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Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright March 11, 2009<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style4">R</span>eminiscent of an April 2, 2001 incident where a U.S. spy plane was forced down on Hainan Island, China flexed its muscles again in the South China Sea, harassing U.S.N.S Impeccable while performing routine surveillance operations in international waters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Several unmarked civilian patrol boats got dangerously close to the U.S. spy-ship, performing  aggressive maneuvers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Chinese vessels  aggressively maneuvered  in an apparent coordinated effort to harass the U.S. surveillance ship while which conducting routine operations in international waters, said a Pentagon report.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Spraying one Chinese vessel with water cannons, the boat came within 25 ft., prompting the Chinese crews to strip down to their underwear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When U.S.N.S. requested safe passage, two Chinese vessels dropped wood into the path of the U.S. surveillance ship, causing an awkward evasive action.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Pentagon spokesman Marine Maj. Stewart Upton called Chinese actions March 9  unprofessional and  provocative, leading the Navy to launch a formal protest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> The unprofessional maneuvers by Chinese vessels violated the requirement under international law to operate with due regard for the rights and safety of other lawful uses of the ocean, said Upton, putting China on notice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>April 1, 2001, Chinese J-8 fighter jets aggressively forced down a U.S. EP-3E Aires II spy plane, incarcerating its 24-member crew and systematically dismantling the plane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>It took 10 days of intense diplomacy before the crew and wreckage were finally released.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>China blamed the U.S. spy plane for colliding with the J-8 interceptor jet, causing the pilot s death, justifying actions that forced down the plane on Hainan Island.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> The U.S. should bear full responsibility, declared Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>China s March 9 harassment of the U.S. surveillance ship signals Beijing s bravado in its own backyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> We expect Chinese ships to act responsibly and refrain from provocative activities that could lead to miscalculation or a collision on the open sea, said Upton, seeking Beijing s apology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>But like the 2001 spy plane incident, the latest mishap indicates that China enjoys backing down the world s last superpower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>To end the 2001 stalemate, the U.S. promised to stop spying in China s neighborhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Like the Iranians who frequently harass foreign ships in the Persian Gulf, the Chinese like to flex their muscle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Our ships operate fairly frequently in international waters where these incidents took place, said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, admitting the U.S. broke its word to China.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Whether the U.S. has a right to patrol international waters, China wants the U.S. to show restraint.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Beijing last week, asking the Chinese to continue buying U.S. treasuries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Gibbs offered no apologies for the U.S. spy ship, insisting the Chinese back off from harassing the U.S. Navy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> We are going to continue to operate in these waters and we expect the Chinese to observe the international laws, offering the Chinese no face-saving way out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Gibbs remarks don t play well in Beijing where they expect Americans to show more respect for China s territorial integrity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Escalating rhetoric does little to assuage a bad situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Hillary sought to tamp down heated rhetoric, insisting that both sides should do everything possible to avoid future confrontations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Unlike the 2001 incident, no Chinese military personnel lost their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Hillary did a good job of playing down White House rhetoric, opening the door to better communication.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Hillary defused a growing crisis by reminding the China about a host of cooperative ventures with the U.S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> No one s economies are more linked by mutual trade than the U.S. and China.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Both suffer from a global credit meltdown, shuttering Chinese factories and hurting U.S. retail trade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Neither country can afford counterproductive provocation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Gibbs needs to tone down the rhetoric and strike a more conciliatory tone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> We both agreed that we should work to ensure that such incidents do not happen again, said Hillary, after meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiachi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>As the U.S. found out in 2001, there s no better way to avoid similar events than to patrol further away from Chinese territorial waters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether it s legal or not, U.S. authorities wouldn t be too happy if the Navy routinely ran into Chinese spy ships off the coast of Los Angeles or San Francisco.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>China continues to flex its muscles reminding the U.S. that it s no longer the only superpower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Playing hardball on the open seas sends a shot across the bow, reminding the U.S. there are limits to its surveillance operations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Unless there s a compelling national security reason to patrol so closely in China s territorial waters, the U.S. should not provoke Beijing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Before White House officials make Hillary s job more difficult, they should consult more closely with the State Department.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Gibbs public remarks only made a bad situation worse by blaming China for violating international shipping rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Hillary was forced into some heavy-duty damage control, watching the U.S. betray a prior promise to tone down the spying near China s coast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether or not Gibbs makes a good argument about U.S. shipping rights, the 2001 spy-plane mishap should remind the U.S. to act less provocatively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> .John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analysing spin in national and global news.&nbsp; He&#39;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html"><i>Dodging</i> <i>The Bullet</i> </a>and <i> <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.</i></p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Home/strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> || <a href="articlesindex.html">Articles</a> || <a href="books.html">Books</a> || <a href="teflon.html">The Teflon Report</a> || <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> Reactions</a> || <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">About Discobolos</a></strong></font> <div align="left"> <p><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">This site designed, developed and hosted by the experts at</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <a href="http://www.cmeonline.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>