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In the midst of deteriorating military relations between the United States and China, a Chinese warship in the South China Sea passed dangerously close to a Navy-guided missile destroyer at the most provocative encounter several months.
The incident occurred Sunday around 8:30 am local time near Gaven Reef, in the western part of the disputed Spratly islands, occupied and militarized by China. The USS Decatur, a guided missile destroyer, was sailing near the reef when a Chinese naval destroyer from the Luyang class approached him.
Capt. Charlie Brown, a spokesman for the Pacific Fleet, said the Chinese destroyer "has conducted a series of increasingly aggressive maneuvers accompanied by warnings by which Decatur was to leave the region."
According to Captain Brown, the destroyer approached within 45 meters of the bow, forcing the warship to maneuver to avoid a collision.
"US Navy ships and planes operate regularly in the Indo-Pacific, including in the South China Sea," he said. "As we have been doing for decades, our forces will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law permits. "
The incident was captured by a naval surveillance aircraft that appeared to support Decatur's freedom of navigation operation near Gavin Reef. Aircraft surveillance photos, first published by the gCaptain.com online marine information site and confirmed by a US defense official, show that the Chinese vessel is more than 45 feet in front of the Decatur. Captain Brown said the distance in his statement was based on a Decatur report.
Senior defense officials warned for years that such potentially dangerous encounters could produce a "miscalculation" – a diplomatic euphemism for a shootout that could trigger a larger regional conflict.
The United States views the South China Sea as international waters and has rejected China's expansive claims of owning about 90 percent of the sea due to vague historical claims.
Spratlys in dispute, as well as the Parcel Islands of the north, are claimed by China, Vietnam, the Philippines and other states in the region. China has built some 3,200 acres of islands and started placing defenses there in recent years to claim military control of the waters, which is estimated to be worth $ 5,000 billion a year. .
Adm. Jonathan Greenert, former head of naval operations, wrote in a recently released report that China exploited the Obama administration's failure to push back China's construction of the island.
"Indeed, it is proven that the Chinese leaders were ready for a stronger reaction from the United States and could have recalibrated their activities accordingly," Admiral Greenert wrote. "In the absence of such a response, the islands strengthening campaign has continued at a steady pace."
The Admiral based his comment on meetings he had while he was chief of naval operations with the PLA Navy Chief, Adm. Wu Shengli, who "made it clear that he thought the United States would react more forcefully when China started building islands." Admiral Wu was commander from 2006 to 2017, about the same time that the Obama administration largely ignored this encroachment.
Retired naval captain Jim Fanell, former director of Pacific Fleet Intelligence during Admiral Greenert's tenure, was not surprised by these remarks. Captain Fanell said he was pushing for tougher measures after China seized Scarborough Shoal, Philippines, in 2012.
"Adm. Greenert supported the previous administration's policy of appeasing and taking into account Chinese expansionism, which I had clearly evaluated, "said Captain Fanell at Inside the Ring.
Admiral Greenert "has made no effort to use his knowledge of the PRC's maritime expansionism to call our country to the alarm," he said.
EUROPEAN ORDER ON HYBRID THREATS
General of the army Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of the European command, warned this week that Russia was intensifying its use of the hybrid war – the war waged below the level of traditional armed conflict. General Scaparrotti, who is also a NATO military commander, said the fight against Russian hybrid war threats was part of the new NATO strategy he had been working on for a year.
The four-star general said Russia was the main threat to security in the region.
"They operate in areas, especially below the level of war, aggressively if we consider e-business, social media activity, misinformation, operating in this way in many countries. Europe, under the following common theme: undermine western values and the credibility of Western governments, "he told reporters Sunday in Warsaw.
"And they do it in different ways, but they also include reinforcement, money to organizations and political groups on both sides of the spectrum, because I really think their point of view is right – I l & # 39; 39, calls for a destabilization campaign. "
Moscow is working strategically to destabilize European governments using information warfare means. The doctrine involves the use of indirect means of subversion while avoiding a direct military confrontation with the troops.
"Their doctrine has this as part of this indirect activity, with the idea that, if I do not have to send a soldier there or fire a cannon but that I can undermine the government." , so I reached my goals, "said General Scaparrotti, adding that the main targets were the nations of the eastern part of the NATO alliance.
Russia "wanted to keep these governments in a position where they could influence them, and it's a tactic to do that," he said.
General Scaparrotti said that NATO was working on the definition of the Russian hybrid war, which is largely outside the military domain.
"It really speaks to a whole-of-government approach, the involvement of other people and the decision to make," he said.
Special operations forces are engaged in the management of hybrid war threats because the commandos are trained to understand it.
"They can help our Alliance member countries build their capacity to identify and counter it," said General Scaparrotti, noting that military information operations were part of the preventive measures.
The use of cyberattacks against detected NATO commands, some of which have been blamed on the Russians, is part of the hybrid war, he said.
"What I'm securing is our classified and unclassified communication systems that we use for, you know, command and control, communications, etc., and we try to violate them daily," said General Scaparrotti. . "And some of them are Russian actors. There is no doubt. "
The general said that he thought cyberattacks were "related to the state in some cases and to their intelligence apparatus".
MATTIS ON PERSONAL SENSATIONS
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis This week, we were invited to comment on growing tensions with China.
Last week, China canceled security talks with the United States, prevented a US warship from traveling to Hong Kong and made an unsecured pass near another US warship in the US. South China Sea.
The Chinese military is trying to punish the Pentagon for the recent State Department sanctions against a top Chinese weapons official for buying Russian planes through an approved arms exporter.
While traveling to Europe for a NATO meeting, Mr Mattis was asked if military relations between the United States and China were deteriorating.
"There are tensions in the relationship, but according to discussions held in New York last week and other things to come, we do not see the worsening of the situation ", he told the press. "We're just going to have to learn how to handle this relationship."
The four-star retired general of the Marine Corps was also due to visit China for a second visit this year. However, the Chinese army refused to put a senior Chinese defense official at the meeting, so it was canceled.
When asked if he was disappointed that the trip to China was scuttled, Mr. Mattis, known for his twisted comments, replied, "No. I keep my personal feelings for my girlfriend. This was a rare comment on the personal relationships of Mr. Mattis, single.
• Contact Bill Gertz on Twitter at @BillGertz.
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