Latest East China Sea encounter lacking advertised drama

OTTAWA—On Sept. 7, CBC’s The National had an “exclusive” lead story, which was billed as a “tense encounter” between a Royal Canadian Navy frigate and the Chinese navy. As a close follower of all things Canadian military, I was naturally spellbound to discover the nature of this armed showdown in the East China Sea. The anchor assured viewers that this being a CBC exclusive, I could only get this story via Canada’s national state broadcaster. The story started on the flight deck of HMCS Ottawa, wherein the reporter assured Canadians the “moment of tension” has not passed as two Chinese warships continue to “flank” the Canadian vessel. We were informed that the Chinese navy has grown increasingly assertive in recent months. As the visuals cut to grainy footage of a relatively distant Chinese naval vessel, the reporter tells us, “This is what China pushing back against other powers looks like.” Although the journalist torques the tale by claiming that such Chinese aggression runs the risk of collision, at no point does it appear that the Chinese vessels came anywhere near the convoy of allied warships. That little detail was seemingly omitted from CBC’s “exclusive” teaser that painted this “tense encounter” as a Canada-versus-China standoff. No, it turns out that the diminutive HMCS Ottawa was actually part of a joint United States navy and Japanese Self-Defence Force flotilla that comprised everything from submarines to a massive U.S. amphibious ship. There may have been two Chinese ships on the scene, but they were dwarfed in both size and numbers by the allied battle group. Which brings us to the reporter’s breathless question to the captain of HMCS Ottawa, asking the skipper why these Chinese warships would be present when the Canadian frigate had yet to enter the disputed Taiwan Strait. To his credit, Commander Sam Patchell could not keep a straight face when he calmly replied, “they are operating in their own waters, we’re just operating in open ocean.” Hatchell further explained, “They’re as curious about our behavior as we are of theirs.” Undeterred by Patchell’s common-sense reply, the reporter tried to further torque this non-story by claiming, “This one encounter is an example of how China is seeking greater influence and control of the waters around it neighbours, sending what is now the world’s largest navy further from its shores.” First of all it needs to be remembered that this “tense encounter” took place in the East China Sea. That is hardly to be considered far from China’s shores when their country is literally in the name of the waterway. Secondly, the ridiculous notion that China’s navy is now “the largest in the world” needs some clarification. While technically China may indeed possess the most number of ships painted in warship grey, this is no way reflects the relative “strength” of that fleet. In terms of sheer numbers, the U.S. ranks fourth in the world behind China, Russia, and North Korea. However, no one disputes the fact that the U.S. navy is leap years ahead of all three of those countries combined in terms of actual combat capability. When one uses the number of hulls to assess the size of a country’s navy, an antiquated 60-metre Chinese patrol vessel counts the same as a 130,000-tonne U.S. navy aircraft carrier. This discrepancy was well illustrated in the CBC’s “exclusive” coverage of the “tense encounter” when it concluded with a shot of the distant Chinese warship photo-bombing a group photo of the U.S.-led battle group. The only “drama” included in this CBC piece was video footage from this past June when a Chinese frigate crossed the path of a U.S. warship in the Taiwan Strait. No doubt the CBC producers and the public affairs branch at the Department of National Defence hoped that by putting a camera crew from Canada’s state broadcaster abroad HMCS Ottawa they would indeed capture an actual “tense encounter.” However, given that the Chinese warships simply monitored the allied battle group in the East China Sea, it is hard to define what transpired as an “encounter, let alone “tense.” It may have been “exclusive,” but it just wasn’t a story. Scott Taylor is the editor and publisher of Esprit de Corps magazine. The Hill Times