[Panther Al]

And to cull one of my earlier posts in another thread, lets not forget this:




The Spratly's. In short, a group of some 100 islets, atolls, and reefs that total only about 5 square kilometers of land, but sprawl across some 410,000 square kilometers of the South China Sea. Set amid some of the world's most productive fishing grounds, the islands are believed to have enormous oil and gas reserves. Several nations have overlapping claims on the group. About 45 of the islands are currently occupied by small numbers of military personnel. China claims them all, but occupies only 8, Vietnam has occupied or marked 25, the Philippines 8, Malaysia 6, and Taiwan one. So far we have told everyone that we are backing the Philippines, and Vietnam and China has had naval battles over them: in 88 the ChiCom navy sank a Vietnamese Troop transport that was heading to a marked Vietnamese island. The Chinese has also recently occupied (with armed troops) an island claimed by the Philippines and have told them that under no circumstances will China permit anyone to explore for oil: particularly addressed to the Philippines.



Now: This is where almost all the angst in the area is rooted around. Despite what China says, one look at a map will tell you that they don't have a dog in this hunt. But they are forcing it anyways. And so far they have bullied, shot, and killed to keep that dog in the hunt. What makes anyone think that as the Peoples Liberation Army's Navy (And aint that a mouthful) gets more powerful as they get more peaceful?