A destabilizing new global hotspot has risen up out of the sea…

China has created a chain of artificial islands in the South China Sea (SCS). Engineers have dredged up the sea floor and piled it on top of existing reefs.

The new islands house military airstrips… and fighter deployments to China’s new “fixed aircraft carriers” have already begun.

Now, the Washington Free Beacon reports China’s added YJ-62 anti-ship cruise missiles to several islands. These can attack vessels up to 250 miles away. They join anti-air missile batteries already on the islands.

China intends to use the islands to gain control over the entire SCS. The sea may contain up to 130 billion barrels of oil and 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in underwater fields.

It’s also a major international shipping corridor: 50% of world shipping passes through the Straits of Malacca to and from the South China Sea.

The U.S. is intent on keeping the SCS’s sea lanes open. The U.S. Navy has already deployed ships and aircraft within 12 nautical miles (international seaward boundary lines) of some of the new islands.

Longtime Daily readers know shooting wars don’t just pop up overnight. They’re the final result in a deteriorating chain of other “wars”…

  • First come currency wars, where countries manipulate their currencies lower to spur economic growth through exports (at the expense of others).
  • Then come trade wars, where countries enact tariffs against other nations to “protect” domestic industries. This breaks down profitable trade between both sides.
  • Last come “hot” wars. With profitable trade gone, there’s little economic incentive to prevent countries from attacking each other.

Bottom line: Watch this area. It’s fast becoming a flashpoint for serious conflict between nuclear powers.

The more trade deteriorates between the U.S. and China, the higher the likelihood of conflict breaking out in the SCS…