THE NAVAL INCIDENT

Chinese naval forces have again harassed US Naval vessels.

Such behavior is not surprising. Rather, it is interesting.

China is undertaking the most aggressive military buildup of any nation on earth and it is doing so with a purpose in mind – to support militarily its burgeoning, blossoming economic power.

Japan is an exception to this general axiom: namely, that military and economic power tend to grow together, or to grow closely in step with each other.. Japan has largely allowed its physical security to be protected by the umbrella of the United States, to the neglect of its military.

China adheres more closely to the general pattern: develop both arms of national strength, economic and military, and use each one to support the other.

The interesting part of the Chinese naval harassment is the timing. They challenged President Bush within the first year of his first term by downing a US aircraft, holding the crew, we believe, for eleven days.

And now they have briefly violated maritime/naval custom by too-close flyovers and ship-to-ship closeness while under way.

China is behaving as China behaves, as any up-an-coming- world power behaves when confronting the Big Guy on the Block. They are trying out their abilities, testing the new Administration, looking to see how much they can get away with.

And all of this just after hillary visited their country.

So much for ‘resetting’ the world of international relations.

b.o. is being educated.

He is an amateur and apparently the professionals who know better have been, for the present, sent to the back of the room.