On December 8, 1987, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. This treaty banned land-based missiles with ranges between 500 to 5,500 kilometers.
And on August 2, 2019, U.S. President Trump officially withdrew the U.S. from the treaty, citing Russia's noncompliance as the primary reason.
One day later, U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper commented that the U.S. wants to "counter China's massive missile inventory sooner rather than later," and that he was in favor of placing ground-based missiles in Asia.
Whether one agrees with the U.S. withdrawal or not, one thing is indeed clear...
China's militarization, particularly in the highly disputed South China Sea, has grown to concerning heights.
Beijing has been openly hostile toward foreign presence in the area for years, and its increased militarization includes missiles, bomber planes, gunboats, and more.
That's not to say the U.S. hasn't been guilty of the same thing, but it does take two to tango.
Fact is, the U.S. has been gathering forces in the area in self-defense against what China has in mind for what they consider usurpers and trespassers in what they believe is their rightful territory.
To be specific, what China has in mind is a full-out missile attack.
The international community has been watching the area on tenterhooks for some time now, in case China decides enough is enough and decides to declare war. This is a scenario that's looking more likely by the day.
But the U.S. is not one to take such a threat lying down.
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