One would not expect American enemies to ignore mental incapacity at the highest levels of the U.S. government. Or to miss taking advantage of it. After all, neutering the U.S. has been Russian President Vladimir Putin’s wet dream for years.
So, longtime readers may recall international friction over fishing rights and sea lanes in the South China Sea have been brewing for many years. The U.S. Navy has conducted a string of freedom of navigation exercises — which hit an all-time high in 2019 — to remind China that the U.S. and our Southeast Asian partners reject its territorial claims in the disputed waters.
Meanwhile on this side of the planet, half of U.S. states are reporting an increase in new COVID-19 cases. The White House is now a “ghost town” and a designated a coronavirus “hot spot.” Staff are reportedly afraid of infection and angry that Trump “has little intention of abiding by best containment practices.” Even former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway’s 15-year-old daughter, Claudia of Tik Tok fame, has tested positive for Covid. (What happens in the Trump White House, doesn’t stay in the Trump White House.) Chaos reigns as Trump’s reelection chances circle the drain.
What an opportunity for foreign adversaries.
Did you notice the Joint Chiefs of Staff are under quarantine? With Acting President Donald Trump infectious with COVID-19, drugged-up and, in between tweeting furiously, likely making doodles upstairs in the Residence, China now feels it has a freer hand (New York Times, Oct. 5):
The soldiers run through the forest, through the surf, through smoke and flames, ready to die for the motherland. The video, one of a series that has recently appeared online in China, climaxes with the launch of nine ballistic missiles and a fiery barrage of explosions.
“If war breaks out,” a chorus sings, “this is my answer.”
Chinese propaganda is rarely subtle or particularly persuasive, but the torrent of bombast online and in state media in recent weeks is striking and potentially ominous.
The targets are China’s main adversaries: the United States and Taiwan, which are moving closer and closer together.
The propaganda has accompanied a series of military drills in recent weeks, including the test-firing of ballistic missiles and the buzzing of Taiwan’s airspace. Together, they are intended to draw stark red lines for the United States, signaling that China would not shrink from a military clash.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is asserting his country’s claims in the South China Sea while facing pressure to “revitalize Manila’s security cooperation with the United States against the need to preserve his country’s economic ties with Beijing.” Lacking much of a navy, there is little Duterte can do but posture.
Dwindling fish stocks in the South China Sea are driving fishermen in the region farther from shore where they face ramming and harassment from Chinese vessels in contested waters.
But not to worry. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is on the job. He began meetings in Tokyo this week with diplomats from Australia, India and Japan aimed at strengthening ties among regional allies as China flexes its muscles and amps up militaristic propaganda. And the Russian military gave Putin a successful hypersonic missile test today for his 68th birthday.
Donald Trump wishes he had a hypersonic missile he could salute as it rolls down Pennsylvania Avenue.
But short of that, even sick, sinking in the polls, and his administration in disarray, the acting president wants you to know the U.S. is still strongly.
Update: Should have read “enemies,” not allies, 1st p. SMH.
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