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China's devious move under cover of virus
As outbreaks debilitate the US navy, there are fears China may be using the coronavirus pandemic as cover for asserting control over the South China Sea.
A Vietnamese fishing boat has been rammed and sunk. Military aircraft have landed at its artificial-island fortresses. And large-scale naval exercises has let everyone know China's navy is still pushing the boundaries, hard.
Meanwhile, the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group has retreated from the contested waterway in an unscheduled return to Guam – with hundreds of cases of COVID-19 on board.
China's Peoples Liberation Army knows this presents an opportunity.
"The outbreak of COVID-19 has significantly lowered the US Navy's warship deployment capability in the Asia-Pacific region," an article on its official website declares.
The website insists not a single one of its soldiers, sailors or pilots had contracted COVID-19. Instead, the crisis had served to strengthen the combat readiness and resolve of the Chinese military.
That has international affairs analysts worried that even a short-term withdrawal of US and international from the East and South China Seas could give Beijing the opportunity it has been waiting for.
"I think China is exploiting the US Navy's coronavirus challenges to improve its position in the South China Sea by giving the appearance it can and will operate there at will while the US is hamstrung," former Pacific Command Joint Intelligence Centre director Carl Schuster told CNN.
Previously:
(2020-01-09) China Initiates Conflict with Indonesia in the South China Sea
(2019-12-21) Malaysian Top Envoy: China's 'Nine-Dash Line' Claim 'Ridiculous'
(2019-11-22) US Warships Sail in Disputed South China Sea Amid Tensions
(2019-05-14) China Builds New Type 002 Mega Carrier as the Age of Sea Power Wanes
(2018-05-13) China Begins Sea Trials for its First Domestically Developed Aircraft Carrier
(2017-12-24) World's Largest Amphibious Plane in Production Takes Flight in China
(2017-05-25) US Warship Challenges China's Claims in South China Sea
(2017-04-26) China Launches Aircraft Carrier
(2017-03-14) Japan to Send its Biggest Warship to the South China Sea
(2017-01-13) Chinese State Media Boasts About its New Electronic Reconnaissance Ship
(2016-07-14) China's South China Sea Claims Rejected By "Binding" but Unenforceable Tribunal Ruling
(Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday April 12 2020, @09:17PM (12 children)
Yep, and instead of crew safety they're getting monthly lectures about rape culture, White privilege, why hazing is wrong, indoctrination into Islam, and a bunch of other Obama-era bullshit that's still left the military fucked up and constantly running at half-steam.
Actually, if this is a problem for the US military, why isn't it a problem for the Chink military? Chinks are filthy insectoid creatures, at least Americans even on a ship practice some form of hygiene.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2020, @09:25PM (7 children)
The Chinese navy gets to summarily toss infected sailors overboard to prevent further contamination. If USN tried that the New York Times would get their panties in a knot about human rights.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2020, @09:40PM (5 children)
I'll bet we could throw the Runaway over board, and the NYT wouldn't care.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday April 12 2020, @09:49PM (1 child)
Of course they wouldn't. NYT are fifth-columnist Jews giving aid to their buddies the Chinese. That's the dirty little secret, the Jews and Chinese are working together to subvert America. Fifth-columnist Feinstein and her Chinese "chauffeur," Liddle Adam Schitt, Weinstein, Epstein, Wasserman-schulz and the Awan brothers, the Jew coup.
These times present a challenge to America, but they also present an opportunity: to disentangle America's interests from Chinese and Israeli interests. Then send Bill Gates and George Soros to the Hague, like Slobodan. The only difference is that Slobodan was a hero who fought for his people. Bill Gates and Soros are rootless cosmopolitan pieces of shit with no loyalty to anything other than their own psychopathy and god complexes.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13 2020, @02:30AM
Every time you sit in front of a keyboard, every time you put pen to paper, every time you open your mouth, you show just how stupid you are. I'm sorry you're retarded and the world scares you, but that's not an excuse for willful stupidity. I heard that large amounts of rat poison can cure early-onset dumbness. You should try that.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by barbara hudson on Sunday April 12 2020, @11:20PM
SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Gaaark on Sunday April 12 2020, @11:27PM (1 child)
Throw Trump overboard and see if the world claps!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13 2020, @02:48AM
If world gets the clap? Huh?
/s
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2020, @10:04PM
> The Chinese navy gets to summarily toss infected sailors overboard to prevent further contamination.
> If USN tried that the New York Times would get their panties in a knot about human rights.
I suspect the worker bees chosen to proudly serve their countries by hurling themselves overboard might object too. That's why we ought to send out the National Guard at the same time to suppress over-enthusiastic responses from the proles. Every man must do his duty - and it turns out yours is to die in the ocean so that the boss doesn't look bad.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 12 2020, @10:45PM (2 children)
It's funny how whenever a racist cockraoch makes a post in a forum, all other racist cockroaches feel enbolden to come out of the walls in the open and spew their racist filth all over the floor.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13 2020, @08:48AM
And whenever a racist posts, a Communist replies. Having to choose between the two, I'll be a racist every fucking te, as will my multiracial racist children. Fuck niggers, fuck Jews, hang Commies.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13 2020, @09:02PM
"racism" is anti-white, jewish communist propaganda since it was first spewed. There is nothing wrong with trying to maintain your people's existence or further it's development. Killing millions of whites and having the civilian women and children raped by soldiers during ww2 was not enough for these Jews. Now they seek to destroy what is left of whites in the countries they founded.
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13 2020, @01:58AM
Hopefully stupid people like you are too dumb to heed public health directives.