China Defies Obama’s Slow Asia Pivot With Rapid Military Buildup

[Purveyor]

By David J. Lynch Apr 22, 2014 8:00 PM ET

President Barack Obama’s trip to Asia this week will be dominated by a country he’s not even visiting: China.

Each of the four nations on the president’s itinerary is involved in territorial disputes with an increasingly assertive China. And years of military spending gains have boosted the capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army faster than many defense analysts expected, casting a shadow over relations between China and its neighbors and sparking doubts about long-term prospects for the U.S. presence in the Pacific.

“There are growing concerns about what China is up to in the maritime space,” said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “There’s a widely held view in the region that the U.S.-China relationship is tipping toward being much more confrontational.”

Obama arrives today in Japan, the start of a weeklong journey that also will take him to South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines. On display throughout will be the challenge of managing the uneasy relationship with China, the U.S.’s No. 2 trading partner and an emerging rival for global influence.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-23/china-defies-obama-s-slow-asia-pivot-with-rapid-military-buildup.html

[JayhawkSD]

1. I love that word "defies" in the headline.

Defy: openly resist or refuse to obey

China is not following Obama's orders to allow us to dominate the Pacific ocean. How very cheeky of them.

Obama is, in fact, having a very bad time lately. Russia is not obeying his orders about Ukraine, either.

[Catherina]

2. +1 n/t

[That Guy 888]

3. Not that any country should "obey" the US, but Putin and China aren't exactly paragons of justice

What would putin's reaction be if Ukraine had a ballot where the only option was "I vote that Eastern Ukraine will remain part of Ukraine and never be part of Russia"?

Unfortunately China is just as grabby and self-centered as our elites, with even less accountability. They've laid claims to the ocean that are inside the recognized territorial waters of other nations.

Both nations are just as destructive to native cultures as the "free worlds" worst corporate offenders.

Makes me think of a line in the song The Walls Came Down by The Call:

"I don't think there are any Russians
And there ain't no Yanks
Just corporate criminals
Playin' with tanks"

[JayhawkSD]

4. I was not applauding China or Russia

Nor was I criticizing Obama. My comment was about the media. Think.

[geek tragedy]

5. China's imperialism in the Pacific will mean at least one of the following:

1) The US increases its presence due to the demands of the Phillippines, Japan etc to prevent China from illegally grabbing the entire oceanic area bordering those countries;

2) Japan starts rebuilding its naval capability on a pre-WWII scale.

Myself, I would favor #2 and let the Chinese reap what they've sown with a re-militarized Japan on their doorstep.