Aircraft Carrier + Cook Islands : China

choi

(1) David Lague, Analysis: China's Aircraft Carrier: in Name Only. Reuters, Aug 29, 2012.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2 ... USBRE87R15X20120828
("Reports in unofficial Chinese military blogs and websites say China planned to build these carriers at Jiangnan Shipyard's Chanxing Island shipbuilding base near Shanghai. However, professional and amateur analysts who study satellite images of Chinese shipyards have been unable to find any evidence of construction")

Note: Yalong  海南省三亚市 亚龙湾

(2) Paul Richter, Hillary Clinton's Visit Underscores New Value of Cook Islands. Don't know where they are? They sit in the South Pacific, where the U.S. seeks to strengthen its presence in the face of China's growing power in the region. Los Angeles Times, Aug 29, 2012
http://www.latimes.com/news/nati ... th-pacific-20120829,0,4251912.story

Quote:

"Clinton's appearance at the Pacific Island Forum is part of a six-country trip that also takes her to Brunei, Russia, China, East Timor and Indonesia. Her last stop is Vladivostok, Russia, for the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum [in lieu of Pres Obama].

"(The Cook Islands are a self-governing parliamentary democracy, although its citizens carry New Zealand passports.)

"Neither the United States nor China belongs to the Pacific Islands Forum, which has 16 formal members.

"The South Pacific largely fell off Washington's diplomatic map in the mid-1990s, when the State Department closed its only aid office in the region because of budget cuts. It reopened the office in October in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea, despite budget pressures.

Note:
(a) Pacific Island Forum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Island_Forum
(founded in 1971; The Forum is an official observer at the United Nations; Besides members, 14 nations are dialogue partners, including US and China)
(b) Cook Islands
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Islands
(a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand; The Cook Islands were first settled in the 6th century CE by Polynesian people who migrated from nearby Tahiti, to the southeast; British navigator Captain James Cook arrived in 1773 and 1777)

(3) 埃及民选总统访华 找生意找朋友？ VOA Chinese, Aug 29, 2012.
http://www.voachinese.com/conten ... 120829/1497866.html

(4) 中国大秀导弹 西方深感威慑. VOA Chinese, Aug 28, 2012
http://www.voachinese.com/conten ... 120828/1497132.html
("*美国政府避实必就虚*  美国国防部发言人皮卡尔特 (Damien Pickart) 在被问及中国提升导弹能力时没有正面回答，而是说，美国'仍然致力美国于和中国保持健康、稳定、可靠和持续的军事关系，并且经常互相讨论在亚太地区减少紧张和建立信任。' 他并且说，美国认真关注中国军力发展，并且敦促中国'在军力和军事目的上更加透明'”)

My comment: There is no need to read the rest of the report.