BUILD UP TO WW3 - China Starts War Games around Disputed South China Sea Islands

 
Global Peace Index. This year’s index highlighted that escalating civil strife and the consequent refugee crisis have been among the key drivers in increasing the cost of containing global violence.

The intensity of armed conflict increased dramatically, with the number of people killed in conflicts globally rising more than 3.5 times from 49,000 in 2010 to 180,000 in 2014. The Asia-Pacific region ranked third behind Europe and North America in the Global Peace Index. However, as a region it contains the most diversity, with three countries in the top ten and a single country, North Korea, in the bottom ten of the overall rankings. The South China Sea remains a potential area for conflict, with countries involved in the dispute (China, Vietnam and the Philippines) all showing a worsening of their scores in the 2015 index. Although the likelihood of further military skirmishes in the disputed waters is high, a large-scale military engagement remains unlikely.

Russia appears intent on selling China its most advanced fighter jet by the end of the year, a move that will greatly enhance Beijing’s ability to project military power in the South China Sea.

Paris Air Show this week, Yuri Slyusar, chairman of United Aircraft Corp, a Russian civilian and military jet manufacturer, said his company is aiming to ink a deal with China to sell Beijing 24 Su-35 fighter jets. Is China constructing dangerous military outposts in the South China Sea that threaten global peace and prosperity or are they simply building tropical retreats ideal for vacation getaways? Fiery Cross Reef. Judging from a recent flyover by an American spy plane, Fiery Cross Reef also has a few military facilities that didn't make it into this slide show. There is a 10,000-foot runway under construction that should make traveling there a breeze, but the island also has a few military barracks and an early warning radar site that could make relaxing out at the reef a bit of a problem. Though Beijing insists that its military presence in disputed areas of the South China Sea are for international humanitarian and stability reasons, a new poll shows that a majority of Filipinos fear armed conflict with China when it comes to the South China Sea. A survey found that eight in 10 Filipinos are worried about escalating tension between Beijing and Manila when it comes to conflicting claims over the Scarborough Shoal.

The US took it up a notch this week when it flew a spy plane over Fiery Cross Reef, presumably just to see what would happen. A CNN camera crew went along for the ride. What Washingtondiscovered is that when it comes to protecting its new islands, bashful China is not. “This is the Chinese Navy… YOU GO!” was the message that came over the radio. Washington’s failure in recent years to keep careful watch over what goods are made where — especially when it comes to such vital items as electronics and drugs — means the United States now depends far more on China than vice versa. A war between the United States and China is “inevitable” unless Washington stops demanding Beijing halt its construction projects in the South China Sea, a Chinese state-owned newspaper warns. land reclamation” program in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, and says China’s territorial claims of the man-made islands could further militarize the region. “If the United States’ bottom line is that China has to halt its activities, then a US-China war is inevitable in the South China Sea






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