Sure sounds to me like the Chinese are doing some pushing against us, in an attempt to see what President Obama will do in response over this incident at sea between American and Chinese ships:
"A U.S. surveillance ship violated Chinese and international laws during patrols more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) off the Chinese coast over the weekend, China's state-run media reported Tuesday. "China has lodged serious representations with the United States, as the USNS Impeccable conducted activities in China's special economic zone in the South China Sea," said Ma Zhaoxu, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman. "We demand that the United States put an immediate stop to related activities and take effective measures to prevent similar acts from happening." The response follows the Pentagon's contention Monday that Chinese ships harassed the U.S. vessel on Sunday in the latest of several instances of "increasingly aggressive conduct" in the past week."
I suspect Mr. Obama had better make a public statement, indicating he won't let the Chinese mess with him on this; and then once lines have been drawn, a solution can be found. But the president needs to show that he's not weak--and soon.
