CHINA FLEXES – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:  China is building artificial islands in the South China Sea, in waters it claims.  Now we have detected artillery on one of those islands.  From Fox: 

U.S. surveillance images show China has positioned weaponry on at least one of the artificial islands it is developing in the South China Sea, officials say, apparently confirming suspicions that Beijing has been building up the area for military use.

A U.S. official confirmed to Fox News on Friday that China has put artillery pieces on its man-made islands.

The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, first reported that images taken about a month ago showed two Chinese motorized artillery pieces on one of the artificial reefs. Although the weaponry would not pose a threat to U.S. planes or ships, it could potentially reach neighboring islands, the officials told the paper.

“There is no military threat,” one official told the Journal. “But it is about symbolism.”

The Journal reported that in recent weeks the artillery has disappeared from view, though it was not clear how of why. U.S. officials said they believed the equipment had either been removed or purposely obscured by the Chinese.

The American officials said that the artillery, is within striking range of an island claimed by Vietnam, which that country's government has armed with various weaponry for some time.

COMMENT:  Ironically, John McCain, who suffered horribly as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War, is advocating that Washington equip the Vietnamese with defensive weapons.  How history turns.

China is becoming increasingly aggressive, and we are becoming increasingly passive.  But a new president is elected in a year and five months.  We have a chance to recover from this administration's pathetic foreign policy.  But will we seize it?

May 30,  2015