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The US Navy is directing the RIMPAC programs; there are “regular U.S. naval missions” in China’s exclusive economic zone; there are military exercises off China’s northeast coast; and there are military exercises in the Baltic region.
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@Andrew Van Wagner posted:https://join.substack.com/p/no-room-for-conflict
The US Navy is directing the RIMPAC programs; there are “regular U.S. naval missions” in China’s exclusive economic zone; there are military exercises off China’s northeast coast; and there are military exercises in the Baltic region.
Hi, Andrew—I have mixed feelings about your use of semicolons in that sentence. While I do not think they are incorrect, and while I know nothing of RIMPAC, I am inclined to suggest the following revision:
Oh, just to clarify; each of these things is totally separate.
In that case, your semicolons are fine, I suppose, though your readers may find them arresting, semicolons being rather exotic and debateable. Perhaps you want to speed up the sentence. Never be afraid to use separate sentences!
Each item in the list is happening in a different part of the world, I'm pretty sure, so maybe this is a rare instance where separating the chunks (i.e., slowing down the sentence) is actually a good idea?
@Andrew Van Wagner posted:Each item in the list is happening in a different part of the world, I'm pretty sure, so maybe this is a rare instance where separating the chunks (i.e., slowing down the sentence) is actually a good idea?
Semicolons speed things up. Using separate sentences slows things down.
Right; my point is that semicolons are slower than commas and might be warranted to slow things down in this instance...these are things that are happening in different regions.
@Andrew Van Wagner posted:Right; my point is that semicolons are slower than commas and might be warranted to slow things down in this instance...these are things that are happening in different regions.
Is there some reason why you don't want to use two sentences and prune the two unnecessary "there are"s?
I didn't realize that all of those regional things were part of RIMPAC; is that the case?
@Andrew Van Wagner posted:I didn't realize that all of those regional things were part of RIMPAC; is that the case?
My last revision does not imply in any way that all of those regional things are part of RIMPAC. Would you like to answer my question?
We can add "additionally" if it would make you feel more comfortable:
I am done discussing this sentence of yours.
Thanks for your help on this front; I appreciate it. 
