China is America's pacing military threat. As we pivot to face that most potent military threat in INDOPACOM, don't forget that America's presence in the Middle East and Europe are vital for facing the threats China poses.
China, Iran and Russia conducted joint naval drills [during March] in the Middle East, offering a show of force in a region still uneasy over Tehran’s rapidly expanding nuclear program and as Yemen’s Houthi rebels threaten new attacks on ships.
The joint drills, called the Maritime Security Belt 2025, took place in the Gulf of Oman near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all crude oil traded worldwide passes.
For all the talk of pivoting away from Europe and the Middle East to face China in the Pacific, China is in the Middle East. Which includes their base in Djibouti and nearby port access in Pakistan. So we need to be in the Middle East to resist China, too.
Further, even if Russia becomes our friend, Europe is a vital staging area--as I addressed in this Substack post--to send forces from the United States to the Middle East. Where China is, if I'm still unclear. And potentially on to the South China Sea or Australia.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
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NOTE: I made the image with Bing.
