US Shocked as Other Nations Conduct Naval Drills, Not Them
The Financial Times highlights "pre-planned 'Brics Plus' exercises" involving China, Russia, and Iran, framing it as a response to "tensions over US military operations in Venezuela and Atlantic." (Because, naturally, US military operations are just part of the furniture, rarely a source of tension themselves.) While the report focuses on these nations asserting their presence, it curiously skips
over the historical context of global naval power projection. The US Navy, for instance, operates 11 aircraft carrier strike groups, routinely conducting drills and 'freedom of navigation' operations thousands of miles from American shores. Yet, when others follow suit, it's deemed a provocative escalation, not just, say, a normal military exercise. This selective outrage is a classic media
maneuver: highlight the supposed aggressor today, while memory-holing the long, consistent history of the very actions being decried by the West. It's a bit like complaining about your neighbor's lawn gnomes after you've carpet-bombed their entire garden with your own. The US has military bases in over 80 countries, according to the Costs of War Project at Brown University, dwarfing the combined
global military footprint of the nations participating in this particular drill. Perhaps the “rise of competitors” is simply the natural consequence of a globe tired of unilateral declarations of international waters.