After more than a year of provocation and saber rattling, the very real threat of an armed conflict with China is coming to fruition. While Americans opened presents during the holidays, the Chinese government began flexing its military might in the Eastern Pacific — up to, and including, talk of putting its carrier fleet off the coast of the United States.
 

After more than a year of provocation and saber rattling, the very real threat of an armed conflict with China is coming to fruition. While Americans opened presents during the holidays, the Chinese government began flexing its military might in the Eastern Pacific — up to, and including, talk of putting its carrier fleet off the coast of the United States.

It is important to note that US foreign policy over the last year and a half has enabled this unprecedented show of force by the Chinese.

In October 2015, in an apparent move meant to project U.S. military power to the Chinese government, American officials announced that U.S. Navy warships will sail directly through a Chinese claimed 12-nautical mile zone in the disputed region of the South China Sea.

The contested waters around the Spratly Islands, which China claims as its own sovereign territory, have been the cause of intense controversy. The U.S. has refused to recognize China's territorial claims and believes the disputed area resides in international waters.

Then, in March, the US Navy dispatched a small armada to the South China Sea. Consisting of the John C. Stennis aircraft carrier, two cruisers, two destroyers, and the 7th Fleet flagship, the US made its mission clear — we are not scared of kicking off World War III.

Confirmed by the Navy Times, the stand-off has been heating up on both sides. After news in February that the Chinese deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile battery to the Paracel Islands, U.S. Pacific Command head Adm. Harry Harris told lawmakers that China was militarizing the South China Sea.

The constant US military presence in the area undoubtedly forced the hand of the Chinese as enough firepower to level a small nation sitting in your backyard cannot be seen as a simple peacekeeping mission.

On Christmas Day, the Chinese

government made clear to the world that they are now a force to be reckoned with. The state-run Global Times media agency published an editorial calling on the nation to show its capabilities.