the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Apr 22, 2024
Even as U.S. forces are increasingly drawn into fighting in the Middle East, even as they arm and train troops in Ukraine to fight Russia, the U.S. has also been moving to further encircle China militarily.
On April 17, President Biden organized an official state dinner for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The two leaders announced that the military forces of their countries would further increase their coordination, including forming a new joint defense council.
The next day, the two leaders met with Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines, the first time the leaders of the three nations had ever met together. The point of the meeting, according to the New York Times, was to launch “a more aggressive effort by the United States and its allies to isolate China….”
This comes just a month after U.S. and Japanese military forces conducted a massive joint exercise known as “Iron Fist ‘24”—an exercise that had been in California until 2023, when it was moved to Japan. According to U.S. Naval Institute News, the whole point of moving the exercise was to prepare to counter “Chinese claims to the disputed Senkaku islands” and maneuvers by the Chinese navy.
At the same time that it was carrying out “Iron Fist ‘24” with Japan, the U.S. was also carrying out its annual large-scale drills with South Korea, reinforcing the integration and coordination of the two countries’ militaries. And the U.S. military was also conducting military drills in Thailand, coordinating with Thai forces and also with 30 other militaries.
On top of that, the aid package the U.S. House just passed provides military support not just to Ukraine and Israel, but also allocates eight billion dollars for Taiwan and the “Indo-Pacific.”
Look at a map: Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea surround China. The U.S. repeatedly accuses China of being “aggressive” and “hostile.” But there are exactly zero Chinese military bases or Chinese military allies anywhere near the United States, and the Chinese military has never once carried out an open military exercise within a few thousand miles of U.S. soil.
The facts and the map make clear: it is the U.S. that is tightening a military noose around China, preparing for a war that would be an utter disaster for the people of both countries, and the rest of the world.