World News Done Right™
It’s time to draw-down U.S. forces from South Korea and move them on to Taiwan, only then can the United States build a proper defensive perimeter around China in the Asia-Pacific and only then will Washington be playing to its traditional strengths as a maritime power.
The United States is a Pacific power, just like China, Japan, and all of the others. In fact, it is the preeminent power in the Asia-Pacific. It should embrace its Pacific heritage and ensure that its interests are respected as China attempts to complete its historic rise to glory. Beijing insists that they have a right to reclaim “what was theirs” before the Westerners laid their empire low. The United States was not one of the powers that helped to destroy China. Also, unlike the Europeans, the United States does have a major maritime border with the region and has long had an outsized role in Asian affairs. Therefore, Washington has a right to ensure its historic standing in the region is respected as well. If China cannot countenance this fact, then Washington must do what it can to make it understand this reality.
“Japan is America’s ace-in-the-hole when it comes to China. The United States should encourage Japan to take greater levels of active defense of their homeland, and to become a normal country with a military force again. After all, Japan’s military and not China’s is the most advanced and capable military in the Asia-Pacific today. Fully normalizing their country’s armed forces could solidify this fundamental truth and put the Chinese back on their heels, buying America much-needed time to solidify its own global dominance, and to keep China back.”
“The Tumen River Region is a critical factor in all Chinese designs for dealing with North Korea. And, now that North Korea is aiming to play all three great powers: the United States, China, and Russia off each other, expect Pyongyang to use the Tumen River Region in a bid to force both Beijing and Moscow to hew closer to its geopolitical desires.”
“Whether it’s in 18 months or four years from now, the North is going to strike the South–and it won’t be a pinprick strike either. Kim Jong-un wants South Korea. It is a fundamental component of his regime’s existence. It cannot be removed from young Kim’s psyche until he settles the issue on his own. The course is set. There will be little deviation. Since, my initial hopes for a Manhattan-like Project that would deploy space-based missile defenses into orbit does not seem to be at hand, the Trump Administration must decide whether it can live in a world where the kooky Kim regime can permanently threaten the United States with nuclear retaliation or attack.”
The American media built up President Donald J. Trump’s whirlwind trip to Asia to unfair levels…and then systematically (unfairly) tore it down when Trump returned. The President claims this was the most successful trip to Asia of any modern U.S. president, which is a stretch, to say the least. However, Trump’s trip WAS successful. He now needs to build off the personal connections he forged and truly pivot U.S. foreign policy toward this dynamic part of the world. Listen to find out why and how!
“China and the United States are on the long road to strategic competition, saddling up to China will not make Russia a great player on the world stage; it will make Russia just another tributary state in the growing Neo-Chinese Empire. Instead, Russia should seek to embrace the West, in order to better defend against their restless Chinese neighbors.”
With the recent Financial Times article talking about a potential pending settlement of the ongoing Kuril Islands Dispute that has existed since 1945 between Russia and Japan, I took to the web to remind everyone that we are The Weichert Report have been talking about this deal since before the media even knew what the Kuril Island Dispute was. Here is my take on the events. Plus, I offer some insight into Scotch.
The recent United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ruling that China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea are categorically illegal will not bring much-needed stability to the Asia-Pacific. Indeed, this ruling will lead to still more instability. Read more to find out why.
THE WEICHERT REPORT 