
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.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Monday that the Pentagon is taking administrative action to punish Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain, by cutting his retirement pay for participating in a video where he and other Democratic lawmakers reminded US service members of their duty to refuse illegal orders.












