U.S., South Korea to conduct anti-submarine warfare exercises

[Gerald]

Washington (CNN) -- The United States and South Korean navies will begin a joint exercise off the western coast of the Korean peninsula in response to North Korea's alleged sinking of a South Korean warship last March.

South Korea maintains the Cheonan was sunk by a North Korean submarine.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/18/us.south.korea.exercises/index.html




Note:August 18, 2010

[Gerald]

(CNN) -- South Korea and the United States will conduct a joint anti-submarine warfare exercise starting Sunday, the U.S. military announced Friday.

The exercise, the second in a series of combined maneuvers, is scheduled to end Thursday. It will be held in the waters west of the Korean Peninsula.

Units from the U.S. Navy will include the guided-missile destroyers USS Curtis D. Wilbur and USS Fitzgerald and the ocean surveillance ship USNS Victorious. Also participating will be a fast attack submarine and P-3C Orion aircraft.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/09/03/south.korea.sub.exercise/index.html




Note:September 3, 2010 Updated 1812 GMT

[Oberon]

Still?

They're really going for it with this one.

China has its own exercise going in the Yellow Sea IIRC.

[Gerald]

Still?

They're really going for it with this one.

China has its own exercise going in the Yellow Sea IIRC. some form of confrontation, nothing is impossible, there is a proverb,which says the following: You can not go through a crowd with a torch without burning one's face....which can be interpreted as the absence of any effort could be that someone gets trampled on the toes :hmmm:

[Oberon]

Oh, I don't know if China will push it too far, they want to push back, yes, because they see themselves as the masters of the South China Sea, however the last thing they want and need is a war on the Korean peninsula. So they'll probably probe the wargames, probably with AGIs but I doubt they'd directly confront the US forces, just stage some wargames of their own.
Perhaps they might start pushing towards Taiwan, make the US shift its attention over there or even the Spratleys.

As people say, China will do what is right for China, no matter what allegiances they may hold with Kim. If Kim starts a war, China will not get involved unless the UN forces cross the DMZ and head for Pyongyang again. They have too much to lose from supporting an offensive against the US and its allies, but again, too much to lose from the destruction of the DPRK (including thousands of DPRK refugees crossing into China), so the status quo suits China fine...the only concern Beijing has is the stability of the Kim leadership and its monarchical sentiments, after all, if Kim Jong-ils appointed son dies shortly after Kim does, then what happens? Who takes charge? How much instability will there be in the interim between the death of the old leadership and the creation of the new? How will this affect China? Too many variables, and I don't think Beijing likes too many variables. Bad for business :03:.

[Gerald]

Oh, I don't know if China will push it too far, they want to push back, yes, because they see themselves as the masters of the South China Sea, however the last thing they want and need is a war on the Korean peninsula. So they'll probably probe the wargames, probably with AGIs but I doubt they'd directly confront the US forces, just stage some wargames of their own.
Perhaps they might start pushing towards Taiwan, make the US shift its attention over there or even the Spratleys.

As people say, China will do what is right for China, no matter what allegiances they may hold with Kim. If Kim starts a war, China will not get involved unless the UN forces cross the DMZ and head for Pyongyang again. They have too much to lose from supporting an offensive against the US and its allies, but again, too much to lose from the destruction of the DPRK (including thousands of DPRK refugees crossing into China), so the status quo suits China fine...the only concern Beijing has is the stability of the Kim leadership and its monarchical sentiments, after all, if Kim Jong-ils appointed son dies shortly after Kim does, then what happens? Who takes charge? How much instability will there be in the interim between the death of the old leadership and the creation of the new? How will this affect China? Too many variables, and I don't think Beijing likes too many variables. Bad for business :03:. They could never afford to lose his face for a night water operations,and as you mention China is dependent on many things and business is an important and a must for China :yep:

[bradclark1]

(including thousands of DPRK refugees crossing into China)
Thats one of theiir biggest fears.