Authored by James Holbrooks via TheAntiMedia.org,
Adding fuel to an already highly combustible situation in Southeast Asia, Reuters reported Tuesday that China has “largely completed major construction of military infrastructure on artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea,” and that the Asian superpower “can now deploy combat planes and other military hardware there at any time.”
Confirming recurring rumors from the past month, overnight both China's Foreign Ministry and the White House confirmed that China's president Xi Jinping will meet with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on April 6-7. It will be Xi's first meeting with Trump, a little over a month after Trump used the same venue to meet with Japan's PM Abe, and comes at a time when the two sides face pressing issues, ranging from North Korea and the South China Sea to trade disputes.
Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,
In China's latest test of the US response to its escalating claims of islands in the South China Sea, Reuters reports that Beijing has "nearly finished building almost two dozen structures on artificial islands in the South China Sea that appear designed to house long-range surface-to-air missiles." Predictably, such a development will likely raise questions about whether and how the United States will respond, given its vows to take a tough line on China in the South China Sea. The structures appear to be 20 meters (66 feet) long and 10 meters (33 feet) high.
The US Navy has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to the South China Sea waters, ignoring warnings from Beijing to cease provocations with China. According to the US Navy, the deployment of USS Carl Vinson, together with aircraft from the Carrier Air Wing 2, and the guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E.Meyer are part of “routine operations” in the disputed region. Rt.com reports: The deployment of the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1 began Saturday, just days after China issued a stern warning to stay away from the area.