Waters Heating Up in East Asia- A Diplomatic Update Since Guam

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Written by Gavin Hanson

Though the tensions in East Asia have cooled since North Korean Dictator, Kim Jong Un, backed off threats to nuke Guam, things are not yet as calm as they seem.

Since the apparent deescalation, things have grown more tense than calm. Our annual naval preparatory maneuvers with Japan and South Korea this year have always been seen as incredibly threatening to the Kim regime. The Ulchi Freedom Guardian practice maneuvers are set to last until the 31st.

The general quiet we are currently experiencing is not an all-clear, but the calm before the storm… the dead still before a wild west shootout.

North Korea, by some estimates possibly is in possession of 30 nuclear weapons and can, and the very least, hit Japan, South Korea, Guam, Hawaii, The Philippines, New Zealand, and Australia with nuclear armed ballistic missiles.  The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has said North Korean uranium and plutonium facilities are top notch. Their missiles have been tested and proven. Threats from the stubby North Korean dictator should be taken seriously.

Harsh words over the execution of this exercise have been traded on both sides. Our naval exercises did, in fact, get scaled down, but not because of DPRK threats, said Defense Secretary Mattis.

During the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise things have only gotten worse, North Korea has threatened to attack Australia. They have threatened all participants in the naval games but some threats are more meaningful than others. Even the Chicago Tribune approves of massing violent threats around the hermit kingdom to wipe it off the map should it act violently.

A surprise attack from NoKo could cause immense lose of life in less protected areas. North Korea is an unpredictable outlaw and the international sheriff, the good ol’ USA has it outgunned. The problem is, we can’t Han Solo this. If we shoot first, Kim has the protection of the strongest guy in the saloon, China.

The real danger is China’s defensive alliance with North Korea. We are not able to preempt North Korean attacks without China turning a typical display of shock and awe into a massive international conflict.

Trump and China have turned up the rhetorical heat on each other in recent day too. North Korea is obviously finishing up their ICBM technology. Even the Russians are demonstrating force in the region.

We are in dangerous waters.