Amateur hour in Asian diplomacy

[RandomGuy]

Wow.

Massive Typhoon kills tens of thousands of people in the Philippines.

China sends $100,000.
http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/11568179/2/istockphoto_11568179-100-000-dollars.jpg


The US sends an aircraft carrier group with helicopters, support crews, and $20M in immediate aid.

$20,000,000

+

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/US_Navy_080123-N-0535P-580_The_Nimitz-class_aircraft_carrier_USS_Harry_S._Truman_(CVN_75 ),_left,_performs_a_replenishment_at_sea.jpg

China's meager aid to the Philippines could dent its image
http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-meager-aid-philippines-could-dent-image-125019038.html


Comments on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter, overwhelmingly opposed China giving aid to the Philippines.

"For God's sake, give them nothing," wrote one user. "We've given them enough in the past."

Cheng said public sentiment would factor into China's decision.

"I certainly think that relief and aid for natural disasters should not be affected by political relations. But the Chinese authorities are handicapped by domestic nationalist feelings as well," he said. "China should have used the opportunity to improve its image."

SMH.

[pgardn]

They have all those territorial water disputes with most of the island nations including the Philippines.

Maybe be everyone will die on some of those tiny islands so China can extend their map.
They used petty cash from one of the Governors top desk drawer.

[TDMVPDPOY]

new libtard australian govt also change laws about foreign aid money...millions down to 400k per country only...due to population lobby the govt to increase the aid money...apparently they just send medic people and $10m i read

i dont know if the aust govt has given vietnam 400k yet, but those vietcong clowns donated 100k to the philipinnes also...made some big publicity pr about it also, since both are also in dispute with china over marine territory sovereignty....in other words usinng another countrys foreign aid money to buy friends...

[RandomGuy]

Update:


No sign of help for Philippines from China's hospital ship

HONG KONG (Reuters) - While the navies of the United States and its allies rushed to the aid of the typhoon-hit Philippines, a state-of-the-art Chinese hospital ship has stayed at home and in doing so has become a symbol of China's tepid response to the crisis.

The decision not to deploy the 14,000-tonne "Peace Ark", one of the newest and biggest hospital ships in the world, is one that contrasts with a recent charm offensive across Southeast Asia by China as it seeks to bolster ties and ease tension over the disputed South China Sea.

Even China's usually hawkish Global Times, a tabloid owned by the People's Daily state mouthpiece, on Friday called for the Ark to sail to the Philippines, where an international naval flotilla, headed by a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group, is delivering food, water and medicine.

Initially, China pledged $100,000 in aid to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan roared across central islands a week ago, and a further $100,000 through the Chinese Red Cross - figures dwarfed by multi-million dollar donations from countries and corporations around the world.

While tension between China and the Philippines has escalated recently over Manila's bid for a U.N. court ruling against Beijing's claim to much of the South China Sea, analysts and diplomats say its paltry response to the humanitarian crisis could undermine diplomatic gains.

The Chinese government has not ruled out more aid but foreign analysts are puzzled by the absence of the Peace Ark, a ship tailor-made for such emergencies.

"It is a self-inflicted wound to Chinese influence and prestige," said Rory Medcalf, a security analyst at Australia's Lowy Institute.

China's Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment about whether the ship would be sent to the Philippines.

Just last month, the Peace Ark returned to its Shanghai berth after an unprecedented four-month, eight-country deployment that saw it work with other navies and treat thousands of patients during goodwill stops.

"EFFECTIVE POSTURE"

As part of the voyage dubbed "Harmonious Mission 2013", the Ark - with 300 hospital beds, 8 operating theaters and more than 100 medical staff - joined a disaster relief exercise led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes the Philippines.

Just this week in Hawaii, U.S. and Chinese troops staged their first disaster relief exercise - another sign that China is increasingly keen to use its expanding military muscle for humanitarian, as well as security needs.

Over the past year, China has stepped up attempts to win over the region, despite the tension over the South China Sea, with a flurry of visits by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang and economic deals, while re-enforcing a message of "comprehensive strategic partnership".

Medcalf said he was "astounded" that China's leaders had not used the Peace Ark to make a major gesture to the region during the Philippines' crisis.

Instead of a move that could have served their interests by neutralizing the Philippines diplomatically and sending the message to the region that the United States was no longer needed, they had played into the hands of Washington which has announced a pivot, or re-balance, towards Asia.

"It is showing that the re-balance is still real and the presence of American forces in the region continues to be a very effective posture," Medcalf said.

Austin Strange, an analyst at the U.S. Naval War College's China Maritime Studies Institute, said China's weak response contrasted with what had been increasingly active anti-piracy and humanitarian assistance internationally, not just in Asia.

"China immediate response to (typhoon) Haiyan is arguably regrettable from a foreign policy standpoint," Strange said.

Amid domestic debate and foreign criticism, the government announced a further $1.64 million in aid on Thursday as Foreign Ministry officials played down online comments urging China to give the Philippines nothing. (Additional reporting by Megha Rajagopalan, Li Hui, Grace Li and Ben Blanchard; Editing by James Pomfret and Robert Birsel)

LOL China.

Not that my country doesn't occasionally shoot itself in the foot, it does (Merkel phone-tap cough cough), but this is just spiteful AND dumb.

[scott]

How do "fiscal conservatives" feel about this? Do they think China is doing the right thing?