US 'Tests' Drones Near China, Calls It 'Defense'
The article frames these deployments to Japan and Taiwan as standard procedure, aimed at 'interoperability' and 'regional stability.' One might wonder how Beijing interprets these 'stability operations' when heavily armed drones, responsible for countless civilian casualties in other theaters (see: Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan), are hovering in its neighborhood. (Hint: They don't call it 'stability.')
This isn't a test; it's a projection of force, barely disguised as a benign exercise, especially considering the US has 750-800 military bases globally. (Source: David Vine, 'Base Nation'). Newsweek, like much of mainstream media, conveniently omits discussing how the U.S. might react if China were 'testing' its own advanced drones off the coast of, say, California or Florida. The double standard
is so transparent it might as well be part of the drone's stealth technology. It's 'defense' when we do it, 'aggression' when anyone else does. How many civilian wedding parties have Reaper drones 'stabilized' before?