This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com:

• Hillary Clinton criticizes China's South China Sea military coercion and intimidation
• Armenia says it's 'ready for war' with Azerbaijan 'bastards'

Hillary Clinton criticizes China's South China Sea military coercion and intimidation

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned against "coercive or intimidating" behavior in the South China Sea, evidently referring to China's military buildup and it's creation of "Sansha City" in the Paracel Islands. Speaking in Jakarta, Indonesia, she said: 

The United States believes very strongly that no party should take any steps that would increase tensions or do anything that would be viewed as coercive or intimidating to advance their territorial claims...

The United States does not take a position on competing territorial claims over land features, but we believe the nations of the region should work collaboratively together to resolve disputes without coercion, without intimidation, without threats and certainly without the use of force.

One big difference between China and the U.S. is the reaction to criticism. The U.S. gets criticized constantly, so we're used to it. But China really freaks out when it's criticized.

China's position is that the U.S. should butt out of the South China Sea disputes, and allow them to bilaterally threaten each of the countries challenging their claim to the entire South China Sea, including regions that have historically belonged to other countries. China calls the U.S. "troublemakers," because we've been urging the nations around the South China Sea to stand up to China as a group, through the ASEAN organization.

China's response is to criticize America's military "pivot" to Asia, and to demand an explanation:

The world's attention will focus on how the two U.S. officials will explain to the Chinese side the true intentions of the Obama administration's Pivot to Asia policy, especially its new defense strategy.

Since last fall, the Obama administration has been implementing the Pivot policy by expanding and intensifying its political, diplomatic and military involvement in the Asia-Pacific region. The fundamental goal underpinning this shift is to maintain the U.S. dominance in the resources-rich and fastest-growing region, amid heightened concerns about China's rise.

As major part of its Pivot policy, Washington has quickened the pace of increasing its military presence and engagement in the Asia Pacific, including deploying troops in Australia, boosting military cooperation with Japan, and purposely strengthening military ties with some Asian countries, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam, both involved in territorial disputes with China.

The U.S. strategic shift has raised more questions than answers: Is the U.S. Pivot policy really intended to bolster peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region? Can the U.S. really play a fair role over the territorial disputes in the region? Does the U.S. mean it when it pledges not to seek to contain China?

Many of the U.S. actions so far have been counterproductive to promoting peace and stability in the Asia Pacific, as indicated by the fact that the security situation in the region has been worsening, rather than improving, mainly due to the recent escalation of the territorial disputes in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

Washington, which claims not to take sides in the disputes, is partly blamed for fueling the tensions because it has apparently emboldened certain relevant parties to make provocations against China in order to achieve undeserved territorial gains...

However, Washington owes Beijing a thorough, convincing explanation of the true intentions of its Pivot policy, especially on issues related to China's vital or core interests. And the United States also needs to take concrete steps to prove that it is returning to Asia as a peacemaker, instead of a troublemaker.

The words "core interest" are a code phrase from the Chinese, meaning something for which there is no compromise, under any circumstances. China is using coercion and intimidation to gain control of regions in the South and East China Seas, as well as in central Asia, and all of these are "core interests."

This is the typical kind of ping-ponging that goes on prior to a war, as each belligerent statement or action from one side brings a more belligerent statement or action from the other side. Clinton will be visiting Beijing on Tuesday, so there may be more to come. AFP and Xinhua

Armenia says it's 'ready for war' with Azerbaijan 'bastards'

Azerbaijan's Lieutenant Ramil Safarov used an axe to hack to death Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian when the two of them were attending a NATO conference in 2004 in Budapest. Safarov was convicted of murder and given a life sentence in a Hungarian court. Azerbaijan obtained the extradition of Safarov back to his home country, based on the promise that he would serve out his life sentence there. As soon as he came back, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev immediately double-crossed Hungary and not only pardoned Safarove but promoted him to major, giving him a house and eight years of back pay. Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian issued a statement on Sunday: 

We don't want a war, but if we have to, we will fight and win. We are not afraid of killers, even if they enjoy the protection of the head of state...

They have been warned. [Azerbaijan is a country where] illicit orders set free and publicly glorify every bastard who kills people only because they are Armenians.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a very bloody war that ended in 1994 with Armenia gaining control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a recion in the middle of Azerbaijan. Since then, hostilities have been simmering between the two countries. AFP

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