President Trump’s latest two messages via Truth Social present an interesting geopolitical approach with multiple enmeshed aspects.
First, some background context is needed. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and USTR Jamieson Greer are in Paris to meet with Chinese government officials ahead of a scheduled meeting between Chairman Xi Jinping and President Trump.
The main objective of the pre-summit assembly before President Trump goes to Beijing, is to hammer out the actionable agreement details that can be signed off by Xi and Trump. Bessent and Greer are looking to put a deal together with their Chinese counterparts so that Trump and Xi can announce mutually beneficial outcomes during their summit.
Second, President Trump has already indicated the March 31/April 1 meeting with Xi will be all business. The traditional pomp and splendor will not be present, and Trump will only be visiting Beijing – no sidelines.
Third, Secretary Rubio will be accompanying Trump on this trip to Beijing, which might seem ordinary were it not for the fact that in 2020 China sanctioned and banned Rubio from entering China for criticizing Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
Fourth, there are rumors that President Trump is going to announce a significant weapons deal with Taiwan at some point immediately following the trip. If those rumors are true, it would be a top priority for the Chinese advance team in Paris to stop that from happening.
Regardless of what happens in the next few weeks, President Trump will be meeting with Chairman Xi with full Eagle eye confrontation toward the returning dragon stare. There will be no panda mask on this trip whatsoever; this face to face is an apex predator showdown, while the world watches intently.Everything President Trump does between now and his arrival in Beijing, should be contemplated through this adversarial position. With strong moves in Venezuela and Iran President Trump has already pulled Chairman Xi into the jianshu1 circle, showing the soul of his blade.
Chairman Xi does not have anything resembling a retreat position. He has a highly focused domestic audience, and the eyes from the Great Hall of the People will be watching intensely.
In the next two weeks we will likely see critical probes of both Trump and Xi’s wills surface in ancillary stories connected to each stakeholder, most likely swirling around the Iran conflict. Do not be surprised if we see all of the advanced USA influence purchasing by China now activated with very specific anti-Trump narratives.
That is the context for President Trump to call out many of the oil dependent countries:
TRUTH SOCIAL – “Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe. We have already destroyed 100% of Iran’s Military capability, but it’s easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close-range missile somewhere along, or in, this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are.
Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated. In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water. One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE! President DONALD J. TRUMP
There is a significant overlay here.
First, any nation that sends supportive military ships into the Strait of Hormuz is openly taking a position against the Iranian regime. China cannot take that position, and President Trump knows it – so he’s calling out the dragon’s alignment for the world to see.
…. If you get oil from the region, come protect your ships while I kill the bad guys…
Remember, Japan has a very limited military, and their post-World War II constitution was blocking them from building one. Changing that position was the goal of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a friend of Trump, and he was traveling throughout Japan with that message when he was assassinated. That objective now falls to the protege’ of Abe, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Japan is included on that list of countries specifically to antagonize the dragon, with President Trump saying I have a strong industrial friend in your back yard.
For the rest, notice the countries Trump did not name: India, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines or any of the Asian countries that are dependent on oil from the middle east. Trump is not asking the dependency allies of the United States to participate. Instead, President Trump is calling upon the fake-ally countries that oppose the United States but hide behind a friendly smiling mask.
This is a bold underline for President Trump’s former statement where he publicly doubted the NATO allies would ever come to assist the USA (ie. Greenland), even though they are dependent on the security the USA provides.
In this Iranian conflict, the Europeans are dependent on oil from the middle east, but they will not put their military into the fight even if it secures their own economic future. Opening the Strait of Hormuz benefits the Europeans, but they only want to pontificate grand prose about it; similar to how they pontificated about the threat Iran presented, then lost their supportive tongue when Trump finally did something about it.
A few hours later, President Trump drives home the point:
TRUTH SOCIAL – “The United States of America has beaten and completely decimated Iran, both Militarily, Economically, and in every other way, but the Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — A LOT! The U.S. will also coordinate with those Countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well. This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be — It will bring the World together toward Harmony, Security, and Everlasting Peace!” President DONALD J. TRUMP
Now we wait to see who steps up.
Spoiler Alert – No one will!
And that’s the point Trump is making.
I also concur with this point:
Shanaka Anslem Perera: “The coalition call is not about Iran. Iran’s military is destroyed. The coalition call is about the world that emerges after Iran. If America escorts the tankers alone, the Strait reopens under American control and dollar pricing survives. If a coalition escorts them, the Strait reopens under international consensus and the yuan-for-Hormuz proposal dies. If nobody escorts them, the Strait stays closed and China’s shadow fleet is the only commerce moving through it.”
- Jianshu is the traditional Chinese martial art of swordsmanship, focusing on the use of the jian—a double-edged, straight sword.
Known as the “gentleman’s weapon,” jianshu emphasizes fluid, precise movements, internal energy (qi) cultivation, and the mind-body connection, reflecting Taoist principles of balance and harmony. ↩︎
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Reposted in full (minus images) with permission from the author. Important to keep the global situation and this analysis in mind. ABN
American Buddhist Net 