South China Sea

In the sphere of future global politics, no region will be as hotly contested as the Asia-Pacific. This is where authoritarian China is trying to rewrite international law and challenge the democratic values of the US and its allies. No other Asian country can take on China alone. The US too may be ill-equipped for the job at hand. If China does get away with seizing and militarizing waters here, what will it do elsewhere, and who will be able to stop it? Asian Waters breaks down the politics - and tensions - seen through this region for years.

Over the last decade, the center of world power has been quietly shifting from Europe to Asia. With oil reserves of several billion barrels, an estimated 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and several centuries' worth of competing territorial claims, the South China Sea in particular is a simmering pot of potential conflict. The underreported military buildup in the area where the Western Pacific meets the Indian Ocean means that it will likely be a hinge point for global war and peace for the foreseeable future.

Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer.

Ordered to relieve an alcoholic skipper, Dan finds he has inherited a damaged ship, an untrustworthy crew, and an ambiguous mission. He is to take the USS Oliver C. Gaddis, soon to become the PNS Tughril, on her final voyage to be donated to Pakistan. But in Kirachi, Dan gets new orders: take Gaddis still further east, and operate against modern pirates preying on commercial shipping in the remote, dangerous South China Sea.

No sooner had the aerial reconnaissance photographs of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea been analyzed than the evidence of China's island-building activities was forwarded to the Pentagon and the White House. Those satellite images revealed that the Chinese military was turning reefs and atolls into solid ground supporting airfields, ports, helipads and barracks. The discovery of new Chinese military staging areas adjacent to the earth's busiest shipping lanes for oil and natural gas was followed within weeks by China's announcement that they would purchase all of Russia's surplus...

This book places the reader in the correct frame of mind to grasp the gravity of the situation facing America and comprehend the downward spiral we have entered collectively as a nation. The United States' hegemony, competitive advantage, economic interests, national security, social construct, morality, and military capability are being threatened and contested on multiple levels, internally and externally. The global situation has escalated to a point where our past global retreats and inactions are forcing us to face significantly more risk. It is imperative that we adopt a more ...

Immerse yourself in the intricate world of geopolitical hotspots with the riveting new eBook - 'Unstable Borders'. This insightful guide studies intricate dynamics on a global scale, unearthing layers of political, cultural, and social complexities that define today's world order. Dive into the pulsating heart of global conflicts, past and present, and trace the outlines of today's geopolitical landscapes from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, Africa to Asia. You'll navigate startlingly complex narratives like the longstanding struggle in Israel-Palestine, the emerging battlefield of South...

An exciting, hugely revealing account of China’s burgeoning presence in Africa - a developing empire already shaping, and reshaping, the future of millions of people. A prizewinning foreign correspondent and former New York Times bureau chief in Shanghai and in West and Central Africa, Howard French is uniquely positioned to tell the story of China in Africa. Through meticulous on-the-ground reporting, French crafts a layered investigation of astonishing depth and breadth.

A timely look at the impact of China's booming emergence on the countries of Southeast Asia.

As President Trump’s national security advisor, John Bolton spent many of his 453 days in the room where it happened, and the facts speak for themselves. The result is one of the few White House memoirs to date by a top-level official. With almost daily access to the president, John Bolton has produced a precise rendering of his days in and around the Oval Office. What Bolton saw astonished him: a president for whom getting reelected was the only thing that mattered, even if it meant endangering or weakening the nation.

A brand-new anthology from a diverse lineup of authors, offering taut and dramatic exclusive tales set on Earth and in dark reaches of space, featuring the ultimate hunters known as Predators This session features fifteen never-before-seen original short stories set in the expanded Predator universe from the first film, featuring the ultimate hunters, the Yautja from the movie Predator.

Out in the Pacific Ocean, there is a war taking place. It is a "warm war", a shoving match between the United States, since World War II the uncontested ruler of the seas, and China, which now possesses the world's largest navy. The Chinese regard the Pacific, and especially the South China Sea, as their ocean, and they're ready to defend it. Each day the heat between the two countries increases as the Chinese try to claim the South China Sea for their own, and the United States insists on asserting freedom of navigation.

The Caribbean Queen Alex and company steal an expensive yacht, The Caribbean Queen, from its mooring while the crew is ashore on the island of Grenada. They sail it away as a dangerous storm sweeps the sea. The Exchange Alex receives a call from an old friend to help him recover his two kidnapped children in Hong Kong. Alex decides to deliver the unusual payment for his friend even though he must get safe passage from the Triad. He confronts the nefarious Mohammed the goat to make the payoff. The exchange goes all wrong and a gun battle ensues. Venezuela Nights Alex embarks on a secret ...

The 3 female protagonist thrillers CIA FALL GUY & LT. COMMANDER MOLLIE SANDERS & HOT POTATO are now available in one ebook -- BRAINS BEFORE BEAUTY: CIA FALL GUY: Is Beth Parsons being set up as a fall guy for someone within the CIA? It's 1997 and Beth Parsons -- a widow whose husband was killed years earlier in a bombing at the U.S. Army Officers Club in Frankfurt, Germany -- is summoned to CIA headquarters. The supposed reason for the summons is to identify someone from when she was stationed in Germany. When the man who drove her to the CIA is shot and killed, she realizes that all may ...

Raging Tiger A Long Short Story In early 1998 Alex the Pirate and Diego are running contraband into Vietnam in fleets of tongkang boats, using the gunboat Tiger for defense against other pirates. When they least suspect it, they are attacked by their arch-enemy, the Frenchman. How dare he attack Alex’s shipments? The Frenchman raids their village at Kampung Bharu, destroying boats and killing many. What can Alex do? He vows to have revenge and leads the coastal smugglers in a convoy for retribution. The Modern Pirate Series features Alex the Pirate, Diego his business partner, and a savvy...

"Bill Holstein nails it. This is exactly the right book at the right time. Holstein knows because he has spent decades observing events closely around the world and interpreting them especially in terms of what they mean for real people in America. His observations are deeply insightful and U.S. leaders need to pay attention to his suggestions. The book is also a fun read." —Clyde Prestowitz, veteran trade negotiator and author, The World Turned Upside Down: America, China, and the Struggle for Global Leadership. The rapid spread of the coronavirus demonstrated how deeply interwoven our ...

Two long short stories The Good Deed Faced with stealing a valuable yacht or helping a woman recover her stolen sea-going catamaran is a tough choice for Alex and the crew of the Tiger II. Diego agrees that today at least larceny can take a back seat to doing the right thing. Besides they get to chase the notorious pirate Ortega across the South China Sea to get the stolen craft back. They can even try out the new three-inch gun! Chen In 2002 Alex meets an intriguing thief named Mia at Chin Li’s Water Bar on the inner harbor of Hong Kong, near the exclusive Belmont Yacht Club. She steals ...

Prowling Tiger A Long Short Story Alex the Pirate and his business partner, Diego, set about pirating ships at sea using their new fast gunboat, the Tiger. Stopping a ship at sea and stealing its cargo are not as easy as it sounds. There is a steep learning curve, especially if you try not to kill anyone on board. Mr. Luong says they should stick to what they do best—smuggling contraband across the Gulf of Thailand and into Vietnam where they can make a profit on the black market. There are anxious refugees they must rescue and transport to safety in Malaysia. All in a day’s work. But ...

Restless Tiger A Long short Story Alex and Diego are busy smuggling contraband north across the sea to Vietnam and Cambodia and bringing refugees south across the Gulf of Thailand in early 1998. They find that running a fleet of twelve boats is hard enough, but piracy is rampant on the water. They are also hijacking ships at sea to liberate them of their cargo and turn a profit. And then there is their old scourge, the Frenchman, back on the attack. They have to teach him a lesson and exact revenge for murdered crewmen in the last nasty sea encounter. But how? The third of a collection of ...

Few territories are as hotly contested as the western Pacific Ocean. Across the 1.5 million square mile expanse of the East and South China Sea, six countries lay overlapping claims that date back centuries. China, Vietnam, Korea and Indonesia assert their right to trade routes, deploying military garrisons to defend disputed territories while Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines resist their expansion.