Trump's Chief Strategist Steve Bannon: 'We're going to war in the South China Sea ... no doubt'

[Yossarian]

The United States and China will fight a war within the next 10 years over islands in the South China Sea, and “there’s no doubt about that”. At the same time, the US will be in another “major” war in the Middle East.

Those are the views – nine months ago at least – of one of the most powerful men in Donald Trump’s administration, Steve Bannon, the former head of far-right news website Breitbart who is now chief strategist at the White House.

In the first weeks of Trump’s presidency, Bannon has emerged as a central figure. He was appointed to the “principals committee” of the National Security Council in a highly unusual move and was influential in the recent travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, overruling Department of Homeland Security officials who felt the order did not apply to green card holders.

While many in Trump’s team are outspoken critics of China, in radio shows Bannon hosted for Breitbart he makes plain the two largest threats to America: China and Islam.

“We’re going to war in the South China Sea in five to 10 years,” he said in March 2016. “There’s no doubt about that. They’re taking their sandbars and making basically stationary aircraft carriers and putting missiles on those. They come here to the United States in front of our face – and you understand how important face is – and say it’s an ancient territorial sea.”


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...non-donald-trump-war-south-china-sea-no-doubt

Steven Bannon and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are probably now the two most powerful men in Trump's administration.

Bannon is vehemently Islamophobic and believes that there is a “fundamental clash of civilizations” between the west and “supremacist” Islam, and that that “the Judeo-Christian west” is engaged in a “global war” against “jihadist Islamic fascism”.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/03/steve-bannon-islamophobia-film-script-muslims-islam

Jared Kushner is a director of a family foundation that makes charitable donations to West Bank settlements and was reported to be furious, refusing to meet ambassadors from European countries who had voted for the resolution.

Steven Bannon has been appointed a member of the National Security Council, whilst Jared Kushner will also be able to sit in on meetings.

Meanwhile, The Director of National Intelligence, along with the country's highest ranking General, The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have been removed from the National Security Council and would only be allowed to attend if the “issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed”.

 

[PakLFC]

The only other war left in the Middle East for the Yank's is with the Saudi's. As for China everyone knows a confrontation is coming.

 

[JaDed]

Trump's administration might turn the clock back a 1000 years the way they are speaking.

 

[Yossarian]

Trump is just a showman, more interested in his tv ratings than real policies. It's those around him, like Bannon and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, that are the real danger, the one's really running the show. Also, apparently, they are bypassing normal rules by making sure that there is no paper trail of their discussions inside the White House, and how their decisions were reached.

 

[Syed1]

I fully expect China to inflict a resounding defeat to the US if it comes to it.

 

[Pure Evil]

So if we go by the OP China should not be challenged in the South China Sea and the 9 dash line is valid.

He also has no issues with the almost monthly attack taking place in western countries. Usually carried out by second generation immigrants. Refugees who ask their 8 year old daughters to cover up and not shake hands with their teachers. Everything should be accommodated but if a nutcase like Trump comes along we should be outraged. Cool brah!!

 

[enkidu_]

The US predator only launches war against resources rich little Arab states after it has isolated them for years and exhausted them through harsh economic sanctions, after an "international" cabal.

For China (or Iran) it'd be harder, because it's too much inter-connected with the "world-economy" (and the US knows it better than anyone), it has strong diplomatic ties with a lot of nations in the world and it simply won't let get bulldozed easily by the US.

The US will probably find indirect channels to threaten Chinese interests.

 

[Markhor]

Steve Bannon is a white nationalist who headed one of the biggest fake news outlets in Breitbart before entering the Trump Administration.

He is a dangerous man.

 

[Yossarian]

So if we go by the OP China should not be challenged in the South China Sea and the 9 dash line is valid

What right does the USA have in meddling in territorial disputes in the South China Sea, thousands of miles from the nearest U.S. territory and U.S. territorial waters? Whereas, there is no dispute that part of the China Sea (and thus many of the islands) are within Chinese territorial waters. The disputes are regarding the extent of these territorial waters, the limits of these boundary lines and the ownership of the islands in the disputed sections of the South China Sea. None of which is the business of the USA.

 

[Syed1]

The US predator only launches war against resources rich little Arab states after it has isolated them for years and exhausted them through harsh economic sanctions, after an "international" cabal.

For China (or Iran) it'd be harder, because it's too much inter-connected with the "world-economy" (and the US knows it better than anyone), it has strong diplomatic ties with a lot of nations in the world and it simply won't let get bulldozed easily by the US.

The US will probably find indirect channels to threaten Chinese interests.

Like propping up India to counter China, however China is not dumb (infact the Chinese are smartest people on Earth) and they have made their own move to prop up Pakistan. Sort of like my enemies enemy is my friend. If India is pre-occupied with pesky Pakistan it won't have the means to counter an ever rising China.

Sort of like in a formula one race when the first three cars are in close proximity and the number three is trying to overtake number two, number two's sole focus is keeping three at bay, while number one is able to drive pressure free and hence extend his lead.

 

[Pure Evil]

What right does the USA have in meddling in territorial disputes in the South China Sea, thousands of miles from the nearest U.S. territory and U.S. territorial waters? Whereas, there is no dispute that part of the China Sea (and thus many of the islands) are within Chinese territorial waters. The disputes are regarding the extent of these territorial waters, the limits of these boundary lines and the ownership of the islands in the disputed sections of the South China Sea. None of which is the business of the USA.

The US should not be bothered even if the other allied countries are asking for it to intervene?
Cool bro. US has no right. Only you have the right to outrage on probable US actions. You fit the picture perfectly

 

[PetroDollars]

You can add Gwadar and Balochistan on that list too, hence why China is throwing money at Pak with CPEC, the new East India Company

 

[Pure Evil]

Like propping up India to counter China, however China is not dumb (infact the Chinese are smartest people on Earth) and they have made their own move to prop up Pakistan. Sort of like my enemies enemy is my friend. If India is pre-occupied with pesky Pakistan it won't have the means to counter an ever rising China.

Sort of like in a formula one race when the first three cars are in close proximity and the number three is trying to overtake number two, number two's sole focus is keeping three at bay, while number one is able to drive pressure free and hence extend his lead.

First up India is not getting propped up. You would have seen US bases in India or a token participation in the innumerable US wars. For all the corruption in India, we have done a good job of not fighting others wars. You won't see that change imho.

We were worried about China even before CPEC and the military aid. Remember Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh, conflicts ongoing since the 50s. It's frustrating that our foreign policy has been unable to solve the Chinese puzzle for so long. They have been too inept in handling that relationship.

Also it's unfortunate to assume that we will stop focusing on our growth just because you guys are cosing up to the Chinese. What are you really going to do? Start another war? Or send in more proxies?

 

[Yossarian]

The US should not be bothered even if the other allied countries are asking for it to intervene?
Cool bro. US has no right. Only you have the right to outrage on probable US actions. You fit the picture perfectly

Oh I forgot. India too has territorial disputes with China. Is India also going to ask Uncle Sam to intervene on it's behalf?

 

[Yossarian]

The US should not be bothered even if the other allied countries are asking for it to intervene?
Cool bro. US has no right. Only you have the right to outrage on probable US actions. You fit the picture perfectly

Just to add, going by your logic, presumably China would be well within it's rights to get involved in the Kashmir dispute if Pakistan requests China to do so?

 

[enkidu_]

Like propping up India to counter China, however China is not dumb (infact the Chinese are smartest people on Earth) and they have made their own move to prop up Pakistan. Sort of like my enemies enemy is my friend. If India is pre-occupied with pesky Pakistan it won't have the means to counter an ever rising China.

Sort of like in a formula one race when the first three cars are in close proximity and the number three is trying to overtake number two, number two's sole focus is keeping three at bay, while number one is able to drive pressure free and hence extend his lead.

I don't think India will play into the US plans. It has kept a principled and independent stand even during the climax of the Cold War (Nehru was, with Yugoslavia's Tito and Egypt's Nasser, one of its spearheads), which was more polarizing as geopolitical chess-game than the current "cold war" between the US and China (where in fact both are too much interconnected to stage a conventional war). Modi has some weird ideas (talking of "Indian exceptionalism" by mimicking the Americans) but he won't go that far as I see it.

I believe the countries in the region should forget their differences (and sure there are) and work for the epochal revival of Asia, which would definitely put an end to the long going Anglo-Saxon piracy, incarnated today in the American Leviathan.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

First up India is not getting propped up. You would have seen US bases in India or a token participation in the innumerable US wars. For all the corruption in India, we have done a good job of not fighting others wars. You won't see that change imho.

We were worried about China even before CPEC and the military aid. Remember Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh, conflicts ongoing since the 50s. It's frustrating that our foreign policy has been unable to solve the Chinese puzzle for so long. They have been too inept in handling that relationship.

Also it's unfortunate to assume that we will stop focusing on our growth just because you guys are cosing up to the Chinese. What are you really going to do? Start another war? Or send in more proxies?

This is actually quite true, India doesn't generally get involved directly in wars outside of it's own region. In Asia itself though, they do interfere a lot either directly as in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, or via proxy in Afghanistan.

 

[troodon]

I fully expect China to inflict a resounding defeat to the US if it comes to it.

China is not powerful enough to take on USA.

US will be aided by Japan and other south east nations. China will have support from usual suspects in North Korea as their only ally. Pak will not take sides and so do Russia/India etc.

US economy will suffer. China will suffer even more. No nation is stupid enough to start another world war. Definitely not China. They won't throw away everything they achieved in the last 3 decades down the toilet.

 

[Syed1]

China is not powerful enough to take on USA.

US will be aided by Japan and other south east nations. China will have support from usual suspects in North Korea as their only ally. Pak will not take sides and so do Russia/India etc.

US economy will suffer. China will suffer even more. No nation is stupid enough to start another world war. Definitely not China. They won't throw away everything they achieved in the last 3 decades down the toilet.

Sir if a full-scale war breaks out between US and China in South China Sea, there will be only one victor and that is China.

Mainland China is in extremely close proximity to the SCS and Chinese aircrafts/naval vessels will have unlimited supply of fuel and resources, a luxury which US vessels won't have. Beside Japan doesn't have much of a military off its own so it can only provide help in terms of providing bases and refueling stations. However, Japan is quite a ways away from the SCS and to reach the Japanese bases US aircrafts/vessels will have to travel across the face of China which will obviously be a huge danger in times of war.

This is also where CPEC increases in importance because war in SCS will cut off China from the rest of the world and there only outlet will be the Gwadar port.

The US over-estimates it's military capability. They were beaten in Vietnam and they were unsuccessful in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Also in case of full-scale war between China and US, you can bet your bottom dollar that Pakistan/India/Russia will be involved in some shape or form.

 

[Yossarian]

Sir if a full-scale war breaks out between US and China in South China Sea, there will be only one victor and that is China.

Mainland China is in extremely close proximity to the SCS and Chinese aircrafts/naval vessels will have unlimited supply of fuel and resources, a luxury which US vessels won't have. Beside Japan doesn't have much of a military off its own so it can only provide help in terms of providing bases and refueling stations. However, Japan is quite a ways away from the SCS and to reach the Japanese bases US aircrafts/vessels will have to travel across the face of China which will obviously be a huge danger in times of war.

This is also where CPEC increases in importance because war in SCS will cut off China from the rest of the world and there only outlet will be the Gwadar port.

The US over-estimates it's military capability. They were beaten in Vietnam and they were unsuccessful in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Also in case of full-scale war between China and US, you can bet your bottom dollar that Pakistan/India/Russia will be involved in some shape or form.

There will NOT be all-out war between the USA and China. There might be a few stand-offs between Chinese and US warships here and there (but still maintaining a distance of a few nautical miles from each other). Or maybe even US Navy or Air Force planes ignoring Chinese warnings and flying over/close to the disputed islands occupied by China, with the Chinese sending up their own jet fighters as a show of strength (but not actually getting into a fight).

At worst, there might be a few skirmishes between Chinese and U.S. warships, with a few shots fired at each other, but without any intentions of hitting their targets. However, the diplomatic and political fall out from such an encounter, with Trump in charge, will send the worlds financial and stock markets into panic mode.

Buy gold if you have the money.

 

[Syed1]

There will NOT be all-out war between the USA and China. There might be a few stand-offs between Chinese and US warships here and there (but still maintaining a distance of a few nautical miles from each other). Or maybe even US Navy or Air Force planes ignoring Chinese warnings and flying over/close to the disputed islands occupied by China, with the Chinese sending up their own jet fighters as a show of strength (but not actually getting into a fight).

At worst, there might be a few skirmishes between Chinese and U.S. warships, with a few shots fired at each other, but without any intentions of hitting their targets. However, the diplomatic and political fall out from such an encounter, with Trump in charge, will send the worlds financial and stock markets into panic mode.

Buy gold if you have the money.

Steve Bannon: 'We're going to war in the South China Sea ... no doubt'

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/02/steve-bannon-donald-trump-war-south-china-sea-no-doubt


Steve Bannon is the chief strategist for Trump.


Also in a state of war it is very hard to predict to what extent the 'skirmishes' will escalate to. I agree in the beginning there will be a few "show of strengths" but what would happen if a US jet flies over Chinese territory "to show strength" and China responds by shooting the bird down. What happens next? US will not be like "ok my bad, we will just go back"

 

[Yossarian]

Steve Bannon: 'We're going to war in the South China Sea ... no doubt'

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/02/steve-bannon-donald-trump-war-south-china-sea-no-doubt


Steve Bannon is the chief strategist for Trump.


Also in a state of war it is very hard to predict to what extent the 'skirmishes' will escalate to. I agree in the beginning there will be a few "show of strengths" but what would happen if a US jet flies over Chinese territory "to show strength" and China responds by shooting the bird down. What happens next? US will not be like "ok my bad, we will just go back"

The U.S. Generals know the consequences of all-out war with China. Unlike Iraq, when the Generals wanted to go and attack Iraq because they knew they could defeat Iraqi forces in a matter of days, since they knew that there was no Iraqi air force or Iraqi air defences to speak of, and from the air they could hammer Iraqi cities and Iraqi forces at will. They all felt it was a quick and guaranteed way to become instant heroes and win a few medals cheaply for themselves and their soldiers and airmen.

Remember those photos of Bush's victory speech on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln with the banner "Mission Accomplished" displayed behind him?

Well, the U.S. Generals know that going to war against China would be a heck of a lot different. And that's why if it looks like war, they will bring Trump to his senses.

 

[LongHorn]

If they do go to war in China, they can expect help from the Gulf ...

http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/how-the-gulf-could-reap-the-benefits-of-trump#full

Some people never learn, they still think Trump is out to help them ....

 

[Black Zero]

Too much wishful thinking:

Why would Russia accommodate USA?
Specially when it's against its own interests.


I expect Russia, China, Iran and Syria would be more influential afer 4 years.
As these countries have been dealing with bullies for decades.

For example, Iran test fired another missile
China also tested a new missile.

However, biggest winner would be Putin.

 

[s28]

Where's the best place to go if there's a nuclear war ? I hear New Zealand farms are popular with the super rich

 

[Yossarian]

Where's the best place to go if there's a nuclear war ? I hear New Zealand farms are popular with the super rich

Between all the nuclear powers, there are tens of thousands of nukes in the world. If a nuclear war ocurrs between any of the big 3 (USA, Russia, China), enough nukes will be unleashed to wreck every economy in the world. Chaos will ensue, with wars breaking out left, right, and centre.

Only somewhere very difficult to get to, and completely isolated from the modern world, would be even remotely safe from the aftermath of a worldwide crisis of such proportions.

Some isolated tribal village in the heart of the Amazon jungle might be a good place if one thinks about it.

 

[s28]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bannon's views on Muslims make Trump's ban look like child's play. Delve deeper into his racist ideology, watch now: <a href="https://t.co/tP2tnSt1ZW">https://t.co/tP2tnSt1ZW</a> <a href="https://t.co/B3h7QK7x7F">pic.twitter.com/B3h7QK7x7F</a></p>— The Empire Files (@EmpireFiles) <a href="https://twitter.com/EmpireFiles/status/845682686421291012">25 March 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[FearlessRoar]

The Philippines has accused China of "swarming" a reef off its coast after more than 135 military boats were spotted in the South China Sea.

The coast guard said the boats were "dispersed and scattered" in the vicinity of Whitsun Reef, which it says is within its exclusive economic zone.

They said the growing presence of these military boats was "alarming".

The South China Sea is at the centre of a territorial dispute between China, the Philippines and other countries.

Whitsun Reef - which the Philippines calls Julian Felipe Reef - is around 320km (200 miles) west of Palawan Island, more than 1,000km from the nearest major Chinese landmass of Hainan island.

The Philippines' Coast Guard said the number of Chinese maritime militia vessels in the area had increased from the 111 they recorded in November. There has been no response from China.

Friction between the two countries over competing sovereignty claims has increased since Ferdinand Marcos Jr became president last year.

Last week, the Philippines carried out two separate joint air and sea patrols with the US, and with Australia a few days earlier.

An international tribunal invalidated China's claim to 90% of the South China Sea in 2016, but Beijing does not recognise the ruling and has been building islands in the disputed waters in recent years.

The contested waters have also become a naval flashpoint for China-US relations, and in October, US President Joe Biden warned that the US will defend the Philippines in case of any attack.

President Biden's comments were made days after two collisions between Filipino and Chinese vessels in the waters.

Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei also claim parts of the sea.

Source: BBC

Philippines accuses China of swarming reef in South China Sea

The coast guard said the growing numbers of Chinese military boats in the area was "alarming".

www.bbc.com

 

[FearlessRoar]

Tensions rising in the South China Sea as over 135 Chinese military boats spotted near Whitsun Reef. The Philippines calls it alarming. Let's hope for peaceful resolutions and respect for international rules.

 

[aboveandbeyond]

U.S the instigator of all wars and evil preaching peace. A case of pot calling the kettle black.