We might breathe a little easier....

.....after seeing this brilliant episode of Chinese seamanship; a Chinese Coast Guard vessel collides with a Chinese Navy destroyer while pursuing a Philippine Coast Guard vessel at top speed.  It's a perfect, clear day, glassy seas....and one has to ask "did no one post a watch, or look at radar, to see what other ships might be in the vicinity?".  

As things are, two Chinese ships are out of commission for a while, which is just fine by me, and the navies of the world, especially those of Taiwan, Australia, Great Britain, and the United States, have been put on notice that Beijing does a lot better at putting steel into salt water than actually using that steel as a warship.

In related news, a brand new Russian tugboat has sunk in the shipyard, just like a North Korean frigate did last month.  We might suggest that totalitarian government and competence don't exactly go together.