US War Games Near China: A 'Defensive' Democracy Promotion Tour
While Newsweek marvels at photos of US and allied war games featuring Japan and India near China, one might wonder how Beijing would describe its own 'defensive' maneuvers off the coast of Florida. This grand display of 'freedom of navigation' (translation: America's freedom to operate its military anywhere on Earth) is routinely reframed as benevolent oversight, never as the calculated
encirclement a rising power perceives it to be. We saw this playbook with Russia and NATO expansion. Now, in the South China Sea, the US continues its tradition of posturing with its partners, creating a perfect pretext for increased aggression, all while decrying any perceived 'threats' to the 'rules-based international order'—rules seemingly written by Washington, for Washington. Call it what it
is: preparation for conflict, disguised as a friendly neighborhood jog with heavy weaponry.