U.S. Destroyer Sails by Artificial Chinese Islands: U.S. Warned to Back-Off by China

A U.S. destroyer, the 'Lassen,' sailed by one of three artificial Chinese islands in the South China Sea, and China has essentially warned the U.S. to back-off.

Over the last few years, China has been flexing it's military and economic power, attempting to assert its sovereignty over the South China Sea by creating artificial islands built around reefs. And the latest incident is yet another test of China/U.S. relations.

"In little more than 18 months, China has reclaimed more than 2000 acres at three main locations in the Spratly Islands -- Subi, Mischief and Fiery Cross reefs."

The size of the artificial islands is sufficient that airplanes, including fighters and bombers would be able to take-off and land. While admiration for the effort of building islands is in order, it is also cause for concern. The Chinese have been on the rise for many years, with a national economy larger than that of the U.S. "China's gross domestic product is worth $17.6 trillion, adjusted for China's relatively low cost of living, compared with $17.4 trillion for the U.S."

With a massive economy and military, expansion of China into the South China Sea is a concern shared by both the U.S. and the Phillipines. The purpose of the destroyer's journey within the 12 mile limit was to show that U.S. does not recognize the artificial islands as falling within maritime sovereignty of China.

The Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, responded with: "'We advise the U.S. side to think twice before action, not to conduct any rash action, and not to create trouble out of nothing.'"

What happens next is ultimately up to the politicians, but considering the somewhat taut state of Chinese/U.S. relations due to Chinese ownership of massive parts of U.S. debt as well as the United States' desire to remain a dominant force world-wide, this could be a first step towards a larger conflict. Hopefully things will remain peaceful.

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