China’s PLA eyes new military bases across Indo-Pacific
On a small, sandy atoll smack dab in the middle of the Pacific Ocean lies a rundown airstrip that served as a critical U.S. staging and supply hub during World War II. Today, this 6,000-foot runway in the Pacific island country of Kiribati is once again on the front lines. This time, China has its eyes on this prized piece of geopolitical real estate—one located around 1,800 miles from sensitive U.S. military installations in Hawaii.
Beijing is hardly content to limit its military basing pursuits to the South Pacific. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is already making serious headway securing new bases in Cambodia, Tanzania, and the United Arab Emirates, among other locales. Whether or not Washington can derail Beijing’s plans is anyone’s guess. Either way, U.S. policymakers and military brass could soon wake up to a changed world, where the PLA can project its power far beyond the tense Taiwan Strait…
The current push for a Chinese base in Kiribati is eerily reminiscent of Beijing’s efforts to secure its first (and for now only) overseas military base in Djibouti in 2017. Just as it did then, China has leveraged a combination of deft diplomacy, elite capture, and strategically timed investments to win over the host nation government. The resulting arrangement, details of which have been withheld from the Kiribati public and political opposition, reportedly calls for Beijing to refurbish and expand the remote airstrip. Future construction, conducted under the ostensible guise of economic development and climate change adaptation, could provide Beijing with what amounts to a fixed aircraft carrier capable of supporting fighter deployments and a full range of unmanned operations, whether for reconnaissance or potential combat. And that’s just for starters.
A base in the UAE would significantly expand the PLA’s maritime footprint around crucial maritime chokepoints, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
In the July 2016 Trumpet, editor in chief Gerald Flurry explained how China’s takeover of vital sea gates is prophesied in your Bible:
To really understand the significance of what is happening, you must understand the prophecies of the Bible.
God delivered a sobering warning to the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy 28. If the people disobeyed Him and turned to sin, He would give the strategic sea gates of the world over to their enemies. These enemies would use these sea gates to besiege and enslave biblical Israel: “And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trusted, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee” (verse 52).
This warning is not just for an ancient nation. It is a prophecy for the modern-day descendants of Israel! Two nations in particular represent Israel in this end time: America and Britain. Don’t believe me—you need to prove this truth for yourself. We will be happy to send you a free copy of Herbert W. Armstrong’s book The United States and Britain in Prophecy, which contains abundant proof.
These nations are full of terrible sins today, and God is going to correct them for that! This prophecy and several others show that He will send foreign enemies to punish America and Britain!
You can already see this prophecy moving toward its fulfillment: The European Union is moving into South America, making trade agreements that are taking business away from the United States. Russia and China are militarizing the most important trade routes traversing the Asian continent.
This prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes! America’s enemies are securing shipping lanes and creating economic alliances that will very soon enable them to choke off America’s supply lines. Soon America will find it impossible to import oil and other necessities.
Britain and the Jews in the Mideast will suffer a similar fate.
For more on the rise of China, you can read his article “China Is Steering the World Toward War.”
