In a move which further fans the flames of Chinese-Japanese tensions, China recently sent a fleet of five Chinese warships completely around the Japanese home islands (see link). This maneuver made the point that the Chinese navy can encircle Japan and that China’s navy is transitioning to a full blue water navy—not just a coastal defense fleet. This may seem to be a small matter to Americans, but this Chinese move has major significance to the Japanese.
Obviously, Japan allowed the Chinese warships to conduct this maneuver without firing upon them, but this encircling exercise of Japan represents a further bellicose action on the part of China against Japan. This Chinese action will only intensify Japan’s feelings about a need to increase its own military build-up. The build-up of military forces in Asia contrasts sharply with the Obama administration’s announced plans to steadily reduce the size of the US military.
This increased tension between Japan and China is entirely consistent with the biblical prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39 as these nations are prophesied to not be allies at the end of our age. For more on these nations’ roles in latter-day prophecy, please read my homepage article, What Ezekiel 38-39 reveal about a Future World War III [PDF] and my article, Japan’s Role in Biblical Prophecy.
