THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, July 7, 2011


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PRC PRESSES PROVOCATIVE CLAIMS IN SOUTH CHINA SEA Kaohsiung, Tai-


by John J. Metzler Syndicated Columnist


wan - A rhe- torical conflict has roiled the waves of the South China Sea, the stra- tegic resource- rich region bor- dered , and in part claimed in various parts,


by six South East Asian states. But while Beijing is shoving its political agenda into the disputed waters, the United States cor- rectly fears being caught in the diplomatic crossfire as claims and counterclaims by regional states particularly Vietnam and the Phil- ippines, threaten to spill over into scattered maritime incidents. Seen from a front row seat in Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s great com- mercial port city on the northern edge of the South China Sea, the region resembles a great maritime basin through which thread the major sea lanes of communica- tion to Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Russia. Yet the Sea equally boasts mineral


and possibly petroleum resources. The widely scattered Spratly and Paracel Islands moreover, some of which are garrisoned, are vari- ously claimed by Mainland China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, as well as the Republic of China on Taiwan. Sovereignty claims by an assertive People’s Re- public of China have rattled nerves and have caused Vietnam to stage live fire naval drills to ward off the Chinese encroachments. The South China Sea poses the


risk and potential for a serious maritime incident waiting to hap- pen. Vietnam has played an obvious


game of sabre rattling towards China; much of this has to do with the Indochinese nation’s historic rifts with Beijing as much as with Hanoi’s own domestic political scene. Vietnam has been prospect- ing for petroleum in the offshore waters. As Taipei’s authoritative China Post editorialized, “The Viet- namese wish to draw the United States into any possible fray with Beijing.” The Philippines are most exposed


to Beijing’s maritime muscle flex- ing, and Manila’s outdated navy and military is no match for China; thus the Manila government looks


to the USA as its ultimate protec- tor. Significantly the USA is treaty bound to protect the Philip- pines under a 1951 accord. Thus Washington has wisely tried to turn down the heat as to avoid any miscalculation or flashpoint which could inadvertently involve already stretched American mili- tary forces. The Republic of China on Tai-


wan controls the Pratas Islands and garrisons Taiping Isle in the Spratly’s. In a fit of bluster PRC Vice For-


eign Minister Cui Tangkai warned that American support of regional partners in the region “can only make things worse,” and warned Washington “I believe some coun- tries are playing with fire and I hope that the U.S. won’t be burned by this fire.” So why has the South China Sea issue suddenly reemerged? Over the past few years, inter- national law to the contrary, Bei- jing’s rulers have asserted that the entire 648,000 sq. mile South Chi- na Sea falls under “Chinese sov- ereignty.” Without taking sides on specific sovereignty claims, the USA asserts these vital sea lanes pass through international waters. State Department official Kurt Campbell recently affirmed “We want tensions to subside. We have a strong interest in the main- tenance of peace and stability.” Yet the Beijing leadership is fac-


ing some significant milestones. The 90th anniversary of the found- ing of the Communist Party of China on July 1st and the count- down to the Autumn 2012 Party Congress in Beijing have provided platforms for ramped up nation- alist sentiments. Pressing high octane patriotic themes such as China’s rightful role in the world offers a clear political payoff for factions political jockeying among the assertive security establish- ment as well as the CCP’s vocal Left-wing. Beijing’s heated rhetoric com-


bined with the PRC’s surge in naval power allows for geopolitical hu- bris to view the South China Sea as a “Chinese lake.” Conversely Washington stresses freedom of navigation, but given naval force cutbacks the U.S. is hard pressed to maintain a credible force profile in the Pacific. . Singapore has chastised China


by saying that as a major trading nation, “Singapore has a critical interest in anything affecting free- dom of navigation in all interna- tional sea lanes including those in the South China Sea.” The ASEAN group offers the


best collective defense for regional states as to defuse this percolating political problem; the ten member organization is on record as favor- ing regional solutions. ASEAN’s political clout offers smaller states a multilateral diplomatic response


to Mainland China and can equal- ly call upon powers such as the United States. Given that the Obama Adminis-


tration is perceived to be politically unsteady in East Asia, the PRC is probing for weak resolve among regional states. Should Beijing sense a power vacuum, be assured it will attempt to fill it.


John J. Metzler is a United Na-


tions correspondent covering diplo- matic and defense issues.


IS DEMOCRACY VIABLE? The media


by Thomas Sowell Syndicated Columnist


have recently been so preoc- cupied with a Congressman’s photograph of himself in his underwear that there has been scant atten- tion paid to the fact that Iran contin-


ues advancing toward creating a nuclear bomb, and nobody is doing anything that is likely to stop them. Nuclear weapons in the hands


of the world’s leading sponsor of international terrorism might seem to be something that would sober up even the most giddy members of the chattering class. But that chilling prospect cannot seem to compete for attention with cheap behavior by an im- mature Congressman, infatuated with himself. A society that cannot or will not


focus on matters of life and death is a society whose survival as a free nation is at least question- able. Hard as it may be to con- ceive how the kind of world that one has been used to, and taken for granted, can come to an end, it can happen in the lifetime of today’s generation. Those who founded the United


States of America were keenly aware that they were making a radical departure in the kinds of governments under which hu- man beings had lived over the centuries -- and that its success was by no means guaranteed. Monarchies in Europe had lasted


for centuries and the Chinese dynasties for thousands of years. But a democratic republic was something else. While the convention that was


writing the Constitution of the United States was still in session, a lady asked Benjamin Franklin what the delegation was creating. “A republic, madam,” he said, “if you can keep it.” In the middle of the next cen-


tury, Abraham Lincoln still posed it as a question whether “gov- ernment of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth.” Years earlier, Lincoln had warned of the dangers to a free society from its own designing power-seekers -- and how only the vigilance, wis- dom and dedication of the public could preserve their freedom. But, today, few people seem to


see such dangers, either inter- nally or internationally. A recent poll showed that nearly


half the American public believes that the government should re- distribute wealth. That so many people are so willing to blithely put such an enormous and dan- gerous arbitrary power in the hands of politicians -- risking their own freedom, in hopes of getting what someone else has -- is a painful sign of how far many citizens and voters fall short of what is needed to preserve a democratic republic. The ease with which people


with wealth can ship it overseas electronically, or put it in tax shelters at home, means that raising the tax rate on wealthy people is not going to bring in the See SOWELL on 48


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