Steve Bannon: 'We're Going to War in the South China Sea No Doubt'
theguardian.com
theguardian.com
The tone of the article and the quotes make this sound like this is a new scenario. It isn't. It stretches before Threat Vector (Tom Clancy novel) [0], before the 90's pull out by USN in the Phillipines. [1] There is a long history of rivalry in this region where cultures bump into each other. [2]
Reference
[0] http://www.tomclancy.com/book_display.php?isbn13=97804252623...
[1] https://www.sofmag.com/the-south-china-sea-standoff/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracel_Islands#Historical_per...
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/02/the-coming-war-on-chi...
During WW2, Fletcher Prowty [0] told a story of surplus arms shipments making their way Vietnam in '45. Why? because of a coming war in Vietnam. The US supported the French in SEA I suspect under the "Truman Doctrine" [1] The French influence stopped in '54 when "Dien Bien Phu" fell. This is the pre-history of the US involvement in Vietnam.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Fletcher_Prouty#World_War_I...
[1] https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/truman-doctri...
[2] https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/dien-bien-phu
As history shows politicians can spin anything into a conflict/war and the press lap it up. I just wish those doing the spinning were made to fight on the front line when it happens.