I've had multiple encounters with middle-aged/older Chinese women cutting in line, I call them out every time. It infuriates me just as much as the line cutting when store workers are clearly aware of and don't call out line cutters, that's part of their job and also makes their job easier to have orderly customers.
PLAN SCS Bases/Islands/Vessels (Not a Strategy Page)
- Thread starter lilzz
- Start date
I've had multiple encounters with middle-aged/older Chinese women cutting in line, I call them out every time. It infuriates me just as much as the line cutting when store workers are clearly aware of and don't call out line cutters, that's part of their job and also makes their job easier to have orderly customers.
Jovian
Junior Member
Well, let's just say here that if anyone wanted to know more about coral reef, he (or she) should find out more himself (or herself). I have shared a number of points on my view on the latest island building project in the South China Sea; the coral reef reference was only mentioned in the last sentence. I believe there are many interesting discussion forums out there talking about coral reef. Many more websites too. By all mean, go find out and enjoy.
Jovian
Seaplane Could Advance Chinese SCS Claims
By Wendell Minnick 12:55 p.m. EDT March 28, 2015
TAIPEI — A new Chinese-built seaplane could help seal Beijing's control over its claims in the South China Sea (SCS), say military specialists on China.
The Jiaolong (Water Dragon) AG600, under construction by China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA), will be China's largest operational seaplane. CAIGA did not respond to inquiries after the company's announcement on March 17 that it had completed the front fuselage assembly for the prototype.
According to brochures obtained at the 2014 Airshow China in Zhuhai, the aircraft is powered by four turboprop WJ-6 engines and has a range of 5,500 kilometers, which would provide substantial movement within the SCS. In the Spratly Islands, China is currently constructing artificial islands on Hughes Reef, Johnson South Reef and Gaven Reef.
Despite the lack of direct mainland access to Beijing's strategic claims in the SCS, the aircraft are seen as a boon to solidifying control of the area by China's military and maritime enforcement agencies for island hopping within the crowded clusters of the 750 reefs, islets, atolls and islands in the Spratly Islands archipelago.
"Amphibious planes like the AG600 would be perfect for resupplying the new artificial islands that the Chinese are building in the SCS," said Richard Bitzinger, coordinator of the Military Transformations Program at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
"At the same time, these islands would be excellent bases of operations for the AG600 to engage in maritime patrols of claimed territories."
The AG600 will also serve as political leverage, said Ching Chang, a research fellow at Taiwan's ROC Society for Strategic Studies.
"States need effective governance to support their territorial claim" and the AG600 will enhance China's capability in "law enforcement, fishery patrol, anti-poaching activity on coral reefs, pollution prevention, search and rescue, medical rescue transportation, meteorological and seismic survey, namely, all the government functions that may signify its substantial governance in the South China Sea."
This type of governance and control will serve China's argument that the islands are "inhabitable according to UNCLOS [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea] requirements, which support the PRC [People's Republic of China] to claim an EEZ [exclusive economic zone] in the South China Sea."
CAIGA brochures indicate the AG600 can fulfill four missions: search and rescue (SAR), fire fighting, transport (up to 50 passengers), and maritime surveillance. These aircraft might also serve China's military in the roles of signal intelligence and electronic intelligence, said Sam Bateman, adviser, Maritime Security Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore.
However, Bateman does not see these aircraft as a "game changer" in the SCS, though they could serve to "quickly resupply and reinforce the military outposts on islands without air strips."
CAIGA brochures make no mention of a military application, but history indicates that seaplanes have a relatively small commercial market. The existing producers of large amphibious aircraft, Japan and Russia, indicate that the market for fire fighting and SAR missions is small, said Vasiliy Kashin, a China military specialist at Moscow's Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. Both aircraft producers are legacies of the Cold War, he said, and in comparison China has created a new design and established a new production line for an aircraft that has a terrible commercial market history.
"Since the program can hardly be justified by the civilian demand, the likely explanation is that the program has a significant military importance," Kashin said.
The AG600 is not the only seaplane under development by CAIGA. At the 2014 Airshow China, the company displayed models of the twin-engine turboprop-engine powered H660 and H631, each with a similar payload and range. There was also a model of the four turbofan-engine powered H680 Sea Eagle.
The company also builds two light passenger seaplanes, the 208B and HO300, both with a range of roughly 1,000-1,500 kilometers.
solarz
Brigadier
Agreed. As an aquarium hobbyist, I've read quite a bit on corals. The growth rate of corals is not really the issue. The far more serious problem is environmental changes, such as from global warming and ocean acidification. Corals require quite a delicate balance of environmental variables to thrive. Physical destruction is not such a big deal as long as the environment they live in is still good.
Unfortunately, human inhabitation will very likely change the nearby water chemistry, so there definitely are causes for concerns. Ideally, we would see those islands kept with strict environmental standards.
solarz
Brigadier
Immigrants need to adapt to their new environment, while tourists are only there for a few days. This is especially aggravated by group tours, where these people will be at a place at most an hour or two, only enough time to take some pictures, and then get back on the bus.
Geographer
Junior Member
AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
Geographer
Junior Member
The New York Times had pictures of the reclamation at Mischief Reef on the front page today (April 9). The NYT is the largest, most respected newspaper in the United States so its front page stories carry a lot of weight. Perhaps in response to that article, President Obama criticized the reclamation projects. Here is :
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that the islands are for civil and military purposes. :