The South China Sea Has Become A New 'Strategic Strait'

CNBC: South China Sea: Is Beijing making a new 'strategic strait'?

The South China Sea doesn't appear at first glance to be a geographical bottleneck. China can, however, effectively create a strait by locating sufficient military assets on two sets of land it controls.

A major test for the future of Asia is on the horizon, and it's centered on the South China Sea.

Within the next three months, a tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is expected to rule on China's expansive and somewhat ambiguous territorial claims in the South China Sea, which the Philippines contends are invalid under international law.

That decision is important for a number of reasons, but among them, experts say, is that China's island-grabbing campaign may be designed to give Beijing a strategic headlock on one of the planet's most critical waterways.

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WNU Editor: The U.S. Navy appears to understand what is happening and wants to confront this development, but the White House has said no .... 4-star admiral wants to confront China. White House says not so fast (Navy Times). Why the White House reluctance? My guess is that with 9 months left in his term, the last thing President Obama wants to be remembered for is starting a conflict with China .... this is a problem that is going to be dumped on the next President, regardless of who wins.