China Threatens War-Trump Nominee Draws Ill-Advised Line in the Sand
By Dave Hodges
TheCommonSenseShow.com
January 14th, 2017
It is the bad cold that won’t go away. It is the disease that has allowed to fester because inattention. And now, the Trump administration is about to begin its four-year term with the potential for not just one war, but two wars. Who’s to blame? It is none other than the greatest fraud and traitor to occupy the White House, the soon-to-be former President Obama. The Russian issue will continue to monitored in other articles. This article will deal exclusively with the China problem which just reached critical mass on Thursday with the confirmation hearing of Rex Tillerson.
Rex Tillerson, Trump’s nominee for the Secretary of State, stated during his confirmation hearing before the US Senate that China must not only stop the construction of artificial islands in the area of repeated disputed South China Sea territorial claims, but that the U.S. should also ban China from occupying these islands.
If Tillerson acted on his threats, Chinese state-owned China Daily said, “it would set a course for devastating confrontation between China and the US.”
I agree with Tillerson’s first set of demands against China, namely, the freedom of the seas principle and having unfettered access to the South China Sea. However, enforcing the banning of the Chinese from the artificial Islands that they have constructed is problematic, both from a diplomatic and a military point of view with regard to the practicality of enforcement.
There’s another thing that really bothers me about Tillerson, he sounds more like a Defense secretary than the secretary of State.
In similar circumstances, I would expect and even want Defense secretary nominee, General Mattis, to talk tough and not show any quarter. However, a secretary of State must have finesse and demonstrate some flexibility. His job is to take a range of options to the President. Further, this narrow approach only allows the Chinese two options, acquiescence and the loss of face, or war, which could be devastating for everyone on the planet. The first variable, loss of face is the stuff that regime change is made of in the communist Chinese culture. In these confirmation hearings, Tillerson shows no finesse and absolutely zero flexibility.
What Is the Issue in the South China Sea?
The Rest…HERE
