China on Saturday urged U.S. not to undermine mutual trust and regional peace.

China on Saturday urged U.S. not to undermine mutual trust and regional peace. (NewsAcrossChina).

China on Saturday urged the United States to respect and abide by its laws, and not to undermine the mutual trust and regional peace and stability.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks as reports said a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of Zhongjian Dao, Xisha Islands.

According to the China's law on the territorial sea and contiguous zone enacted in 1992, foreign warships entering China's territorial waters must be approved by the Chinese government.

"The U.S. warship violated Chinese law and entered China' s territorial sea without authorization. The Chinese side conducted surveillance and vocal warnings to the U.S. warship," Hua said.

Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun also issued a statement, saying the U.S. act severely violated Chinese law, sabotaged the peace, security and good order of the waters, and undermined the region' s peace and stability. The Defense Ministry is firmly against this, he said.

Yang said China's law on the territorial sea and contiguous zone accords with the international law and practice, and that many other countries have similar laws.

The Chinese government also issued a statement on territorial sea baseline on May 15, 1996, which announced part of the baseline of the territorial sea adjacent to China's mainland and the baseline of the territorial sea adjacent to the Xisha Islands.

"The U.S. side is fully aware of this, yet it still sent its warship into China' s territorial sea without authorization. It is a deliberate provocation," Yang said in the statement.

According to Yang, Chinese troops on the islands and Navy vessels and warplanes took actions immediately. They identified and verified the U.S. warship, warned and expelled it swiftly.

For many years, the U.S. side has proposed measures to ensure navigation safety of ships and aircraft of all parties, but it repeatedly sent vessels and planes into China' s territorial sea and air space regardless of China's opposition, leading to close encounters of navy and air force troops of the two countries, Yang said.

He added that the move on the U.S. side is very unprofessional and irresponsible for the safety of the troops of both sides, and may cause extremely dangerous consequences.

The Chinese armed forces will take whatever measures necessary to safeguard China's sovereignty and security, no matter what provocations the U.S. side may take, Yang said.  More on this story here.

China's navy chief demands U.S. stop "provocations" in South China Sea

PLA navy chief demands U.S. stop "provocations" in South China Sea. (ICC).

The commander of the People's Liberation Army Navy Wu Shengli Thursday called on the United States to stop its "provocations" in the South China Sea.

The Chinese navy had exercised maximum restraint in the face of U.S. provocations to preserve bilateral ties, Admiral Wu said in a meeting with Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Beijing, referring to recent visits to the South China Sea by U.S. military vessels and planes.

"The U.S. side must stop its provocations in South China Sea and curb its navy operations," Wu said. Enditem

China responds to U.S. Statement: "It is very clear who is breaking the international order and making trouble,"

China responds to U.S. Statement: "It is very clear who is breaking the international order and making trouble," (Icrosschina).

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Tuesday refuted a recent speech made by the U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, stressing that China is a maintainer, builder and contributor to the current international order.

China unswervingly defends peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region as well as international justice, spokesman Hong Lei said at a press briefing when commenting on the speech issued by the Pentagon chief on Saturday.

Carter reportedly said that China presents a challenge to the "international order."

The current international order is based on the purpose and principles of the UN Charter and jointly established by the international community, Hong said, stressing that the most fundamental principles are respect to each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, equality and non-interference in others' internal affairs.

"International order" can not be defined by any individual in the United States at his own will, the spokesman said.

As for the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, Hong said China's position is consistent and clear and remains unchanged.

China has the right to carry out construction on its own territory, because the Nansha Islands have been Chinese territory since ancient times, he said.

"It won't cause any damage to any other country, nor affect the region's navigation freedom," Hong said.

China has always been committed to the peaceful settlement of disputes through negotiation and consultation on the basis of respecting historical facts and international law. The country is willing to work together with ASEAN countries to safeguard peace and stability in the S.China Sea, he said.

China's position is reasonable and lawful and the U.S. side has no right to make irresponsible comments, he said.

Last week, Carter boarded an American aircraft carrier in the South China Sea to demonstrate the U.S.'s commitment to freedom of navigation.

The move posed serious damage to China's sovereignty and security while exacerbating tensions in the region, Hong said.

"It is very clear who is breaking the international order and making trouble,"said Hong. Enditem

China’s defense minister warns US against further South China Sea patrols.

China’s defense minister warns US against further South China Sea patrols.(RT).

China’s defense minister has urged the US not to threaten its sovereignty as well as the nation’s security interests following last week’s incident involving a US naval patrol in the South China Sea.

The concerns were expressed by Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan to US Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, where the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) defense chiefs meeting is taking place.

Chang stressed that the US should not pursue any other dangerous actions that threaten China’s security interests.

Last Tuesday, the USS Lassen passed through a 12-mile limit around Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands archipelago. The reef is one of seven that China has artificially reinforced to support its claim on the archipelago and the sea around it.

Beijing protested the USS Lassen mission in the South China Sea, accusing the US of escalating tensions in the region.

"The actions of the US warship have threatened China's sovereignty and security interests, jeopardized the safety of personnel and facilities on the reefs, and damaged regional peace and stability,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The US replied to the criticism by stating it would sail and fly wherever it wants in international waters and airspace.

“The US has conducted naval operations in the South China Sea in recent days and will conduct similar operations in the future,” Carter said.

Beijing responded by conducting training for its naval jets in the same area a few days later.

Chinese attack sub allegedly tails US #AircraftCarrier https://t.co/xXBRd8xwvk #USSReagan pic.twitter.com/TsX8HssUQf

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) November 4, 2015

China Sea: Beijing ready to build a third runway on disputed islands.

China Sea: Beijing ready to build a third runway on disputed islands. (AN).

Beijing has made further progress in the construction of a third runway on an atoll in the South China Sea, in an area at the center of a bitter territorial dispute. This is shown by new satellite images taken just one month after the government’s announcement that it had stopped expansionist steps to the detriment of Vietnam and the Philippines. The photos date back to the beginning of September and show a building on Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, all similar to those already built by China in Subi Reef and Fiery Cross Reef.

According to reports from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the US intelligence center based in Washington, the new runway is of particular concern for the Philippines. In fact, it allows China to install more patrols to control the Reed Bank, where Manila had previously begun exploration for oil and natural gas.

CSIS expert Bonnie Glaser, adds that the activities promoted by Beijing appear to be aimed at the construction of "military" facilities and structures. An airstrip of about 3 thousand meters, makes it possible to accommodate the majority of military aircraft available in China. And, concludes the expert, the installation of equipment and military vehicles could potentially be "a challenge to the freedom of navigation of the air and sea”.

Evidence of China’s continued "imperialist" activities in the Asia-Pacific region could exacerbate relations between Beijing and Washington just days ahead of the official visit by President Xi Jinping to the United States. Territorial claims, in fact, will be one of the hot topics at the center of talks between the two delegations.

According to experts, China aims to "send a message" to President Barack Obama demonstrating its determination to pursue its interests in the seas even if it means "tension" with the US. Moreover, the Chinese Foreign Ministry continues to assert its "indisputable sovereignty" over the Spratly and the right to build military installations there.

In recent years, Vietnam and the Philippines - which has taken its case to a UN court - have shown growing concern over China's "imperialism" in the South and East China Seas. The Chinese government claims most of the sea (almost 85 per cent), including sovereignty over the disputed Spratly and Paracel islands, in opposition to Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia. For the United States, which backs the claims of Southeast Asia nations, Beijing's so-called 'cow tongue' line is both "illegal" and "irrational".

Anyone with a hegemonic sway over the region would have a strategic advantage, in terms of seabed (oil and gas) development, but also in trade since two thirds of the world's maritime trade transit through it.  Almost uninhabited, the area's islands are thought to hold extensive oil and natural gas reserves as well as other raw materials.

China warns U.S.: "Our determination to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity is as hard as a rock".

China warns U.S.: "Our determination to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity is as hard as a rock". (SP).

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi rebuked US State Secretary John Kerry's effort to limit what the US has called "manufacturing sovereignty" in the South China Sea.

China refused to back down to US Secretary of State John Kerry's demands that the country stops land reclamation on islands in the South China Sea.

The United States has been increasingly critical of China's activities in the South China Sea, which have included building up artificial islands in the area disputed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam and other countries. China does not consider the United States a party to the South China Sea dispute.

"I would like to reaffirm that China's determination to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity is as hard as a rock," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

China considers infrastructure improvements on islands in the South China Sea within its sovereign rights. Other countries involved in the dispute have also built up infrastructure and land reclamation efforts on islands. Read the full story here.

Beijing Shocks US With Unbelievable Progress of Artificial Island & Airstrip in South China Sea.

Beijing Shocks US With Unbelievable Progress of Artificial Island and Airstrip in South China Sea.(SP).

New satellite imagery shows the extent of China’s construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea. Fiery Cross Reef could soon serve as a military-grade runway in the middle of the ocean.

And despite its own military presence in the region, US officials are in panic. Dredging sand from the seafloor, the Chinese government has been steadily building artificial landmasses atop sunken reefs in the Spratly Islands archipelago. In part, the islands will be used to bolster emergency response in the region.

But Beijing also says the islands will be used as military defense posts, which worries officials in Washington, already concerned about a growing Chinese influence.

Images obtained by IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly from Airbus Defence and Space show just how rapid the island growth has been. With construction beginning only last year, Fiery Cross Reef is now home to China’s first airstrip in the South China Sea. With 503 metered already paved, the runway could be as long as 3,000 meters once completed. That’s long enough to support heavy military transport planes and fighter jets, according to Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies. Hmmmm.....Rumor has it The Pres. is contacting China to know if there are possibilities of building golf trips in the Ocean. Read the full story here

"Vorsprung durch technik" - China Plans To Put Floating Docks On Disputed Islands

"Vorsprung durch technik" - China Plans To Put Floating Docks On Disputed Islands.HT: PopularScience.

What’s a country to do with a chain of disputed islands? One option is just “go ahead and build a dock to claim them,” and attach it to some of the islands.

Shown off at the Shiptec China 2014 exhibition, China has a plan for floating docks it wants to put in the disputed Spratly Islands.

Roughly, the Spratly Islands refers to an area 500 nautical miles long by 400 nautical miles wide in the South China Sea. Situated between China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan, the Spratly Islands only barely count as islands.

The archipelago has as few as 12 proper islands and 150 to 400 significant chunks of land. Dubbed “nautical features,” some of them are fully submerged at high tide. Combined, the islands and little land nubs have a surface area of less than two square miles.

They do, however, have tremendous potential, thanks to the plentiful in the fish that live among the islands to the oil and natural gas beneath the sea in the area.

So while the islands themselves aren’t much, the area they represent is valuable, and there’s a long-running international dispute about who owns them. To better secure their claims to the area, some nations are even building garrisons and stationing troops on the tiny specks of islands.

China’s planned floating docks will be island-adjacent, creating useful space where there’s barely any already.

Clever engineering, all to advance a geopolitical game of “I’m not touching you.” Hmmm...Isn't Great Britain an Island? Read the full story here.

Three Chinese coast guard ships enter Japanese waters near Senkakus.

Three Chinese coast guard ships enter Japanese waters near Senkakus.(TJN).

NAHA (Jiji Press) — Three Chinese coast guard ships entered Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Thursday morning.

This is the first such intrusion by a Chinese government ship since Oct. 18 and the 26th this year.

The three ships — the Haijing 2101, the Haijing 2112 and the Haijing 2305 — crossed into the Japanese waters west-northwest of Uotsurijima, the largest island in the Japanese -administered Senkaku chain, around 10 a.m., according to the Japan Coast Guard’s 11th regional headquarters in Naha, the capital of the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa.

A Japan Coast Guard patrol ship warned the three vessels to leave the area, but they did not comply immediately. China claims the uninhabited islands, which it calls Diaoyu.

Putin gives green light to sale of S-400 missile system to China.

Putin gives green light to sale of S-400 missile system to China.(CWT).

Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, has given a green light to sell the country's newest S-400 air defense guided missile system to China, which Russian media claim will give Beijing an edge in the airspace of the Taiwan Strait and over islands in the East China Sea at the center of a dispute with Japan, reports the military news website of Huanqiu.com, the Chinese-language website of China's Global Times.

Beijing has been interested in acquiring the guided missile system since 2011. Two years ago, Russia talked with several countries interested in buying the system but was forced to suspend negotiations in order to ensure its supply to the Russian military, the general manager of a Russian national defense export company told Russian newspaper Kommersant in January this year. Export sales of the system may not begin until 2016.

Talk of a potential deal with China drew concerns from Russian security officials who worried that it may not only affect the supply of the system to Russia's own military but also that China could back-engineer the technology to produce its own systems.

The system's manufacturer Almaz-Antei has eased the former concerns by delivering the first batch of the system. Moscow also announced a plan in January to build three new plants for the contractor in order to build more air defense and anti-guided missile systems. An intellectual property rights agreement that China and Russia signed with regard to the arms trade has also come into effect.

Though in what volume China wishes to acquire the S-400 system is unclear, Kommersant's source said China wants enough systems to equip two to four battalions.

The People's Liberation Army has already obtained an air defense guided missile system and another command system from Russian and deployed them in the defense of Beijing and Shanghai, according to the paper, which estimated that the country would be able to control the airspace over Taiwan and the disputed Diaoyutai islands (Diaoyu to China, Senkaku to Japan).

Head of US naval intelligence in the Pacific claims China plans quick attack against Japan.

Head of US naval intelligence in the Pacific claims China plans quick attack against Japan.(Alalam).

Head of US naval intelligence in the Pacific claims China is stepping up its training for a “short, sharp war” designed to seize the disputed Senkaku islands from Japan.

Addressing a conference sponsored by the US Naval Institute in San Diego, California, Captain James Fannell said the recent Missing Action 2013 exercises were training for the invasion of the uninhabited archipelago, which China considers as its sovereign territory and refers to as the Diaoyutai Islands.

“We concluded that the [People's Liberation Army] has been given the new task to be able to conduct a short, sharp war to destroy Japanese forces in the East China Sea, following with what can only be expected as the seizure of the Senkakus or even a southern Ryukyu island,” said Capt. Fannell, director of intelligence for the US Pacific Fleet.

The Ryukyu islands are Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture, which China has also recently laid claim to.

“As a senior US government official recently stated, there is growing concern that China’s pattern of behaviour in the South China Sea reflects an incremental effort by China to assert control of the area contained in the so-called ‘nine-dash line,’ despite the objections of its neighbors and despite the lack of any explanation or apparent basis under international law,” Capt. Fannell said.

“By the way, ‘protection of maritime rights’ is a Chinese euphemism for coerced seizure of coastal rights of China’s neighbours,” he added.

Beijing has laid claim to vast swathes of the area based on its sovereignty over the Spratley and Paracel island groups.

China is undeterred by Washington declaring that is does not recognize the “nine-dash line” drawn up by Beijing to encompass its territorial claims – which go as close as 125 miles from the mainland of the Philippines.

Reports suggest that as many as 40,000 service personnel took part in the exercise, which was based on a scenario of invading an island “where China has encountered strong resistance to its claims of territorial or maritime assets”.

An analyst with Japan’s National Institute of Defense Studies said Tokyo has “good reason” to be concerned given that Beijing has deployed an aircraft carrier on operation patrols in the South China Sea and has purchased two large hovercraft, designed to land invasion forces on a beachhead, from the Ukraine.

Beijing has announced that it will develop indigenous versions of the hovercraft as well as a new class of large landing ships, designed to put large numbers of troops and equipment ashore.Hmmm.....The World realy has become a 'much safer place' since Pres Obama is a the helm........'leading from behind the golf course'.

Related: http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2014/02/06/u-s-official-sees-unprecedented-spike-in-risky-china-activity-in-island-dispute-with-japan/

Japanese minister for oceanic policies and territorial issues claims 280 uninhabited islands as territory.

Japanese minister for oceanic policies and territorial issues claims 280 uninhabited islands as territory.HT: PhantomReport.Source: SCMP.

Japan yesterday said it will accelerate the nationalisation of 280 uninhabited islands in a bid to strengthen control of the country’s maritime territory.

Ichita Yamamoto, minister for oceanic policies and territorial issues, said Tokyo would formally register the remote islands, which are among the more than 400 land features that define Japan’s territorial waters.

“We will register the remote islands as state property to enhance their management,” Yamamoto said.

Both moves announced by Tokyo yesterday could further fuel tensions between Japan and its neighbours China and South Korea.

The locations of these 280 islands are not known yet and it is not clear whether they are contested by other countries. 

When asked by the South China Morning Post, the secretariat of the Headquarters for Ocean Policy in Japan said the islands were “all around Japan” and were not under dispute. Media reports have said that these islands are without owners, and some of them are even nameless.Hmmm....Something tells me the Chinese won't like that at all.Read the full story here.

Chinese Navy Tries to Force US Warship to Stop in International Waters.

Chinese Navy Tries to Force US Warship to Stop in International Waters. HT: InfidelBloggers.

The Chinese navy tried to force a US guided missile warship, USS Cowpens, to stop and change direction in the South China Sea this week. 

The cruiser was recently in the Phiippines to assist in disaster relief. The Free Beacon reported, via Free Republic:

A Chinese naval vessel tried to force a U.S. guided missile warship to stop in international waters recently, causing a tense military standoff in the latest case of Chinese maritime harassment, according to defense officials.
The guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens, which recently took part in disaster relief operations in the Philippines, was confronted by Chinese warships in the South China Sea near Beijing’s new aircraft carrier Liaoning, according to officials familiar with the incident. “On December 5th, while lawfully operating in international waters in the South China Sea, USS Cowpens and a PLA Navy vessel had an encounter that required maneuvering to avoid a collision,” a Navy official said.

 “This incident underscores the need to ensure the highest standards of professional seamanship, including communications between vessels, to mitigate the risk of an unintended incident or mishap.”

  A State Department official said the U.S. government issued protests to China in both Washington and Beijing in both diplomatic and military channels.

 The Cowpens was conducting surveillance of the Liaoning at the time. The carrier had recently sailed from the port of Qingdao on the northern Chinese coast into the South China Sea. According to the officials, the run-in began after a Chinese navy vessel sent a hailing warning and ordered the Cowpens to stop. The cruiser continued on its course and refused the order because it was operating in international waters. Hmmm....This wouldn't make any sense unless they want to check how far the 'Leading from behind the Golf course' will retreat, God he might even send his Lawyer to Bejing.

China sets Air Defense Zone over East China Sea and disputed Islands.

China sets Air Defense Zone over East China Sea and disputed Islands.(ABCnews).

CHINA – The Chinese Defense Ministry on Saturday issued a map of an East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone that includes a chain of disputed islands also claimed by Japan, triggering a protest from Tokyo. 

Beijing also issued a set of rules for the zone, saying all aircraft must notify Chinese authorities and are subject to emergency military measures if they do not identify themselves or obey orders from Beijing. It said it would “identify, monitor, control and react” to any air threats or unidentified flying objects coming from the sea.

The rules went into effect Saturday. In Tokyo, Junichi Ihara, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, protested by phone to China’s acting ambassador to Japan, Han Zhiqiang, saying the zone is “totally unacceptable,” according to a ministry statement. Ihara also criticized China for “one-sidedly” setting up the zone and escalating bilateral tensions over the islands. Both Beijing and Tokyo claim the islets, called Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese.

Protests erupted throughout China last year to denounce the Japanese government’s purchase of the islands from private ownership. A rising economic and military power, China has become more assertive over its maritime claims.

It has been in disputes with several neighboring countries over islands in the East and South China seas. “By establishing the air-defense zone Beijing has … potentially escalated the danger of accidental collisions between the Chinese military and the U.S. and Japanese counterparts,” said Tomohiko Taniguchi, a counselor in the office of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “It poses a serious challenge against freedom of movement in the sky and in the seas.” 

China said the zone is in line with the practice of other nations that have similar zones to protect their coasts. The new zone overlaps with Japan’s existing zone, which also includes the disputed islands.

“This is a necessary measure taken by China in exercising its self-defense right,” Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun was quoted as saying on the ministry’s website. “It is not directed against any specific country or target. It does not affect the freedom of over-flight in the related airspace.” South Korea and Taiwan also claim the barren, uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. –

Now China Says It May Own Okinawa, Too.

Now China Says It May Own Okinawa, Too.(BI).

China's top newspaper on Wednesday published a call for a review of Japan's sovereignty over the island of Okinawa -- home to major US bases -- with the Asian powers already embroiled in a territorial row.

The lengthy article in the People's Daily, China's most-circulated newspaper and the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist party, argued that the country may have rights to the Ryukyu chain, which includes Okinawa.

The island is home to major US air force and marine bases as well as 1.3 million people, who are considered more closely related to Japan in ethnic and linguistic terms than to China.

The authors of the article, two scholars at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, considered China's top state-run think-tank, said the Ryukyus were a "vassal state" of China before Japan annexed the islands in the late 1800s.

"Unresolved problems relating to the Ryukyu Islands have reached the time for reconsideration," wrote Zhang Haipeng and Li Guoqiang, citing post-World War II declarations that required Japan to return Chinese territory.

The article also repeated Chinese government arguments for China's historical claims over a set of tiny uninhabited islets in the East China Sea known as Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese.Read the full story here.

1,000 Japanese Officers To Participate In "Island Recapture" Drill In California.

1,000 Japanese Officers To Participate In "Island Recapture" Drill In California.HT: ZeroHedge.

Earlier this week Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to “expel by force” any Chinese landing on the islets.“We would take decisive action against any attempt to enter territorial waters and to land,” Abe told the Diet in response to questions from lawmakers. “We would never allow” a landing.“It would be natural for us to expel by force (the Chinese) if they were to make a landing,” he said.

Obviously, when we first read this latest incarnation of tiny David provoking a massive Goliath, we couldn't help but smile. Yet it turns out that Japan is indeed hell bent on pushing China to the limit, and then some, in this parading around with its best friend: the United States.

Moments ago Kyodo reported that Japan's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that "about 1,000 officers of the nation's Self-Defense Forces will participate in a U.S. drill to be held in California in June involving recapturing control of an isolated island."

Did we mention the drill would be held in California?

It is quite clear what said "recaptured island" is supposed to represent. It is even clearer what the US backing and sponsorship of such a drill on US soil is supposed to telegraph to China, so we won't go into any details.

It will be the first time for SDF personnel to participate in such a drill on the U.S. mainland.

Japan's participation could trigger a backlash from China as the Defense Ministry has been strengthening its capability to protect isolated islands amid soured ties with China over territorial issues surrounding the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, experts on defense issues said.

Actually China does not need to to twitch even the smallest military muscle: all it has to do is engage in a perfectly peaceful trade blockade of Japan: halt all exports to the tiny (by comparison) and irradiated nation, while boycotting all imports from Tokyo, which in better days amounted to 20% of all external trade. By doing so, China assures two things: the imminent collapse of Abenomics as even a 1,000,000 Nikkei225 will do nothing at all to prevent the country from entering an energy shortage shock, even as the local manufacturing sector implodes under its own weight, losing a core export market, and be forced to dump products on local soil in the process unleashing hyperdeflation.

In other words, if China wants, it can terminate Abe's career in months. And since the entire fate of the "developed world's" banking system is now in the hands of the BOJ and the successful conclusion of its reflation experiment, China just may just have been given the perfect opportunity to take down the (G-)7 birds with one stone.

The only question is whether Beijing feels it is ready and is willing to now finally truly challenge the Western reserve currency hegemony. Or wait some more. Either way, it is only a matter of time now.Read the full story here.

PM Shinzo Abe warns: "Japan would respond with force if any attempt is made to land on disputed islands."

PM Shinzo Abe warns: "Japan would respond with force if any attempt is made to land on disputed islands."(BBC). His comments came as eight Chinese government ships sailed near East China Sea islands that both nations claim. A flotilla of 10 fishing boats carrying Japanese activists was also reported to be in the area, as well as the Japanese coastguard.

Mr Abe was speaking in parliament hours after dozens of lawmakers visited a controversial war-linked shrine.

A total of 168 lawmakers paid their respects at the Yasukuni Shrine, which commemorates Japan's war dead, including war criminals, in a move likely to anger regional neighbours who say the shrine is a reminder of Japan's military past. The warning from the Japanese prime minister was the most explicit to China since Mr Abe took power in December, the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports from Tokyo.

Asked in parliament what he would do if Chinese ships tried to land on the disputed islands, Mr Abe said they would be expelled by force. "Since it has become the Abe government, we have made sure that if there is an instance where there is an intrusion into our territory or it seems that there could be landing on the islands then we will deal will it strongly," he said.

The warning came as eight Chinese ships sailed around the islands - called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

The Japanese coast guard said it was the highest number of Chinese boats in the area since Tokyo nationalised part of the island chain in September 2012.

China said its ships had been monitoring Japanese vessels. The State Oceanic Administration issued a statement saying three of its ships had "found" several Japanese ships around the islands and "immediately ordered another five ships in the East China Sea to meet the three ships".

Ten Japanese boats carrying around 80 activists arrived in the area early on Tuesday, Reuters news agency reported, monitored by Japanese Coast Guard vessels. Public broadcaster NHK said the boats were carrying "regional lawmakers and members of the foreign media".Read the full story here.

Video - Chinese Troop Movements indication of coming War?

Chinese Troop Movements indication of coming War?HT: BlackListedNews.Tanks, one by one, moving along a main road in China’s coastal Fujian province. Driving up speculations that the Chinese military may be warming up for war. Local residents took these pictures between February 3 to February 6. At times, the line of tanks and artillery blocked traffic for several miles. And it wasn’t just in Fujian province. These military vehicles were spotted further up the coast, in neighboring Zhejiang province. According to dissident website, molihua.org, these tanks in Hubei province are being transported from a military base to the coast. On February 7, State-run Global Times published this article saying there is a “serious possibility” a military conflict may flare up between China and Japan. It continues to say that fewer and fewer people are hopeful for a peaceful resolution to the Diaoyu Island crisis.Read the full story here.

Chinese colonel raises nuclear War scenario.

Chinese colonel raises nuclear War scenario.(Smh).A CHINESE military officer has raised the spectre of nuclear weapons and warned Australia not to side with the United States and Japan as a territorial dispute in the East China Sea continues to escalate.
Senior Colonel Liu Mingfu, of the National Defence University, blamed America's ''orchestration'' and Japan's ''militarism'' for rising tensions over disputed islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
''America is the global tiger and Japan is Asia's wolf and both are now madly biting China,'' Colonel Liu said. ''Of all the animals, Chinese people hate the wolf the most.''
China was a peaceful nation but it would fight to the death if seriously attacked, he said.
Asked about the People's Liberation Army fighting capability, Colonel Liu referred to the PLA department that houses China's strategic missile and nuclear arsenal. He raised a hypothetical scenario that he said would justify a nuclear attack, while clarifying that he was not calling upon China to take such measures.
''If this Japanese wolf again attacks America's Pearl Harbour or Australia's Darwin, how do you know it wouldn't receive another nuclear bomb?'' Colonel Liu said. ''The world would hail if Japan receives such a blow.
''I don't want to mention China here, as it is sensitive,'' he added.
Colonel Liu is one of a group of outspoken hawkish PLA officers who do not claim to speak on behalf of the leadership but are given licence to speak stridently on some issues.
Foreign diplomats say they can serve to provide unofficial warnings, test foreign reactions and rally nationalistic support for the Communist Party or sections of it. Colonel Liu directly warned Australia not to follow the US or Japan into any military conflict with China.
He said Australia should play the role of a ''kind-hearted lamb'' and China would discourage it from being led astray.
''Australia should never play the jackal for the tiger or dance with the wolf,'' he said.
Colonel Liu asked that his message be conveyed directly to the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, as she prepares to deliver a major speech on national security. Like her predecessors, Ms Gillard has maintained that Australia will not have to choose between its economic and security interests.
''American hegemony is not at its dawn and not at its zenith,'' Colonel Liu said. ''It is at its sunset and night is coming.''
In separate written comments Colonel Liu said the US was building ''a mini-NATO'' to contain China, with the US and Japan at its core and Australia within its orbit. Hmmmm......Confucius say: If you turn an oriental around, he become disoriented. Read the full story here.