While Europe and the Middle East have dominated the international news of late, it hasn’t been all quiet on the Far Eastern front either. Though Japan, Thailand and Singapore still provide idyllic destinations for the vacationer seeking the beauty and historic charm of Asian cultures, we can’t ignore the rumblings and grumblings of those nearby totalitarian twins, China and North Korea.

We’ve all been aware of China’s designs on Taiwan; their air “exercises” perilously close to Japan; and now, a joint “exercise” with Russia in the skies overlooking — but wisely not entering the air space of — Alaska. And that, for the edification of the geographically challenged, is in the United States of America.

Oh-oh.

When you poke a hornet’s nest — in this case, the U.S. — you’d better have an escape plan. Because those hornets, while generally happy to be encased peacefully in their nest, do not take kindly to being poked. And when aroused . . . well . . . you can imagine.

So I present to you the ultimate anti-poking device: The U.S. Air Force B-2 Stealth Bomber.

And this is not just any old bomber. This one — or its twin — was part of the world’s largest naval drills recently held off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii, in which it proved its ability to take out a decommissioned amphibious assault ship (the USS TARAWA) with a single, inexpensive guided bomb.

Analysts have called this a “very significant” factor in any hypothetical future conflict between China and the United States. China has long relied on the size of its navy (the world’s largest), its stock of thousands of missiles on the Chinese mainland, and its ability to provide air cover to its ships from land-based aircraft. But analysts have said that the B-2 could negate some of China’s advantages with its long-range fire capability. [Brad Lendon, CNN, July 27, 2024.]

According to a U.S. Air Force website, arming these bombers with relatively inexpensive, effective, precision-guided bombs with warheads of up to 2,000 pounds “could give the Air Force bombers the ‘anti-ship lethality’ of a submarine-launched torpedo without the liabilities of a submarine.” [CNN, id.]

Following the U.S. air exercise, a press release from the U.S. Navy’s Third Fleet said: “This capability is an answer to an urgent need to quickly neutralize maritime threats over massive expanses of ocean around the world at minimal costs.” [CNN, id.]

That’s good news for the free world. For China, well . . . let’s call it a cautionary tale.

So, President Xi, I hope you’re paying attention. The United States — in fact, the entire civilized world — wants peace. We do not want war. We will do everything within our power to avoid it. Seriously, who wants to be exterminated? But that does not mean we are sitting idly by while you bully and threaten and shake your fists at us. For your own sake, and for the sake of the entire world, please don’t ever underestimate our capabilities, or our determination.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/29/24

NOTE: Comments on events in North Korea are coming up in a separate post, later today. Stay tuned . . .