never happened.

Of course.. we then had to bring "Democracy" to Viet Nam.

What did we gain in Viet Nam?

So far .. Iraq has cost us $3 Trillion.. again.. what did we gain?

[Franker65]

6. All for resources

I don't really understand how China has a claim to these islands, considering how far south they are. I think everybody is just lured there because of the rich fishing grounds and potential for oil and gas - if you look at statistics regarding Chinese oil production, I'm sure they're quite keen to add more capacity. Hopefully it won't come to military confrontation - that would be a huge mess considering all the countries involved.

[jsr]

7. Anything with "China" in it belongs to China

Like the Arabian Sea belongs to Saudi Arabia.