Trump, Xi, and a Brewing Battle Over the Indian Ocean The winter is lovely in Oman. For centuries, this sultanate at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula has been a meeting point for the Middle East and the rest of Asia (its cuisine reflects this rich history). It signed its first treaty with the United States early in Andrew Jackson’s second term.
Jackson is back in the Oval Office—at least, his portrait is—and at the Indian Ocean Conference, I learned about the geopolitical stakes of the jockeying in this region, and what Donald Trump can do about it.
Dozens of ministers emphasized in their speeches how vital freedom of the seas is for their countries. Houthi attacks on ships traveling through the Red Sea deeply disturbed a region that depends on maritime trade. India usually tries to avoid Middle Eastern conflicts, but its military escorted merchant ships and rescued crews from vessels the Houthis struck.
The Biden administration’s stunning failure to protect these waters was mostly left unsaid at the conference. Freedom of the seas has been a core national interest since the Founding: Congress created the U.S. Navy to protect Americans sailing in the Middle East, and the U.S. Marine Corps anthem celebrates the Corps’ first overseas combat deployment, "to the shores of Tripoli."
Joe Biden, however, flailed aimlessly for over a year while the Houthis boarded and sank ships traversing one of the world’s most important waterways. The Houthis have mostly ceased their unprovoked attacks, but they still retain their capabilities to wreak havoc on international shipping at will.
The Houthis and their imperial benefactors in Tehran are far from the only threat to American interests in the Indian Ocean. Communist China, which according to U.S. intelligence also arms the Houthis, is busy at work here as well.
Since taking control of China, Xi Jinping has launched a series of ventures to overthrow the U.S.-led international order and replace it with one centered in Beijing. His signature Belt and Road Initiative and its accompanying 21st Century Maritime Silk Road are part of this plan. He aims to extract resources from Africa, turn them into manufactured goods in China, and export them to developed economies such as Europe and the United States. The Indian Ocean is right in the middle............
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/trump-xi-and-a-brewing-battle-over-the-indian-ocean/
