
China is relentlessly trying to peel away Japan's resolve in disputed islands
CNN
For all the speculation of quick military action by China to achieve its foreign policy goals, Beijing's track record has been more akin to peeling an onion, slowly and deliberately pulling back layers to reach a goal at the center.
Think of how Beijing built up islands in the South China Sea and then fortified them, eventually establishing what in 2018 the former head of the US Pacific Command called a "Great Wall of SAMs," -- surface-to-air missiles -- on islands that years earlier Chinese leader Xi Jinping had pledged not to militarize.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information that could have endangered US troops through his use of Signal to discuss attack plans, a Pentagon watchdog said in an unclassified report released Thursday. It also details how Hegseth declined to cooperate with the probe.

Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.











