You don't want a nation like China feeling bold and aggressive and punchy. Unfortunately, China is at present feeling all three of those things:
China has begun sending its most advanced fighter aircraft, the J-20, to patrol the East and South China Seas, Chinese state media has reported.
Early versions of the J-20 stealth jet used Russian engines -- but those have since been replaced with domestically-produced twin engines. The jets were first shown to the public with the new Chinese engines last year at Airshow China.
The deployment is intended to "better safeguard China's airspace security and maritime interests," state-run tabloid Global Times reported on Wednesday, citing military experts.
"Airspace security and maritime interests," in this case, translates directly to "expansionist desires." China wants control over most of the South China Sea—it's a paramount shipping corridor and may contain huge reserves of fossil fuels underneath the seabed.
China is also looking to wrest control of the Senkaku Islands from Japan; doing so could spark an international conflict due to the United States's strategic commitments with the latter country.
As one expert told CNN, China's message at this point is essentially: "Any foreign military aircraft intruding into China's claimed airspace in the East and South China Sea may now be intercepted by J-20s."
It's basically what international conflict experts call "a powder keg."
The U.S. needs a strong, unbending leader at a time like this. Maybe we'll get him in 2024, if it's not too late.
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