The Great Game: Southeast Asia

President Bush will meet with the prime minister of Vietnam next month.

I'm sure that the Vietnamese would be happy with some weaponry to bolster their defenses in case the Chinese head south again. The Vietnamese have already shown that they can go toe to toe with the PLA and not flinch.

And if we had access to Vietnamers air bases and ports, we'd be in a nice position to block Chinese power projection into the South China Sea. And China's Hainan Island would be vulnerable to attacks 270 degrees.

The containment of China proceeds nicely.