Two US Destroyers Sail Into Taiwan Strait For First Time Since 2007

"While most are keeping track of the tariffs the US imposes on China, or how Beijing retaliates as part of the now official trade war that started at midnight on Friday, July 6, a just as significant, if less overt diplomatic feud is being waged in parallel.

Here, some speculate that today's news of North Korea's response to the ongoing discussions with the US, in which an envoy said that North Korea's "resolve for denuclearization may falter", is a direct consequence of China - which was the puppetmaster behind and greenlighted the Trump-Kim summit - urging Kim to fade Pyongyang's eagerness to engage Trump as "punishment" for Washington's belligerent attitude toward China. Alternatively, one can argue that China is merely responding to the latest diplomatic escalation by the US, which reportedly is preparing to deploy marines to the US embassy in Taiwan for the first time in effect legitimizing the US negation of a "One China Policy", a step which would further inflame tensions between DC and Beijing.

Now, in yet another diplomatic tit-for-tat which could be Trump's latest attempt to further provoke and antagonize Beijing, two US warships entered the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, the Taiwanese government said. A strategically-timed event, this was the first time US navy ships entered Taiwan Strait since November 2007..."

at https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-07-07/two-us-destroyers-sail-taiwan-strait-first-time-2007