Eyes on The South China Sea #246
By Hank Silverberg
Most Americans probably can't find the South China Sea on a map. Partially because on many maps it's called the Philippine Sea. It's a vast part of the Pacific Ocean that encompasses 1,423,000 square miles bordering China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan, and therein lies the problem.
As I wrote last week, even something as simple as the Barbie movie (see Barbie's nine dashes map from last week) can create controversy over just who owns what in that part of the world.
The South China Sea is one of the busiest shipping lanes on Earth, and therefore has the potential to be a flashpoint for regional conflict that could escalate into World War Three.
Now comes word that on Sunday, a Chinese Coast Guard ship used a water cannon to block a Filipino boat that was attempting to resupply a shoal claimed and occupied by the Philippines in the disputed waters. It's a remote outpost the Filipinos use to back up their claim to part of the sea. It consists of an area of shallow water (a shoal) on which an old ship has been grounded to use as a base of operations.
China has actually built islands with military bases in some parts of the sea to expand their claim to territorial waters.
The United States has no territory or claim in the region, but the U.S. has had naval bases in the Philippines for 100 years, including the huge Olongapo Naval Station at Subic Bay.
This dispute, which also involves the ongoing tension over the status of Taiwan, has every country in the region on edge, including strong American allies, Japan, Australia and South Korea.
China has been making headway in its decades-long effort to dominate that region's economy and continues to push for political control as well.
China's actions this week only involved water cannons, but in the past the Beijing regime has deployed warships and fighter jets on patrol near Taiwan and the northern Philippines and has criticized American presence in what they consider their "sphere of influence."
The United States has been very careful in the region but frankly, may not be paying enough attention--focused instead on a border dispute in Eastern Europe (Ukraine/Russia) and a nonsensical presidential election here at home.
History often has lessons for the future. Our neglect to look closer in Asia in the 1930's led us into World War Two. And today, it's a smaller world.
This kind of international dispute is why our next president, whomever he or she is, needs foreign policy experience with a world view. President Trump kept blaming China for everything but did nothing to mitigate this potential flashpoint, choosing instead to turn inward toward isolationism. President Biden has been paying attention, but domestic politics keeps getting in the way of any real initiative.
I know this is not the kind of thing voters are worried about when they go to the polls. But you should take it into consideration. Our economy will be impacted in the short run, and it could impact our national sovereignty in the not-too-distant future.
So, what's the solution? I don't know. But we need to make it clear to the Chinese that they don't own the ocean. Perhaps some peaceful 7th Fleet naval maneuvers with our friends from Japan, Australia and the Philippines might at least let the Chinese know we are watching?
Your Health!
Are you healthy? Do you eat right and exercise and live an active life? Climate change now threatens all you have achieved.
The changing climate has moved animals and the diseases they carry to new habitats. Ticks, mosquitos, bacteria, algae and fungi are on the move outside their traditional ranges to adapt to climate conditions that are changing rapidly.
In a report issued this past May, the World Health Organization indicated that between 2030 and
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| (Courtesy of adirondackcouncil.org) |
Climate change is already having a huge impact on storms, flooding and heatwaves which are impacting the livelihoods of millions of people across economic status. And the WHO says around the world the stresses and health shocks already in motion could push 100 million into poverty EVERY year from now on if there is no reversal.
We have been warned about this for years, but so far, the world has taken minimal action to reduce the main culprit causing climate change, greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and automobiles.
The problem of course is worldwide, but there seems to be no real political will anywhere to deal with this deadly issue.
The United States needs to take the lead on this both scientifically and politically, but our current polarized climate has prevented any real action.
Endangered Species
After reading the section above you can believe that human beings might soon be added to an endangered species list. But the highly successful program aimed at protecting animal species from extinction 50 years ago may itself be endangered.
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| (Grey Wolf saved from extinction) |
The Endangered Species Act was approved 390-12 in Congress and signed into law by Richard Nixon, with very little opposition back in '73.
But there's been no update to the law since 1992, and the current Congress is trying to weaken it or eliminate it altogether.
The Trump administration ended blanket protections and allowed economic costs to be considered. The impact of climate change was completely ignored.
Part of the problem: about two-thirds of the endangered species live on private property, increasing the financial pressure to remove the endangered designation in exchange for economic development.
A few animals have now been taken off the list even though they are still endangered. And efforts to weaken the law continue. Environmentalists say the prospects are grim unless something is done to reverse the trend.
Dumbest Quote of The Week!
This week's dumbest quote is a reaction to a serious quote. I know I promised not to quote Donald Trump again, but this was a sinister comment that can't be ignored. Talking on an Iowa radio station, in reference to his indictments in three different criminal cases, Trump was asked about those who have said he should be sent to jail. Trump said it was a "very dangerous thing to even talk about, because we do have a tremendously passionate group of voters."
The implication is that group, like those who attacked the Capitol on January 6th of 2021, might resort to violence against those making such comments.
That produced the Dumbest Quote of the Week in response. It came from former Vice President and current presidential candidate, Mike Pence. He said:
"Virtually everyone in our movement are the kind of Americans who love this country, are patriotic, are law-and-order people who would never have done anything like that."
Trouble is Mr. Pence, there are also a lot of people in your "movement" who did do just that on January 6th, and many of them wanted to hang you! And not all of them are in jail at present.
Pence was pretty much out of touch with the American public when he was Vice President, and he seems to have become more lost since then.
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