Obama’s Role In ‘Panda Diplomacy’ With China

Tai Shan was the subject of a secret plan to keep him at the National Zoo. A State Department official sent an email to zoo officials in Washington suggesting that President Obama discuss the matter with Chinese President Hu Jintao. THE WASHINGTON TIMES

National Secret: Obama’s Role In ‘Panda Diplomacy’ With China -- Washington Times

Not long before the National Zoo announced that Washington’s most beloved resident - the panda Tai Shan - was heading to China in December 2009, a secret plan took hold halfway around the world for the National Zoo to be able to hold on to the bear just awhile longer.



Referring to upcoming meetings between President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, a State Department official sent an email to zoo officials in Washington suggesting that the leader of the free world get involved.



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My Comment: This is classified as Top Secret?

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An Unwanted Missile Base On A Korean Island

Unwanted Missiles For A Korean Island -- New York Times

SEOUL — Gangjeong, a small fishing and farming village on Jeju Island 50 miles south of the Korean peninsula, is a pristine Unesco-designated ecological reserve where elderly Korean women sea divers, haenyo, still forage for seafood. It is also the site of a fierce resistance movement by villagers who oppose the construction of a South Korean naval base on the island that will become part of the U.S. missile defense system to contain China.

South Korea’s president, Lee Myungbak, says the base is needed to protect Seoul from an attack from Pyongyang. The problem with that assertion is that the Aegis destroyers that Lee pledged to deploy at the base aren’t designed to protect South Korea from North Korean Taepodong ballistic missiles (TBM).

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My Comment: The clear target (and mission) for this base will be to watch China, and to be positioned to shoot down any missiles that may be fired from China.

The part of this report that caught my attention was the following ....

.... The naval base on Jeju Island will equip South Koreans and their American allies with the capability to strike long-range ballistic missile batteries in southeast China that target Japan or Taiwan. Washington sees this base as a central pillar to its defense system in the Asia-Pacific region. China, no doubt, sees it as a new threat.

The result of building the base, therefore, will only be increased stress on the U.S.-China relationship. One South Korean military analyst, Cheong Wook-sik, said that China sees the U.S. Asia-Pacific missile defense system “as the 21st century’s greatest threat.”

Indeed.

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Are China And The U.S. Destined To Always Be In Conflict

Chinese Gen. Chen Bingde, Chief of the People's Liberation Army's General Staff, greets U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in Beijing, July 11, 2011. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

Are China And US Destined To Clash? -- Richard Weitz, The Diplomat

August 1 is Army Day in China. Recent improvements in Sino-US military ties are welcome, but conflicting interests mean tensions might still be inevitable.

In a recent piece in the New York Times, Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, stressed the importance of improving Sino-US military relations.

Mullen acknowledged that PLA-Pentagon ties have frequently been characterized by ‘misunderstanding and suspicion,’ and complained that Beijing continues to employ bilateral defence ties as ‘a sort of thermostat to communicate displeasure. When they don’t like something we do, they cut off ties. That can’t be the model anymore.’

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My Comment: The real tensions are between China and its neighbors. And if there should ever be a conflict between the U.S. and China, it will be because of U.S. treaty commitments to protect our Asian allies from nations like China.

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China Wants The U.S. To Stop Spy Flights Near Their Coastal Waters

Undeterred: U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the U.S. would maintain its surveillance missions in international airspace. Daily Mail

China Cites US Spy Flights As Obstacle To Closer Ties -- Voice of America

China says U.S. surveillance flights near its coast have “severely harmed” strategic trust between the countries and are a “major obstacle” to closer military ties.

The Global Times newspaper on Wednesday quoted defense ministry officials as demanding that the United States respect China's sovereignty and security interests. The remarks follow a speech this week in which U.S. military chief of staff Admiral Mike Mullen said America will “not be deterred” from flying in international air space close to China.

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More News On Chinese Fighter Jet Fighters Chasing A US Spy Plane

China warns US over spy planes -- The Telegraph
China tells US to halt spy plane flights -- Hindustan Times/AFP
China protests against U.S. spy flights near its coast -- Reuters
China warns U.S. to stop monitoring its coastline with spy planes -- AHN
Dangerous US behavior -- China Daily commentary

Taiwan sends fighter planes to intercept Chinese aircraft which strayed into its airspace for first time in 12 years -- Daily Mail
Two Chinese fighters 'pursue' US spy plane -- The Telegraph
Chinese jets chase U.S. surveillance jet over Taiwan Strait -- Washington Times

US to continue spy flights after jets 'pursued' by China over Taiwan -- The Telegraph
US to continue China spy flights despite Su-27 incident -- Flight Global

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