If China succeeds in consolidating those bases in the S China sea it will not make the news and no one will notice because she will still allow shipping to go through there unnopposed, but she will have the ability to seal off that waterway whenever she chooses. In essence, she will control the area, and threaten a whole bunch of our allies and our own trade without firing a shot. He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing.

China is doing the same thing at sea that we tried unsuccessfully in the Middle East when we invaded Iraq. Like Iraq in the Mideast, the S China Sea is the Keystone in E Asia, it borders every major player in the area. Her presence there puts her right next to all the nations in WESTPAC, a role we have held unopposed since the end of WWII.

If the states in the area realize they cannot count on us now, they will not be willing to provide the bases, logistic support and combat formations we will need in the future to check the Chinese in that area. Neither will they be willing to provide us the economic and political support. Obama was busily forging diplomatic and military ties with those nations, (they all fear the Chinese) but Trump’s State Department has done little to follow up. One day, China will use that leverage, you can count on it. Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore, all US allies and either established or emerging economic powers, will be Beijing’s satellites. Australia and New Zealand will be threatened, and isolated.

Trump is going to trade that away so he can look good to his base, and for some chickenshit trade concessions. Right now, the DOD agrees with me on this, that’s why we are continuously sending warships and aircraft through that area. But you will notice Trump never brings it up. This is his Czechoslovakia. He’ll sign the paper in a heartbeat.

This is important. It is important enough for us to go to war over. You always seem afraid Trump will get us into an unnecessary conflict. I’m afraid he will refuse to fight an essential one.

And yes, there is oil in those waters.