China continues to strengthen its geopolitical advantages in Asia, to the detriment of the USA and the western-aligned bloc of nations. The first two links [1, 2] report that China is implementing a massive $46 billion investment to upgrade infrastructure projects all over Pakistan in a way which will work to China’s strategic advantage. China will be investing in the construction of massive roadways, energy pipelines, etc. to connect China with the Indian Ocean at the Pakistani port of Gwadar. China has already invested a very large amount of money to make Gwadar a deep-water port for both civilian and military purposes. As the links point out, this rapidly-growing Chinese-Pakistani alliance is meant to counter the growing American-Indian alliance. While Pakistan will offer some lip service to being a US “ally” for a while yet, it is clear that Pakistan has effectively decided to join the Gog-Magog alliance. Based on Ezekiel 38, my writings have predicted such a development for some time. Ezekiel 38:5 lists “Ethiopia” as a member of the Gog-Magog alliance in the latter days of our age, but the word should be rendered as “Cush” or “Kush.” While there are Cushites, in my opinion, in the Horn of Africa region, the main body of Cushites are in Asia. The name of Cush (a descendant of Noah via Ham as Genesis 10:6 notes) is prominently present on modern maps in the Hindu Kush Mountains, which straddle the northern regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. That region will soon witness the presence of the Chinese infrastructure projects connecting China to the Indian Ocean via Pakistan.
China is greatly increasing its naval power, but its ships and sailors are quite untested in combat conditions. China still has enough respect for the US Navy and the military power of America’s allies in the region to realize that Chinese vessels may not be able to force their way into the Indian Ocean from the South China Sea if war erupts in the future. If that happens, China wants to be able to reinforce its base at Gwader, Pakistan via an overland route. In the global game of geopolitics, that move makes much sense. One of the links also reports that China is selling Pakistan eight submarines, and it is obvious that China expects Pakistan to use these assets as an ally of China if war breaks out. Given that China is acting to position its forces to control maritime access to the Persian Gulf via the port of Gwadar and that Iran controls the northern shores of the Persian Gulf, the Gog-Magog alliance is in an excellent position to control maritime access to the Persian Gulf in wartime conditions. Saudi Arabia would be wise, I think, to construct new methods of getting its oil to world markets other than via the Strait of Hormuz. It could build pipelines to ship oil from a new port location in Oman, but Oman is dangerously close to Iran and China’s new base at Gwadar, Pakistan. The other logical option, when one looks at a world map, is for the Saudis to build oil pipelines across Jordan and Israel to reach world markets via Israeli and Egyptian ports on the Mediterranean Sea. This reality may also drive the Saudis and Israelis together, in addition to their mutual threat from Iran. Yemen is a physical option, but that nation is now too unstable to even consider as an oil outlet.
The above strictures that China is placing on future Persian Gulf oil shipments makes the Yemen conflict even more important. The Shiite Houthis are allies of Iran and, therefore, indirectly with China as well. If the Shiite Houthis can control the Bab el Mandeb strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, the Gog-Magog alliance will effectively encircle Saudi Arabia and can choke off Saudi oil shipments as well as all southern traffic to/from Egypt’s Suez Canal in a crisis or war. Saudi Arabia and Egypt realize this very keenly, and that is why Saudi Arabia is pounding Houthi targets in an air war and why Egypt has shelled Houthi targets with its navy. Both nations may yet have to commit ground troops to drive the Houthis back from their current positions which threaten to control the Bab el Mandeb waterway.
China is also moving swiftly to assert its very bellicose assertion that it “owns” virtually the entire South China Sea. The third link and fourth link reveal that the Chinese are rapidly creating an island where only an atoll used to be located so they can complete and equip a military airfield within the South China Sea. Based on an aerial photo at one of the links, the Chinese look like they are building this military base at break-neck speed. Once it is built, China will be able to exert powerful control of the entire South China Sea region. The other nations with maritime interests in the South China Sea (the Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, the USA, etc.) are objecting to China’s actions but are so far doing nothing to stop or oppose them. China is asserting its ownership of the South China Sea with deeds. Other nations are opposing China only with words. As I’m sure all readers realize, actions beat words every time. China is currently winning this confrontation in the South China Sea.
As a final note, readers also realize that aircraft carriers are the largest maritime military asset in any navy that has them. China does have one aircraft carrier that it is being outfitted for service, but it is not yet ready for prime time. The USA has many aircraft carriers, but only a few of them at any time would usually be within range of the South China Sea if war erupts there. India has two aircraft carriers that are operational. Japan, as a post a few moths ago noted, has launched an aircraft carrier that is not actually called an aircraft carrier although it was built to handle both warplanes and helicopters. For those readers who like to stay abreast of such matters, the final link details the largest and most capable carriers in the naval fleets of the world’s navies.
- http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-to-unveil-billions-of-dollars-in-pakistan-investment-1429214705
- http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/16/us-pakistan-china-idUSKBN0N718X20150416
- http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/17/us-southchinasea-china-runway-idUSKBN0N723Y20150417
- http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-17/china-may-control-south-china-sea-with-new-isles-u-s-navy-says
- http://www.technologyvista.in/pin/top-5-warships-of-the-world/#sthash.hamr55At.d19n7Pz7.dpbs
