U.S. deploys carrier to contentious South China Sea

[jpak]

Source: USA Today

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The United States deployed aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to patrol the increasingly contentious South China Sea, despite Beijing’s warnings not to challenge its sovereignty in the resource-rich sea.

The Navy described Saturday's launch as the beginning of “routine operations” in the South China Sea. China claims most of the sea as its own, despite overlapping territorial and jurisdictional claims from the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

Last week at a news conference, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, denounced advance news of the deployment.

“China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters,” he said. “China respects and upholds the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea which countries enjoy under international law, but firmly opposes any country's attempt to undermine China's sovereignty and security in the name of the freedom of navigation and overflight.”

<more>

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/02/19/us-deploys-carrier-contentious-south-china-sea/98126274/

[ffr]

1. Look for war or conflict to boost tRump's flagging poll numbers

Journalists are already talking about it. He's an impotent president at this stage. Rethugs will still push their agenda down our throats, but tRump's won't move, like increased military spending.

His cure, is to start a conflict, rally Americans around a nationalistic cause. tRump needs to be popular. We all know this.

Prepare for war.

[Hortensis]

4. All too likely it'll do just that, too.

God, these people. Not the ones in office, the one who threw the doors open to the hyenas.

[Squinch]

2. Oh. Fuck. You mean the Reichstag South China Sea? Here we go.

[IronLionZion]

3. Only one month in and it's time to wag the dog already?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Wag the dog after Comey briefed Senate Intelligence Committee Friday?

[IronLionZion]

7. Anything to divert our attention away from Russia

[Achilleaze]

8. + 1,000,000

[Blue Idaho]

5. Just what we need...

A hot War in the South China Sea...

[moonscape]

9. What could possibly go wrong? n/t