China Challenges USA in Pacific

“China is challenging the balance of power in the Pacific with much greater determination… A symbolic moment was reached in 2014 when the IMF announced that, measured in terms of purchasing power, China is now the world’s largest economy… China’s rise is just part of a larger shift in economic power. According to the IMF, three of the world’s four largest economies are now in Asia” (Financial Times, August 5, 2016). Earlier this year China “reportedly deployed two batteries of HQ-9 surface-to-air missiles to a disputed island in the South China Sea” which was a move telling the U.S. that it was prepared to defend its claims to territorial expansion (Deutsche Welle, February 17, 2016). China has also dismissed a U.N. International Court ruling in The Hague against its expansion in the South China Sea, vowing “We will never stop our construction on the Nansha Islands halfway... no matter what country or person applies pressure” (The Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2016). Recent photos show China continues to build “reinforced aircraft hangars on its holdings” which “have room for any fighter jet in the Chinese air force” (Reuters, August 9, 2016).

China’s expansion is in line with Bible prophecies that describe an Eastern superpower that will launch a huge army against a European superpower at the end of the age (Daniel 11:44; Revelation 9:13-18). To learn more about China’s role in end-time prophecy, read our article “Is this China’s Century?”