Uh-Oh, pt. II: Beijing has just thrown down the latest gauntlet in a long-simmering territorial dispute with Tokyo -- and Chinas citizens are cheering. On Nov. 23, Chinas Ministry of Defense released a map showing the Chinese Air Defense Identification Zone, a wide swath over the East China Sea, and stated China had the right to monitor and possibly take military action against foreign aircraft that come into that territory. But the area also covers territory currently administered by Japan, including the disputed Diaoyu Islands, which the Japanese call the Senkakus. The move sharply raised tensions not only with Japan, but with the United States... Chinese Netizens seemed aware that the move will probably raise tensions, but they didnt seem to mind. The likelihood of conflict from ‘polished guns between the two armies has just risen, Lin Zhibo, a journalist at the Communist Party mouthpiece Peoples Daily, wrote, invoking a Chinese term for a serious conflict emerging from a small matter. This is a danger we must have the courage to shoulder. But whats different now is the unusual amount of Chinese anger at the United States for getting involved in a dispute that, as one Weibo user wrote, has not one cents worth of relevance to it. Many felt it was time for the United States to acknowledge Chinas increasingly assertive role. There will be much that seriously concerns the United States in the future, wrote one user, paraphrasing Hagels comment. They should get used to it.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 13:53:18 +0000
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