Hu Jintao, China’s leader, has publicly commented for the first time on the country’s naval ambitions saying they must prepare for warfare.
China has been locked into territorial disputes with the Philippines and Vietnam calling them historically Chinese. However the real reason appears to be that China believes that major oil and natural gas lay beneath the ground or sea floor within those two countries.
U.S. Navy spokesman Adm. John Kirby said in response that “Certainly we wouldn’t begrudge any other nation the opportunity to develop naval forces.” China recently completed sea trails of its first aircraft carrier, although the ship is a used ship that was heavily modified and looks cloers to the WWII ear Aircraft Carrier, the USS Lexington.
Though China has increased its defense spending to record levels over the last several years, most analyst say China’s ground army is still primary focus on training and equipping its forces for domestic purposes and its nascent navy is about the size of the state of California’s Naval Reserve forces and comprised mainly of small craft.
In response to increased Chinese muscle flexing in the region, the U.S. too has been busy doing much the same, it recently announced it is sending a well armed and special operations capable Marine force to be permanently stations in the tropical northern areas of Australia after reaching a Status of Forces Agreement with the long time American ally.
Those Marines will be within stroking distance of most of southeast Asia within a matter of hours. And Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and other have express a relief as American forces are headed to their neighborhood of the world. Additionally, a small contingent of U.S. Navy assets will be set up in Bangkok.
Both the Philippines and Vietnam have repeatedly accused China of overt aggression in the region. Analysts say the US move is a direct challenge to China’s attempts to dominate the area, and is likely to bolster US allies in the South China Sea dispute.
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