this is radio tabs

Within the first couple of months of the Bush admin back in 2001, the Chinese Air Force had an "INCIDENT" with an American surveillance aircraft near Chinese airspace. The result was one of their fighter planes crashed killing the pilot and our surveillance plane was damaged and forced to land in Chinese territory. The Bush admin made a vaguely worded apology that basically saved face for all parties involved.

This past week in the South China sea, several Chinese navy ships made similar harassing gestures to American Naval surveillance ships. To this point the Obama admin has issued a harsh statement of disapproval to the Chinese government. Neither side at this point is backing down.

It seems that the Chinese are once again testing the resolve and mechanism this time of how the Obama admin responds to provocation and or crisis situations. From the previous admin the Chinese seemed to have learned that the Bush admin was flexible in their response, keeping the larger issues in focus. With the Obama admin the Chinese are wondering if the Obama admin will get their backs up against the wall and escalulate the situation into a full blown diplomatic crisis? This little "incident" probably will have a long lasting effect on the Chinese American relationship as they will see how this admin deals with their special relationship