China Just Warned Trump for His Sly Comment on the South China Sea

The United States has done nothing but antagonize China in the South China Sea.

And at the UN today, U.S. President Donald Trump continued to ruffle China's feathers.

South China Sea
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang.

"We must reject threats to sovereignty, from the Ukraine to the South China Sea. We must uphold respect for law, respect for borders, and respect for culture, and the peaceful engagement these allow," Trump told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday (Sept. 19), according to the Economic Times yesterday.

This oblique reference isn't the first time the United States has challenged China on its unilateral claim to the South China Sea.

For instance, in May, a U.S. Navy destroyer - the U.S.S. Dewey - sailed tauntingly close to a disputed South China Sea island controlled by Beijing - the first time under President Donald Trump.

This irked the Red Dragon enough to issue the following warning...

"We urge the U.S. to correct this 'mistake,'" Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang told a regular press briefing on May 25, according to The Telegraph. The patrol, Lu added, "undermines China's sovereignty and security interests."

Then, on Sept. 1, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it had set up a schedule of regular "freedom of navigation" operations (FONOPs) in the disputed waters. This particular news signaled a shift in U.S. policy that had, until now, consisted of intermittent, often reactive naval operations in the disputed region.

China has long despised American FONOPs, and it has even threatened to wage a "people's war" if they persist.

Yet despite Beijing's varied warnings that the United States stay out of the South China Sea dispute, President Trump once again antagonized the already-agitated country at the UN general assembly this week...

Trump and China Are Trading Sly Remarks

This decrial of "threats to sovereignty" in Ukraine and the resource-rich South China Sea was made without explicitly mentioning Russia or China.

And Beijing responded in kind today (Sept. 20), using very specific language without directly mentioning the United States...

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"For some time now, some countries have used the pretext of freedom of navigation to bring their planes and fleets near the South China Sea," Lu Kang said, according to The Times of India this morning.

The "freedom of navigation" term is a dead giveaway. Lu is talking about America.

"Actually, I think this is the behavior that has threatened the sovereignty of South China Sea countries," Lu added. Lu then claimed that "the situation" in the contested sea "has been cooling down," thanks to efforts by China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

But the "cooling down" is actually the result of Chinese bullying tactics...

Take the Philippines, for example. The island nation has, in recent weeks, backed away from criticizing China's naval maneuvers in territory it once claimed as unequivocally its own.

In fact, Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged the futility of fighting China over the South China Sea last month...

Must See: The Defense Industry Is a Gold Mine - You Can't Afford to Miss This $6 Company...

"We will not win," Duterte said, according to ABS CBN News on Aug. 21. "It would be a great sacrifice. I'm a realist. Don't push me into the realm of impossibility."

But just because the little guys in the disputed waters have knuckled under China's might doesn't mean Washington will kowtow to Beijing, too.

Trump's comments yesterday are proof of that.

Here's what investors should do to prepare for the day that China and the United States collide in the South Pacific...

How to Profit as the U.S. Fights Off China in the South China Sea

Money Morning Executive Editor Bill Patalon has been watching Beijing's movements for years. In fact, he's been following developments in the "Asian arms race" for three decades.

And thanks to his updates and insight, Bill has kept readers of his subscription service, Private Briefing, abreast of the region's latest developments so they can position themselves to profit.

On Aug. 17, Bill told his readers that "Beijing isn't looking for true give-and-take cooperation. It isn't looking for what the China Daily refers to as 'the dedicated efforts of China and ASEAN to resolve their differences through dialogue.'"

In the South China Sea, Beijing's idea of cooperation is "you cave in and agree to let us do whatever we want."

It looks like that's precisely what the Philippines is doing.

Bill also knows that the United States won't let China have its way - and that Trump's occasional antagonistic statements serve to remind Beijing of that fact.

Which could one day lead to a U.S.-China war, ASEAN nations be damned.

Time and again, Bill has recommended that his Private Briefing subscribers invest in the companies that will quite literally shield America from enemy weapons in the years ahead.

One such firm is Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA).

When Bill first recommended Boeing, it was trading at $61.92.

Today, the aircraft manufacturer is trading at $255.28.

That's a 312% increase.

On Aug. 14, Bill said, "In general, Boeing sees 'strong and resilient' growth over the next 20 years."

That could have been an understatement...

Because back on June 20, Boeing raised its 20-year industry forecast for plane deliveries from 29,530 jetliners to 41,030, with their value at list prices topping $6 trillion for the first time ever.

To get more of Bill's perceptive profits plays, we suggest subscribing to his Private Briefing. In fact, Bill has recently found a $13 billion anomaly he calls the "Halley's Comet of investing." It's very rare, and fleeting, and Bill sees things lining up perfectly to bring some very sizeable profits to well-positioned investors. Sign up for Private Briefing here...

Trump's Secret Weapon Against Chinese Aggression: Hostilities in the South China Sea now seem imminent, and the Trump administration could be on the verge of its first major crisis. But thanks to a small $6 U.S. defense firm with a top-secret new technology, China is about to be taken to the woodshed. Frankly, you have to see it to believe it...

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