Share
Commentary

China Bears Down on US Ally, Fleet of 200 Chinese Vessels Spotted in Formation

Share

Even as President Joe Biden assures us that the People’s Republic of China is nothing to worry about, the communist superpower is bearing down on a key United States ally in the Pacific.

China’s gunboat diplomacy is not relying on a few ships to push our allies around either, but an armada of over 200 vessels thought to be part of the country’s maritime militia.

The flotilla was first spotted by the Philippine Coast Guard on March 7, according to The Associated Press, around the area of the Whitsun Reef, a shallow formation in an oceanic area claimed by multiple countries.

The Philippine island of Palawan, some 200 miles from the contested reef, appears to give Manila the most legitimate claim to the fish-rich area.

Nearly 400 miles in the other direction lies Vietnam, another claimant to the reef. Over 650 miles to the north sits the final self-proclaimed owner of the area, China.

Trending:
Hillary Clinton Jumps Into Trump 'Bloodbath' Frenzy with a Question, Doesn't Want to Hear the Answers

While China appears to have the weakest claim to the area, the nation also boasts the largest navy and a numerically and technologically superior fighting force.

Now, it’s putting those deadly advantages to use in trying to strong-arm its way into position as the region’s unquestioned power.

Although China maintains that the hundreds of ships suspiciously perched near the reef are fishing vessels, experts have cast major doubt on that claim.

Comparing the “fishing” boats to silhouettes of other Chinese designs, it quickly becomes apparent that these seemingly harmless boats are something much more sinister.

Andrew Erickson, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College, pointed out that these boats seem identical to Chinese militia ships.

The apparent militia ships are allegedly part of the forces of the so-called Sansha City, a loose collection of islands in the South China Sea all claimed by the communist power.

According to Erickson, the ships are quasi-militarized vessels with water cannons and hulls designed for ramming. The ships, ostensibly on fishing voyages, then embed themselves like ticks around Chinese-claimed territory.

Related:
DOD-Contracted Firm Has Direct Access to Servicemembers and Their Kids, Small Detail Reveals Who Pentagon Is Really Paying: Report

But while China is intent on claiming every bit of undefended reef in their neighboring sea, the Philippines are not so keen to see communists set up shop only a couple hundred miles from its shores.

According to the South China Morning Post, the Philippine Navy has begun “sovereignty patrols” through the area using warships designed for combat, not deception.

While the confrontation has not erupted in violence yet, China’s increasing aggression could mean that it’s only a matter of time before its passive-aggressive strategy is replaced with a more active one.

For now, China is kept in check by a United States Navy that is still invested in the Pacific and an array of countries wary of the growing communist threat.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , , , ,
Share
Jared has written more than 200 articles and assigned hundreds more since he joined The Western Journal in February 2017. He was an infantryman in the Arkansas and Georgia National Guard and is a husband, dad and aspiring farmer.
Jared has written more than 200 articles and assigned hundreds more since he joined The Western Journal in February 2017. He is a husband, dad, and aspiring farmer. He was an infantryman in the Arkansas and Georgia National Guard. If he's not with his wife and son, then he's either shooting guns or working on his motorcycle.
Location
Arkansas
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Military, firearms, history




Conversation