You read that correctly there is a new cold war. China is becoming increasingly aggressive towards its neighbors. It is claiming more and more islands based on distant history. Its communist government regularly ignores international maritime conventions.
Japan has been forced to build installations on uninhibited islands to prevent China from taking them. China is running armed ships into Japanese waters without notice. Realizing that its neighbor has become a threat Japan has begun a military build up.
Taiwan has also begun to take its own defense seriously. China protested strongly a recently inked sale of F-16 fighters to the island nation and now the Taiwanese are promising to build their own fighters and submarines.
Vietnam and the Philippines are likewise feeling threatened by Beijing. Joint military exercises between Russia and China were clearly meant to intimate South Korea.
And now the killing of a American carrier is thinkable. Isn't this a cold war? If you read that article you'll discover our carriers can't operate close enough to the area without becoming a target. Our carrier based planes don't have the range. By default our missile subs have become the biggest deterrent to Chinese aggression.
Between 1997 and 2016 U.S. submarine production dropped by 80%. During that time we lost the industrial base required to build the subs we need today. Because of that General Dynamics is struggling to meet the new demand.
Our European allies have grown soft and can offer little support. The free nations of the Pacific are acknowledging China's regional ambitions. If we fail to act the communist government of China will begin to gobble up it's smaller neighbors and that will directly affect the United States.
Just announced: Japan passes record defense budget.
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