peter.reardon on maritime information as “assets” not included…
So what was an unarmed US navy surveillance vessel doing in “International waters” that requires a US Destroyer to escort the civilian, (CIA?) crew if it is not violating the sovereign rights of a foreign government?
In a BBC News report citing the Associated Press news agency:
“… in a strongly worded statement on Thursday [March 12], the Chinese defence ministry reiterated its position that the US ship had strayed into China’s exclusive economic zone and demanded the US "take effective measures to prevent a recurrence, …”
The problem is, China lays claim to all of the navigable area of the South China Seas, plus a number of islands which are physically closer to other south Asian countries than they are to China.
So what is China hoping to achieve by stretching the range of its territorial borders unilaterally?
According to a Jane’s press release of 02 May 2008 the location of the American ship was in the vicinity of China’s new nuclear naval base.
“Jane’s can confirm that the satellite pictures show that China is constructing a major underground nuclear submarine base near Sanya, on Hainan Island off its southern coast. Although Asian military sources have disclosed this fact to Jane’s as far back as 2002, high-resolution commercially available satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe provides independent verification”
In this example the American act of seeking, or securing knowledge related to China’s submarine base at Hainan island, or “military assets”, was probably not what the Chinese Premier had in mind when he urged the American government to ensure the safety of China’s assets, but only a recent US treasury bond purchase of 1-trillion dollars – and only that.
However, in diplomatic language the Chinese Premier said that the US vessel (navy surveillance?) strayed into China’s exclusive economic zone.
Tags: American government, BBC News, China's exclusive economic zone, China’s new nuclear naval base, Chinese Premier, Hainan Island, Jane’s, South China Seas, US navy surveillance vessel
