China will crush Trump’s military if they dare to flex their military muscles in the South China Sea (Image: GETTY)
China has the ability to control the South China Sea and the US could be forced to retreat as Beijing prepares for war. China, along with several of its neighbours including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have been involved in a decades-long dispute over who controls the South China Sea. Xi Jinping's superstate claims most of the sea as its territory but China’s neighbours argue parts of the area belong to them. Tensions have skyrocketed in recent years and resulted in the involvement of the US.
Bryan Clark of the Centre for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments said: “China has the ability to control the South China Sea because it has established escalation dominance in that area.”
Beijing’s main priorities for 2019 include strengthening its military training and preparation for war.
An editorial published on New Year’s Day in the state-run military newspaper the PLA Daily said: “We should be well prepared for all directions of military struggle and comprehensively improve troops’ combat response in emergencies to ensure we can meet the challenge and win when there is a situation.”
Mr Clark went on to add: “China now has the world’s largest navy, which has more than 300 ships.
“If you want to be able to conduct sea control in a region, having a big navy is a valuable part of that.
“China is able to focus the attention of that navy on near seas to an extent that its competitors like the US cannot.
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China has the ability to control the South China Sea and the US could be forced to retreat (Image: GETTY)
Xi Jinping's superstate claims most of
