US Frets Over Chinese Ships in… China's Waters?
Newsweek reports the Chinese Navy 'outnumbers' US and allied ships during exercises in 'disputed waters.' The alarm bells are deafening, implying an audacious Chinese encroachment. Yet, those 'disputed waters' are, by international law and geographic reality, largely in China's backyard. The U.S. Navy, a globe-trotting expeditionary force, is thousands of miles from home, staging exercises off the
coast of a sovereign nation. This framing—a nation’s navy operating predominantly in what it considers its own territorial claims as an act of aggression—is a masterclass in obfuscation. One might wonder what the US reaction would be if the Chinese Navy were conducting 'exercises' off the coast of California. The only thing 'disputed' here, it appears, is whose right it is to project power where,
and Newsweek appears quite clear on whose side they are.