Showing posts with label Geopolitics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Geopolitics. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
India and U.S. deepen defense ties with landmark agreement
By Rama Lakshmi August 30 at 4:30 AM
NEW DELHI — After nearly a decade of painstaking discussions, India and the United States signed a landmark defense agreement Tuesday that will increase the military cooperation between two of the world’s largest democracies.
The agreement was finalized during a visit to Washington by Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar, and it was touted as a symbol of deeper defense ties between the two nations in an increasingly tense part of the world.
The Latest: US asks Turkey to focus on fight against IS
The Washington Post
By Associated Press August 29
BEIRUT — The Latest on the developments in the Syrian civil war (all times local):
10:20 p.m.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the United States is trying to “de-conflict” U.S.- backed actions against the Islamic State by Turkey and by the American-backed Syrian Kurdish rebels known as the Syrian Defense Forces.
Carter says some of the SDF fighters are affiliated with the so-called YPG, a Kurdish organization that Turkey considers a terrorist group. Carter says the U.S. works with all SDF fighters “in our common interest to defeat” the Islamic State group.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Turkish Military Begins Major Offensive Into Syria in Fight Against ISIS
By TIM ARANGO and CEYLAN YEGINSUAUG. 24, 2016
The New York Times
ISTANBUL — Turkey mounted its largest military effort yet in the Syrian conflict on Wednesday, sending tanks, warplanes and special operations forces over the border in a United States-backed drive to capture an Islamic State stronghold in Syria.
The joint offensive on the city of Jarabulus, one of the last border strongholds of the Islamic State, began hours before Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, the Turkish capital. The timing seemed aimed at easing tensions between the two countries raised by the failed coup in Turkey last month.
The New York Times
ISTANBUL — Turkey mounted its largest military effort yet in the Syrian conflict on Wednesday, sending tanks, warplanes and special operations forces over the border in a United States-backed drive to capture an Islamic State stronghold in Syria.
The joint offensive on the city of Jarabulus, one of the last border strongholds of the Islamic State, began hours before Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, the Turkish capital. The timing seemed aimed at easing tensions between the two countries raised by the failed coup in Turkey last month.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Turkey Moves To Restore Relations With Russia And Israel On The Same Day
Closer ties could mean a boost to Turkish tourism, gas prospects for Israel and greater security cooperation.
06/27/2016 03:19 pm ET | Updated 14 hours ago
The Huffington Post
Sophia Jones
Middle East Correspondent, The WorldPost
ISTANBUL — Turkish leaders on Monday announced a series of landmark moves meant to normalize ties with Russia and Israel after years of tumultuous relations with the two leading world powers.
Strengthened relations — a result of a deal with Israel and a letter to the Russian president calling for restored ties — could lead to a boosted economy and tourism sector in Turkey, lucrative Mediterranean gas prospects for Israel and greater security cooperation at a crucial time in the region.
06/27/2016 03:19 pm ET | Updated 14 hours ago
The Huffington Post
Sophia Jones
Middle East Correspondent, The WorldPost
ISTANBUL — Turkish leaders on Monday announced a series of landmark moves meant to normalize ties with Russia and Israel after years of tumultuous relations with the two leading world powers.
Strengthened relations — a result of a deal with Israel and a letter to the Russian president calling for restored ties — could lead to a boosted economy and tourism sector in Turkey, lucrative Mediterranean gas prospects for Israel and greater security cooperation at a crucial time in the region.
Friday, June 24, 2016
China Is Not Trying to ‘Rule the Waves’
06/23/2016 02:10 pm ET
The Huffington Post
Liu Xiaoming
China’s ambassador to Great Britain
LONDON — “Rule, Britannia! Rule the waves!” This was the patriotic chant of the British Royal Navy when the British Empire was taking shape. That naval power was the force that enabled Britain to rise to world dominance 250 years ago.
Today, some suggest that China is singing a 21st-century version of this famous song with new verses: “China rule the waves“. These commentators imply China is turning the South China Sea into a “South China Lake“ by building military bases and blocking the freedom of navigation.
The Huffington Post
Liu Xiaoming
China’s ambassador to Great Britain
LONDON — “Rule, Britannia! Rule the waves!” This was the patriotic chant of the British Royal Navy when the British Empire was taking shape. That naval power was the force that enabled Britain to rise to world dominance 250 years ago.
Today, some suggest that China is singing a 21st-century version of this famous song with new verses: “China rule the waves“. These commentators imply China is turning the South China Sea into a “South China Lake“ by building military bases and blocking the freedom of navigation.
Thursday, June 23, 2016
U.S. warns China against provocations once court rules on sea claims
Wed Jun 22, 2016 6:43pm EDT
WASHINGTON | BY DAVID BRUNNSTROM AND MATT SPETALNICK
Reuters
The United States warned China on Wednesday against taking "additional provocative actions" following an impending international court ruling on the South China Sea that is expected to largely reject Beijing's broad territorial claims.
A senior State Department official voiced skepticism at China's claim that dozens of countries backed its position in a case the Philippines has brought against Beijing and vowed that Washington would uphold U.S. defense commitments.
WASHINGTON | BY DAVID BRUNNSTROM AND MATT SPETALNICK
Reuters
The United States warned China on Wednesday against taking "additional provocative actions" following an impending international court ruling on the South China Sea that is expected to largely reject Beijing's broad territorial claims.
A senior State Department official voiced skepticism at China's claim that dozens of countries backed its position in a case the Philippines has brought against Beijing and vowed that Washington would uphold U.S. defense commitments.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
ISIS Expands Reach Despite Military and Financial Setbacks
By MATTHEW ROSENBERG, HELENE COOPER and NICHOLAS KULISHAPRIL 12, 2016
The New York Times
WASHINGTON — American airstrikes have killed 25,000 Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria and incinerated millions of dollars plundered by the militants, according to Pentagon officials.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces have taken back 40 percent of the militant group’s land in Iraq, the officials say, and forces backed by the West have seized a sizable amount of territory in Syria that had been controlled by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
But the battlefield successes enjoyed by Western-backed forces in the Islamic State’s heartland have done little to stop the expansion of the militants to Europe, North Africa and Afghanistan. The attacks this year in Brussels, Istanbul and other cities only reinforced the sense of a terrorist group on the march, and among American officials and military experts, there is renewed caution in predicting progress in a fight that they say is likely to go on for years.
The New York Times
WASHINGTON — American airstrikes have killed 25,000 Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria and incinerated millions of dollars plundered by the militants, according to Pentagon officials.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces have taken back 40 percent of the militant group’s land in Iraq, the officials say, and forces backed by the West have seized a sizable amount of territory in Syria that had been controlled by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
But the battlefield successes enjoyed by Western-backed forces in the Islamic State’s heartland have done little to stop the expansion of the militants to Europe, North Africa and Afghanistan. The attacks this year in Brussels, Istanbul and other cities only reinforced the sense of a terrorist group on the march, and among American officials and military experts, there is renewed caution in predicting progress in a fight that they say is likely to go on for years.
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Like the US, China wants a national electricity grid. Unlike the US, China’s just building it.
Vox
http://www.vox.com/2016/3/30/11332900/china-long-distance-transmission
Updated by David Roberts on March 30, 2016, 3:00 p.m. ET
Wind and sunlight are often concentrated in sparsely populated, remote areas. Getting wind and solar power to the population centers where it's needed involves building long-distance power lines. Lots of them.
Earlier this week I wrote about a new long-distance power line in the US and the long, slow path it took to win approval. It was proposed in 2009; construction is expected to begin next year and finish in 2020. Like everything involving electricity in the US, it had to navigate a skein of overlapping jurisdictions, multiple state and local authorities, and federal rules. Every landowner and stakeholder had their say.
So I chuckled when I ran across this Reuters headline yesterday: "China pushes for mandatory integration of renewable power." That's the other way to do it!
http://www.vox.com/2016/3/30/11332900/china-long-distance-transmission
Updated by David Roberts on March 30, 2016, 3:00 p.m. ET
Wind and sunlight are often concentrated in sparsely populated, remote areas. Getting wind and solar power to the population centers where it's needed involves building long-distance power lines. Lots of them.
Earlier this week I wrote about a new long-distance power line in the US and the long, slow path it took to win approval. It was proposed in 2009; construction is expected to begin next year and finish in 2020. Like everything involving electricity in the US, it had to navigate a skein of overlapping jurisdictions, multiple state and local authorities, and federal rules. Every landowner and stakeholder had their say.
So I chuckled when I ran across this Reuters headline yesterday: "China pushes for mandatory integration of renewable power." That's the other way to do it!
Thursday, March 17, 2016
What Donald Trump Gets Pretty Much Right, and Completely Wrong, About China
Neil Irwin @Neil_Irwin MARCH 17, 201
The New York Times
If there is one thing Donald Trump seems sure about, it is that the United States is getting a raw deal from China.
To people who spend time studying the United States’ economic relationship with China, Mr. Trump’s accounting of its dysfunctions contains both legitimate, accurate complaints and elements that completely misstate how things work between the world’s largest and second-largest economies.
“They’re killing us,” Mr. Trump has said in many debates, rallies and television appearances. He has threatened to put a 45 percent tax on Chinese imports “if they don’t behave.”
If you take Mr. Trump’s comments at face value, as president he would try to renegotiate a complex set of ties that has pulled hundreds of millions of Chinese out of dire poverty, made a wide range of goods available to American consumers at more affordable prices and contributed to the decline of American manufacturing.
The New York Times
If there is one thing Donald Trump seems sure about, it is that the United States is getting a raw deal from China.
To people who spend time studying the United States’ economic relationship with China, Mr. Trump’s accounting of its dysfunctions contains both legitimate, accurate complaints and elements that completely misstate how things work between the world’s largest and second-largest economies.
“They’re killing us,” Mr. Trump has said in many debates, rallies and television appearances. He has threatened to put a 45 percent tax on Chinese imports “if they don’t behave.”
If you take Mr. Trump’s comments at face value, as president he would try to renegotiate a complex set of ties that has pulled hundreds of millions of Chinese out of dire poverty, made a wide range of goods available to American consumers at more affordable prices and contributed to the decline of American manufacturing.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
U.S. confirms death of ISIS operative Omar al-Shishani
Barbara Starr-Profile-Image
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Updated 2224 GMT (0624 HKT) March 14, 2016
CNN International
Washington (CNN)Two U.S. officials told CNN that the Obama administration has confirmed that ISIS senior operative Omar al-Shishani is dead.
The officials said he was injured in a U.S. airstrike last week and then died subsequently, though they wouldn't say how they know he is dead.
The initial U.S. assessment was that he was "likely killed" in the strike, but further assessments led them to understand he had been injured and only later died.
He was killed along with 12 additional ISIS fighters in a wave of strikes by drones and manned aircraft.
Since then, CNN has learned that Shishani was at a "shura," or meeting with other officials, at the time of the strike. U.S. officials had emphasized at the time it was publicly announced that they were not certain of his death and were assessing whether the strike killed him.
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Updated 2224 GMT (0624 HKT) March 14, 2016
CNN International
Washington (CNN)Two U.S. officials told CNN that the Obama administration has confirmed that ISIS senior operative Omar al-Shishani is dead.
The officials said he was injured in a U.S. airstrike last week and then died subsequently, though they wouldn't say how they know he is dead.
The initial U.S. assessment was that he was "likely killed" in the strike, but further assessments led them to understand he had been injured and only later died.
He was killed along with 12 additional ISIS fighters in a wave of strikes by drones and manned aircraft.
Since then, CNN has learned that Shishani was at a "shura," or meeting with other officials, at the time of the strike. U.S. officials had emphasized at the time it was publicly announced that they were not certain of his death and were assessing whether the strike killed him.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
China Weighs Letting Banks Sell Bad Debt to Investors
By CHRIS BUCKLEYMARCH 12, 2016
The New York Times
BEIJING — China is exploring a new way to grapple with its mounting pile of bad corporate debt, though its top central banker sought on Saturday to dispel worries that the plan would simply shift the burden to other parts of the country’s vast economy.
Under the tentative proposal, Chinese officials would allow banks saddled with growing quantities of bad loans to sell that debt to investors, said Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People’s Bank of China. The goal is to help alleviate one of the major drags on China’s economy, the world’s second largest after the United States’ and a major driver of global growth.
But Mr. Zhou and a deputy central bank governor, Pan Gongsheng, said they would take steps to make sure the effort did not create the kind of risk-laden financial products that played a major role in the 2008 global financial crisis. The effort would be modest, regulators would monitor it closely, and mom-and-pop investors would be kept out, they said.
“There’s no need to exaggerate,” Mr. Zhou said at a news conference held as part of China’s annual legislative session in Beijing. “There’s not certainty that this would be a very big market.”
The New York Times
BEIJING — China is exploring a new way to grapple with its mounting pile of bad corporate debt, though its top central banker sought on Saturday to dispel worries that the plan would simply shift the burden to other parts of the country’s vast economy.
Under the tentative proposal, Chinese officials would allow banks saddled with growing quantities of bad loans to sell that debt to investors, said Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People’s Bank of China. The goal is to help alleviate one of the major drags on China’s economy, the world’s second largest after the United States’ and a major driver of global growth.
But Mr. Zhou and a deputy central bank governor, Pan Gongsheng, said they would take steps to make sure the effort did not create the kind of risk-laden financial products that played a major role in the 2008 global financial crisis. The effort would be modest, regulators would monitor it closely, and mom-and-pop investors would be kept out, they said.
“There’s no need to exaggerate,” Mr. Zhou said at a news conference held as part of China’s annual legislative session in Beijing. “There’s not certainty that this would be a very big market.”
Thursday, March 10, 2016
China’s Outflows of Money Slowed in February
By KEITH BRADSHERMARCH 7, 2016
The New York Times
HONG KONG — Few economic statistics have gone as quickly from obscurity to the center of attention from international financial markets lately as China’s foreign currency reserves, widely seen as the best barometer of how long China can avoid a possible devaluation someday of its own currency.
Monthly changes in the reserves these days mainly reflect how much money is being sent out of the country by Chinese companies and families nervous about the country’s economic slowdown and sweeping anticorruption investigations. Over the last five weeks, the Chinese government has waged an aggressive campaign to stem the outflow, through almost daily pledges by officials not to devalue and through much tighter enforcement of the rules on sending money overseas.
America's B-2s Sent To Deter China While B-52s Take On ISIS
By Tyler Rogoway
Yesterday 6:46pm
http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/americas-b-2s-sent-to-deter-china-while-b-52s-take-on-i-1763849735
Washington is moving around its heavy bombers like chess pieces as it attempts to deal with growing threats around the globe. B-52s are already deployed to Spain, but others will also take over for the B-1 as the U.S. Air Force’s ISIS pounding precision bomb truck. In the Indian Ocean, B-2 stealth bombers will be heading to American island outpost Diego Garcia to project power across Asia.
Diego Garcia, which is located with the British Indian Ocean Territories, was a bustling epicenter for USAF bombers and tankers during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Today its airfield is far less active but the island remains a strategic outpost for the US and its allies.
The B-2s’ deployment to Diego Garcia comes as tensions are higher than ever in the South China Sea. Just last week the U.S. Navy sailed a carrier strike group into the heart of the disputed body of water, once again challenging Beijing’s blanket claim on the territory.
North Korean saber rattling has also come to a crescendo with proclamations that the rogue nation is readying its nuclear arsenal for a preemptive strike on South Korean and American forces taking part in the annual bilateral “Foal Eagle” war games.
Opinion: China's military is gearing up to compete with the U.S.
By Yvonne Chiu
Updated 0206 GMT (1006 HKT) March 10, 2016
CNN
Hong Kong (CNN)China's military is sending strong signals that it's gearing up to compete with the U.S. as a global superpower, engaging in a multi-faceted reform effort to modernize and professionalize its military.
One of the most significant developments is China's plans to establish an overseas military base—which would be contemporary China's first—in Djibouti. Construction started last month.
Friday, March 4, 2016
The U.S. just sent a carrier strike group to confront China
By David Larter, Navy Times 11:41 p.m. EST March 3, 2016
Navy Times
The U.S. Navy has dispatched a small armada to the South China Sea.
The carrier John C. Stennis, two destroyers, two cruisers and the 7th Fleet flagship have sailed into the disputed waters in recent days, according to military officials. The carrier strike group is the latest show of force in the tense region, with the U.S. asserting that China is militarizing the region to guard its excessive territorial claims.
Stennis is joined in the region by the cruisers Antietam and Mobile Bay, and the destroyers Chung-Hoon and Stockdale. The command ship Blue Ridge, the floating headquarters of the Japan-based 7th Fleet, is also in the area, en route to a port visit in the Philippines. Stennis deployed from Washington state on Jan. 15.
Navy Times
The U.S. Navy has dispatched a small armada to the South China Sea.
The carrier John C. Stennis, two destroyers, two cruisers and the 7th Fleet flagship have sailed into the disputed waters in recent days, according to military officials. The carrier strike group is the latest show of force in the tense region, with the U.S. asserting that China is militarizing the region to guard its excessive territorial claims.
Stennis is joined in the region by the cruisers Antietam and Mobile Bay, and the destroyers Chung-Hoon and Stockdale. The command ship Blue Ridge, the floating headquarters of the Japan-based 7th Fleet, is also in the area, en route to a port visit in the Philippines. Stennis deployed from Washington state on Jan. 15.
Thursday, March 3, 2016
The U.S. and India are deepening military ties — and China is watching
The Washington Post
By Dan Lamothe March 2 at 2:57 PM
The U.S. military’s top officer in the Pacific urged Indian officials Wednesday to pursue even closer military ties with the United States — part of a broader effort by the Pentagon to strengthen a relatively new partnership in the region, as China expands its military footprint in ways that alarm its neighbors.
Adm. Harry Harris, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said that expanded cooperation between the United States and India will not only be critical to Washington’s re-balance toward the Pacific, but “will arguably be the defining partnership for America in the 21st century.” He said he shared a vision with U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma that Indian and U.S. naval vessels will soon steam together “as we work together to maintain freedom of the seas for all nations.”
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Philippine officials say China blocked access to disputed South China Sea atoll
Wed Mar 2, 2016 6:39am EST Related: WORLD, CHINA, SOUTH CHINA SEA
MANILA | BY MANUEL MOGATO
Reuters
China sent several ships to a disputed atoll in the South China Sea, preventing Filipino fishermen from accessing traditional fishing grounds and raising tensions in the volatile region, Philippine officials said on Wednesday.
China had sent as many as seven ships to Quirino Atoll, also known as Jackson Atoll, in recent weeks, said Eugenio Bito-onon Jr, the mayor of nearby Pagasa Island in the Spratly Islands.
The Spratlys are the most contested archipelago in the South China Sea, a resource-rich region and critical shipping lane linking North Asia to Europe, South Asia and the Middle East.
"This is very alarming, Quirino is on our path when we travel from Palawan to Pagasa. It is halfway and we normally stop there to rest," Bito-onon Jr told Reuters.
MANILA | BY MANUEL MOGATO
Reuters
China sent several ships to a disputed atoll in the South China Sea, preventing Filipino fishermen from accessing traditional fishing grounds and raising tensions in the volatile region, Philippine officials said on Wednesday.
China had sent as many as seven ships to Quirino Atoll, also known as Jackson Atoll, in recent weeks, said Eugenio Bito-onon Jr, the mayor of nearby Pagasa Island in the Spratly Islands.
The Spratlys are the most contested archipelago in the South China Sea, a resource-rich region and critical shipping lane linking North Asia to Europe, South Asia and the Middle East.
"This is very alarming, Quirino is on our path when we travel from Palawan to Pagasa. It is halfway and we normally stop there to rest," Bito-onon Jr told Reuters.
U.S. warns China on militarization of South China Sea
Wed Mar 2, 2016 2:59am EST Related: WORLD, CHINA, AEROSPACE & DEFENSE, SOUTH CHINA SEA
SAN FRANCISCO | BY ANDREA SHALAL
Reuters
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday warned China against "aggressive" actions in the South China Sea region, including the placement of surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island.
"China must not pursue militarization in the South China Sea," Carter said in a wide-ranging speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. "Specific actions will have specific consequences."
Asked what the consequences could be, Carter told reporters the U.S. military was already increasing deployments to the Asia-Pacific region and would spend $425 million through 2020 to pay for more exercises and training with countries in the region that were unnerved by China's actions.
He said China's behavior had fueled trilateral agreements that would have been "unthinkable" even a few years ago.
SAN FRANCISCO | BY ANDREA SHALAL
Reuters
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday warned China against "aggressive" actions in the South China Sea region, including the placement of surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island.
"China must not pursue militarization in the South China Sea," Carter said in a wide-ranging speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. "Specific actions will have specific consequences."
Asked what the consequences could be, Carter told reporters the U.S. military was already increasing deployments to the Asia-Pacific region and would spend $425 million through 2020 to pay for more exercises and training with countries in the region that were unnerved by China's actions.
He said China's behavior had fueled trilateral agreements that would have been "unthinkable" even a few years ago.
Are investors starting to not care about China?
Seema Mody
2-3-2016
11 Hours Ago
CNBC
The news out of China, bad or good, just doesn't seem to have as much bite anymore.
Sure, downbeat Chinese economic data on the first day of trading in 2016 ignited a global market sell-off. But as the year has worn on, the impact is diminishing.
Tuesday's disappointing manufacturing data showing activity at Chinese factories in February contracted and was at the lowest level since November 2011 didn't translate into higher stock market volatility or investor angst. In fact, U.S. markets surged as traders' focus turned elsewhere.
Similarly, news to start the week that China's central bank was cutting reserve requirements failed to generate a rally, as monetary easing otherwise might.
2-3-2016
11 Hours Ago
CNBC
The news out of China, bad or good, just doesn't seem to have as much bite anymore.
Sure, downbeat Chinese economic data on the first day of trading in 2016 ignited a global market sell-off. But as the year has worn on, the impact is diminishing.
Tuesday's disappointing manufacturing data showing activity at Chinese factories in February contracted and was at the lowest level since November 2011 didn't translate into higher stock market volatility or investor angst. In fact, U.S. markets surged as traders' focus turned elsewhere.
Similarly, news to start the week that China's central bank was cutting reserve requirements failed to generate a rally, as monetary easing otherwise might.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
What China Has Been Building in the South China Sea
By DEREK WATKINS
UPDATED February 29, 2016
China has placed runways and radar facilities on new islets in the South China Sea, built by piling huge amounts of sand onto reefs. The construction is straining already taut geopolitical tensions
The New York Times
The speed and scale of China’s island-building spree in the South China Sea last year alarmed other countries with interests in the region. After announcing in June that the process of building seven new islands by moving sediment from the seafloor to reefs was almost done, China has focused its efforts on building ports, three airstrips, radar facilities and other military buildings on the islands. The installations bolster China’s foothold in the Spratly Islands, a disputed scattering of reefs and islands in the South China Sea more than 500 miles from the Chinese mainland.
China’s activity in the Spratlys is a major point of contention between China and the United States, and has prompted the White House to send Navy destroyers to patrol near the islands twice in recent months.
UPDATED February 29, 2016
China has placed runways and radar facilities on new islets in the South China Sea, built by piling huge amounts of sand onto reefs. The construction is straining already taut geopolitical tensions
The New York Times
The speed and scale of China’s island-building spree in the South China Sea last year alarmed other countries with interests in the region. After announcing in June that the process of building seven new islands by moving sediment from the seafloor to reefs was almost done, China has focused its efforts on building ports, three airstrips, radar facilities and other military buildings on the islands. The installations bolster China’s foothold in the Spratly Islands, a disputed scattering of reefs and islands in the South China Sea more than 500 miles from the Chinese mainland.
China’s activity in the Spratlys is a major point of contention between China and the United States, and has prompted the White House to send Navy destroyers to patrol near the islands twice in recent months.
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