Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited China’s naval force in the South China Sea last week—at exactly the same time as the United States and the Philippines began their largest-ever joint military drills.
Xi visited the navy of the Southern Theater Command on April 11 after China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command concluded its military exercises around Taiwan from April 8 to 10.
Expert analysis suggests that while Xi’s gesture signaled his ambition to dominate the South China Sea, the country that could most severely hinder Xi’s goal would actually be Vietnam—which U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has just finished visiting….
Xi Jinping Inspects China’s South China Sea Fleet as Regional Tensions Escalate
