China’s ‘Extraordinary Confluence’ of Military Moves

The tempo of China’s military activity has quickened. Within the space of just a few weeks, China made significant military moves across multiple fronts: conducting bomber patrols with Russia, holding naval exercises with Moscow, staging provocative coast guard operations east of Taiwan, and testing a submarine-launched ballistic missile deep in the Pacific. As China expert Isaac Kardon told Channel News Asia in a July 13 article, the events amounted to an “extraordinary confluence of public shows of China’s military might.”

On June 27, China conducted a joint bomber aircraft patrol with Russia over the East China Sea, the Sea of Japan and the western Pacific. The formation of Chinese H-6K strategic bombers and Russian Tu-95MS was escorted by fighters from both nations for a patrol that lasted roughly six hours and brought aircraft in the vicinity of key United States military facilities.

Days later, combined China-Russia naval forces launched the “Sea Interaction 2026” war games in the Yellow Sea. In this iteration of the annual exercises, the two sides practiced air defense, anti-submarine measures and artillery firing.

During the same span, the Chinese Coast Guard carried out a brazen operation targeting foreign commercial shipping off Taiwan’s Pacific coast. Since China has no jurisdiction over this maritime region and no legal authority to conduct these operations, the operation marked a notable escalation. At the same time, Japan reported a series of Chinese naval movements through strategic waterways near its southwest islands.

Then on July 6, China performed a rare missile test from a submarine in the Pacific. The nuclear-capable long-range ballistic missile was fired from a nuclear-powered submarine and flew roughly 4,500 miles before splashing down in the South Pacific.

Verineia Codrean, Euroatlas’s chief strategy and partnerships officer, said the pattern points to “more sustained naval and undersea activity further from China’s coastline” and indicates a growing ambition to extend operations into ever more distant waters.

Ben Brand, founder of the defense intelligence firm Iron Command, said: “The objective is normalization, not crisis. Beijing wants its presence in these waters to become unremarkable, so the cost of challenging it rises over time.”

‘Steering the World Toward War’

It is clear that both China’s military power and its ambitions to use that power are growing. In the context of biblical prophecy this takes on great significance.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in the July 2016 Trumpet issue that Beijing’s expanding military might—in the South China Sea and beyond—shows that “China is steering the world toward war.”

China is challenging “seven decades of American naval dominance in the Pacific Rim,” he wrote, adding that this trend “should alarm the world!” He continued: “Since Japan’s defeat in World War ii, America has protected this vital trade route and brought peace to this part of the world.” But since the U.S. is now less influential in this region, “other great powers are coming in to fill the vacuum,” he wrote. “China is intimidating the nations of Southeast Asia into submission to its will. It is forcing these countries to do what it wants. Everything is headed in the direction of war.”

Mr. Flurry’s understanding of where China’s increasing power will lead is built on biblical prophecy. In Deuteronomy 28:52, God issues a warning to modern nations descended from ancient Israel, saying that if they refuse to turn to Him and His law, He will give control of the world’s strategic maritime choke points and routes to their enemies:

And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.

This is “a prophecy for the modern-day descendants of Israel!” Mr. Flurry wrote. “Two nations in particular represent Israel in this end time: America and Britain.”

With China’s power growing and with it drawing militarily closer to Russia and other partners, it could soon be positioned to block the U.S. and United Kingdom out of not only Asian maritime regions they once controlled, such as the South China Sea, but even areas that lie thousands of miles from China.

China’s expanding power giving it more influence over regions once controlled or heavily influenced by the U.S. and Britain reflects a geopolitical shift consistent with the prophetic picture in Deuteronomy. China’s ongoing investment in military power, particularly its naval forces and overseas ambitions, could further accelerate the developments described in these passages.

Today’s news—including the “extraordinary confluence” of Chinese military activity—shows that the fulfillment of ancient prophecies is drawing near. And the broader biblical warnings show that it is edging the world toward a time of unprecedented war and devestation (Matthew 24:21-22).

But these events also carry a message of hope. They show that God is working with a purpose—to intervene in human affairs and put an end to mankind’s suffering.

Mr. Flurry wrote:

All this prophesied destruction is what it will take for God to reach this world! After this, people will be ashamed—and they will get to know God! Ezekiel repeatedly talked about that inspiring conclusion (e.g., Ezekiel 6:7; 7:4; 11:10; 12:20; 13:9; 23:48-49; etc). Yes, there is a lot of bad news when you consider what it takes to get people to the point of knowing God. But ultimately, the outcome is spectacularly good news!

To understand these prophecies and the hope that is at their heart, order your free copy of Mr. Flurry’s book Ezekiel: The End-Time Prophet.