U.S. sends carrier to Yellow Sea for exercises near Korea

The Pentagon has dispatched the aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS George Washington to the Yellow Sea for naval exercises with South Korea following the exchange of artillery fire between the North and South.

The exercises are likely to anger China which in the past pressed Washington not to send its aircraft carriers to the sea.

The U.S. military command in Seoul announced that the carrier will take part in exercises in "waters west of the Korean peninsula" from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1.

"This exercise is defensive in nature," the statement said. "While planned well before yesterday's unprovoked artillery attack, it demonstrates the strength of the [South Korea]-U.S. alliance and our commitment to regional stability through deterrence."

The maneuvers also will seek to improve the interoperability of U.S. and South Korean naval forces, the statement said.

The dispatch of the carrier to the Yellow Sea was postponed during earlier anti-submarine warfare exercises amid complaints from Chinese military officials that a carrier in the sea threatened China because U.S. warplanes from the ship could reach targets in China.

Chinese Maj. Gen. Zhu Chenghu told state-run media in July that "if the United States truly wants to take into account the overall interests of the Sino-U.S. relationship, then it must on no account send its USS Washington to the Yellow Sea." He called the area "sensitive."

The Pentagon rejected the Chinese criticism and said U.S. Navy ships, including carriers, will transit the Yellow Sea because it is in international waters.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters last month that "there has been an assertion that we, the U.S., shouldn't operate in the Yellow Sea. That is international waters. We're going to operate in the Yellow Sea. We and others."

The ships scheduled to take part in the exercise in addition to the George Washington include the missile-armed warships USS Cowpens, USS Shiloh, USS Stethem and USS Fitzgerald.

The Chinese in particular have been saber rattling for quite some time now, with the political leadership "urging" its generals...small 'g'...to talk it up on how they'd love to get into a fracas with the U.S.

Part of the reason we've previously canceled joint naval maneuvers with South Korea is due to a shift in operating procedures with regards to what we sort of provocation we will, and will not stand for, from the chinese or north korean military. Remember; Barack Obama is a coward and has strove mightily to force the American military into a bend-over-and-take-it-like-I-do mentality that...especially after the resignation of MacChrystal... has been at long last disregarded.

How'd that come about? PIIR (PEER). Put-It-In-Writing (or PIIW, pronounced Pew if you're of a mind to be absolutely corect). From the first day Obama stepped into the White House, his band of misfits has talked a decent enough talk with regards to how to face threats from the usual suspects, but privately demand that U.S. armed forces bend over backwards to placate our enemies. And there are many signs pointing to our military saying enough is enough.

This might very well be the perfect time for the chinese to put up or shut up about how dearly they'd like to engage American forces. My guess is, if they can't hit us from behind then blame it on someone else, they'll slink away like all cowards do when stood up to.

Neither the chinese nor the russians, and certainly not the norks have anything resembling a modern enough military to openly face the United States. Which is why they posture. Usually, when democrats occupy the White House posturing is enough, but the Obama administration clearly doesn't wish to seem weak, especially after being portrayed as helpless and incompetent while liberals took a beating in the mid-terms.