U.S. Warship Challenges China & China Warns its Citizens to Prepare for War

U.S. Warship Challenges China &  China Warns its Citizens to Prepare for War

SOURCE

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Friday, drawing a warning from Chinese warships to leave the area.

The U.S. action was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing's efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, U.S. officials said.

The Chinese Defense Ministry called the move "illegal" and "provocative," saying that two Chinese warships had warned the U.S. destroyer to leave.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur challenged "excessive maritime claims" near the Paracel Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbors, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The latest U.S. patrol, first reported by Reuters, is expected to anger Beijing and could further escalate tensions over the South China Sea. The destroyer sailed within waters claimed by China, close to but not within the 12-nautical-mile territorial limits of the islands, the officials said.

The Pentagon said the Decatur "conducted this transit in a routine, lawful manner without ship escorts and without incident." One official said the ship, which sailed near Triton and Woody Islands, was shadowed by three Chinese vessels and that all interactions were safe.

The White House confirmed the Reuters report.

"This operation demonstrated that coastal states may not unlawfully restrict the navigation rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea that the United States and all states are entitled to exercise under international law," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing.

It was the fourth challenge that the United States has made to what it considers overreaching maritime claims by China in the South China Sea in the past year, and the first since May.

China, Washington's main strategic rival in Asia, claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion worth of trade passes each year. The United States has criticized Beijing's build-up of military facilities in the sea and expressed concerns they could be used to restrict free movement.

China's Defense Ministry said it had declared its "baseline" for the Paracel Islands in 1996, something the United States knew. Despite that, the Chinese government said, the United States had sent a ship into Chinese "territorial waters."

A statement from China's Foreign Ministry said the U.S. ship did not ask for permission to enter Chinese territorial waters, and had broken both Chinese and international law.

The ministry accused the United States of deliberately creating tensions.

China has a runway on Woody Island, the site of the largest Chinese presence on the Paracels, and has placed surface-to-air missiles there, according to U.S. officials. Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims on the Paracels.

In the last three U.S. freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea within the last year, U.S. warships cruised within 12 nautical miles of islands claimed by Beijing. The actions drew angry responses from China, which has accused the United States of stirring up trouble there.

The latest operation comes just after the volatile president of the Philippines announced, during a visit to China, his "separation" from Washington and realignment with Beijing. The Philippines has been a key ally of the United States and a territorial rival of Beijing in the South China Sea. Rodrigo Duterte took office as Philippine president in June.

Duterte's announcement on Thursday was a significant turnaround after a tribunal in The Hague ruled that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea in a case brought by the previous Philippine administration and strongly backed by the United States.

But in Washington a person close to the matter said the latest naval operation was not timed for Duterte's China visit this week and that planning for the patrol had long been in the works.

U.S. officials have said they will continue such operations despite objections by Beijing.

"The U.S. Navy will continue to conduct routine and lawful operations around the world, including in the South China Sea, in order to protect the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of sea and airspace guaranteed to all. This will not change," Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said during a trip to China in July.

RIVAL CLAIMS

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all have rival claims in the South China Sea, but Beijing's is the largest. It argues it can do what it wants on the islands it claims as they have been Chinese since ancient times.

The last U.S. freedom-of-navigation operation in May went within 12 miles of Fiery Cross reef in the Spratly Islands and China scrambled fighter jets in response.

In January, a U.S. destroyer went within 12 miles of Triton Island, and China called the action "irresponsible and extremely dangerous."

U.S. officials have said the operations will continue despite Beijing's protests, but the Obama administration has been criticized in Congress for not conducting them more regularly and robustly.

Greg Poling, a South China Sea expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said the administration was likely to face further criticism after opting for relatively uncontroversial challenges to China in all of its freedom-of-navigation operations in the past year.

"They will have essentially performed the same FONOP, meaning an objection to China's demand for prior notification, four times in a year," he said.

"That is not only redundant, but it does nothing to put a spotlight on the other, much more worrying, restrictions China is placing on freedom of navigation."

China has been placing more serious restrictions on movement, he said, around artificial islands China has built on reefs in the Spratly chain, notably Mischief Reef.

First Russia, Now China Warns its Citizens to Prepare for War and Putin Warns US: ‘If You Want a Confrontation, You’ll Get One’ (Videos)

ConspiracyTheory reports The idea of World War lll has long existed since the attacks of 9/11. It was believed that World War lll would enter into the world between many of the super powers against Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other countries that were believed to be supporting the terrorist activity that took place in 2001. Up to this point, there have not been any hints at a new war. However it has long been discussed that one major incident could easily start up possibly the most cataclysmic war to ever hit planet Earth. China has recently started to prepare as if this war may finally be erupting. 
China has officially told their citizens to prepare for the start of World War 3. The call came from the Chinese minister of defense in Chang Wanquan. China has recently vowed to take actions against the 12th of July ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration and protect its sovereignty. According to a report after the Brexit deal, China and Russia are believed to become the world’s super powers. World War 3 In The Makeing? China has begun to focus on their military as well as sovereignty. They have gone as far as challenging Australia by saying that if they step into South China’s Sea waters, then this will activate an opportunity to warn and strike. Professors in China has also said that China will not back down and will never submit in situations regarding sovereignty.
Wanquan has indicated that the Chinese public should be educated on national defense because it is currently at risk and could be breached sooner rather than later. He has also warned about offshore security threats and the ability to acknowledge when security is being threatened in general. He has taken the military, police and citizens to prepare for mobilization to defend their sovereignty and territory. China also has a belief that the United States is purposely stirring up problems in an attempt to exploit the area in the Philippines for their personal benefit. A project has shown that drills are occurring in China that focus on both offense and defense. The war may begin with China and its neighbors, but the United States may soon get involved to back up their allies.

Putin warns US: ‘If You Want A Confrontation, You’ll Get One Everywhere’
ConspiracyTheory reports The United States and the Russian Federation have been trading insults about their respective military strategies in Syria over the past couple of months with intensifying bellicosity. 
Russian officials suggest the country is gearing up for war The United States has recently accused Russia of war crimes in the war-torn Asian country which Russia have responded to with affront. According to experts, US-Russian relations have grown so poor that they are now comparable to the politics of the Cold War period. However, political analysts and experts within Russia believe that with Putin at the helm a potential Cold War scenario could heat up very quickly. It is considered deeply unlikely that Putin will ever back down in the face of American aggression. 
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has responded directly to the remarks about Russia made by officials from the United States. He says that it is the Kremlin’s that the United States are becoming aggressive and unpredictable towards the Russian Federation, and so it is essential that the Russians take measures to protect their interests and their country. This line mirrors that of Lieutenant General Yevgeny Buzhinsky who says that the western powers are entire to blame for the current political malaise. More disturbingly, he has also suggested that the United States will sorely regret tangling with Russia; “Of course there is a reaction. As far as Russia sees it, as Putin sees it, it is a full-scale confrontation on all fronts. If you want a confrontation, you’ll get one, but it won’t be a confrontation that doesn’t harm the interests of the United States. You want a confrontation; you’ll get one everywhere.”
The remarks from these Russian officials seem to confirm the view of western ‘Kremlin-watchers’ that Russia is preparing for war and, on both sides, it appears that there are serious concerns about the use of nuclear weapons. In Russia, people have been advised to find out where their nearest fallout shelter in located and Pentagon chiefs have warned that Russia could easily level a devastating nuclear attack on a NATO country. Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs has said that while neither side wants to be responsible for igniting a full-blown confrontation between Russia and the United States that it may be unavoidable if relations do not improve shortly. Russia has warned its people to “prepare for war” and urged every citizen to find out where their nearest fallout shelter is should there be a nuclear strike. Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs, said: “Most likely no-one wants to launch a big collision between Russia and the United States.
But this is exactly the case when unintended consequences might emerge.” Cold War deployments are being setup by the Russia military as nuclear bombers sweep the US border and plans are set in motion for new bases in Cuba. Pentagon chiefs warned Russia could be on the verge of launching a “terrible” nuclear attack on a NATO nation. Experts have warned Russia could invade “overnight” as the Kremlin has the power and might to launch an invasion “within hours”.