As Obama Disarms, China Moves to Solidify Its Control Over the Pacific

Guest post by Investor's Business Daily

Balance Of Power: Beijing may soon declare another air defense identification zone over the disputed Paracel and Spratly Islands and possibly the entire South China Sea as its military power matches its territorial ambitions.

China's plans to define a second new air-defense identification zone, this one in the South China Sea, were reported in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun. Such a move would follow Beijing's announcement in November of an ADIZ in the East China Sea encompassing the Japanese Senkaku Islands that Beijing claims as its own.

China denies it has any such plans, claiming the news is merely a Japanese provocation. But Beijing has long declared the South China Sea to be its territorial waters and has laid claim to the Spratlys in the southeastern part and Paracels about 200 miles off Vietnam.

After the implementation of the East China Sea ADIZ, Chinese defense spokesman Yang Yujun said in November that "China will establish other Air Defense Identification Zones at the right moment after necessary preparations are completed."

China obviously has not been deterred by the Obama administration's response to the imposition of the East China Sea ADIZ. After China declared that ADIZ encompassing the Senkakus, two U.S. B-52s flew through the claimed air space without informing Beijing. But the Obama administration then instructed U.S. carriers to accede to China's demands for prior notification.

China's establishment of the ADIZs is carefully timed and part of a strategy to project power beyond its coastal waters. Its goal is to secure the waters from Japan's home islands through Taiwan and to the Strait of Malacca, encompassing the East and South China seas.

The Senkaku Islands are not only rich fishing areas. They sit atop significant oil deposits vital to a China that's scouring the world for energy for its growing economy. Similarly, the disputed Reed Bank in the Spratly Islands is estimated to contain up to 55.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 5.4 billion barrels of oil.

Beijing has been moving to solidify what it has called its "sovereign rights" over the South China Sea, which has depths convenient for submarine navigation. It has already established a nuclear sub base on nearby Hainan Island and is building a radar site in the Paracels.

China's military capabilities have taken a quantum leap since a Chinese J-8 jet collided with a U.S. EP-3 surveillance jet in 2001 off Hainan, which now has a base for Chinese ballistic missile and attack subs. It's likely the EP-3 got too close to the sub base for comfort.

In 2009, Chinese vessels trailed and harassed the twin-hulled ocean surveillance ship Impeccable off Hainan, trying to snag the sonar array that it was towing. Such sonar is useful in detecting Chinese submarine activity.

A Chinese battle group, led by its first carrier, the Liaoning, recently conducted a monthlong exercise that saw the refurbished Soviet-built flattop and her escorts sail south to the waters near Taiwan. During the exercise, a Chinese warship nearly collided with the guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens, which was shadowing the battle group.

As the alleged Chinese curse goes, may you live in interesting times. Things are getting interesting indeed.

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