Shadowing things to come, a Russian warship chased the U.S.S. John McCain destroyer out of the Sea of Japan AKA East Sea, in another close encounter between the Russia and the U.S. Navy. With Biden set to become the 46th president of the United State, Cold War rhetoric has already heated up after four years of détente with 74-year-old President Donald Trump. Trump enjoyed a friendly relationship with 68-year-old President Vladimir Putin, despite Democrats and Republicans in Congress sabotaging Trump’s relationship. For nearly four years, Trump was under surveillance by the FBI for fake charges, largely introduced by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, that Trump was a Russian asset. FBI officials harassed Trump for nearly four years with baseless allegations that he conspired with the Kremlin to win the 2016 presidential election, something alleged by Hillary.
Trump inherited a Cold War mess after former President Barack Obama ousted 35 Russian diplomats Dec/ 31. 2016 for alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Again, without proof, the U.S. accused Russian of sabotaging Hillary’s campaign, turning the presidency over to Trump. FBI officials led by 60-year-old former FBI Director James Comey used Hillary’s paid opposition research AKA “The Steele Dossier.” Trump leaves office with no satisfaction over the FBI’s illegal counterintelligence investigation into his 2016 campaign and presidency. FBI’s continuous harassment of Trump prevented him from substantially improving U.S.-Russian relations. With 77-year-old President-elect Joe Biden and his 56-year-old Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Putin gets more Cold War rhetoric. Today’s confrontation in the Sea of Japan sent Biden a shot across the bow.
Biden’s made repeated statements about Trump’s inappropriate relationship with Putin, while he and Obama drove U.S.-Russian relations to Cold War lows. Trump wanted to improve things with U.S. adversaries but was sabotaged by Democrats and Republicans in Congress. Trump became the first-and-only U.S. president to visit North Korea, holding out prospects for less belligerent relations with 35-year-old dictator Kim Jong-un. With Biden and Blinken at the helm, the U.S. will have a change to improve relations with U.S. enemies. When the naval skirmish happened today in the Sea of Japan, the U.S. insisted its was conducting “freedom of navigation” exercises in international water in Peter the Great Bay, the largest bay in the East Sea. Russian officials said the U.S. violated its territorial water, sailing 2 km or 1.2-miles near the maritime border around 6 a.m. local time or 10 p.m. EST.
Russia warship Admiral Vinogradov chased the U.S.S. John McCain out of Peter the Great Bay, looking to avoid a confrontation. It’s no accident that it’s happening within 24-hours-od Trump ordering the General Services Administration to cooperate with the Biden transition team, essentially conceding the election. Putin has yet to congratulate Biden for his Nov. 3 victory out of respect for Trump while he pursues legal challenges in the courts. Now that it’s over, Putin acknowledged Biden’s victory by harassing the U.S.S. John McCain. “The Admiral Vinograov [ . . .] warned the foreign ship through an international communication channel about the inadmissibility of such actions and the possibility of using a “ramming maneuver,” a most unfriendly message from the Russian Federation. Biden has been making hostile remarks about Putin since running for president.
U.S. Navy officials said that Russia claimed the Bay of Peter the Great as its internal territory, when the U.S. insists it’s international waters. Whatever the territorial waters claimed by Russia is “inconsistent with the rules of international law as reflected in the Law of the Seas Convention to enclose the waters of a bay,” said the U.S. Navy. Russa’s actions send a loud message to the U.S. State Department that they’ve got a lot of work to do to improve U.S.-Russian relations. Putin’s well-aware of Biden’s role played in Dec. 31, 2016 when Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats from Washington. Navy’s 7th Fleet operation was designed to show freedom of navigation in international waters, despite Russian claiming its own territory. Russian Defense Ministry said it would continue to monitor the whereabouts of the U.S.S. John McCain as it roams through international waters.
Showing that things have changed with Russia since Biden’s victory, Russia has now take bold actions to push the limits in land and sea skirmishes. When U.S. navy ships entered the Barents Sea last May, they also tried to assert freedom of navigation, despite close proximity to the Russian Federation. Blinken has his work cut out for him following Trump with regard to Russian diplomacy. For whatever reason, Putin liked dealing with Trump, largely because he considered himself divorced from the Obama administration’s past hostile relations with Russia. Restoring U.S.-Relations won’t be easy with Biden and Blinken accusing Russia of meddling in U.S. elections. Because Democrat won the 2020 presidential election, there are suddenly no claims of Russian interference. Putin’s ready to rumble if Biden and Blinken challenge him, something Trump never needed to do.
