by Stephen Lendman

US major media function as a mouthpiece for America's imperial agenda - including full support for its endless direct and proxy naked aggression, global destabilization and alliance with some of the world's most ruthless despots.

Russia bashing is relentless. So is vilifying China - notably over its sovereign territorial water rights. The South China Sea doesn't belong to America. You'd never know it based on US policy. More on this below.

The Center for a New American Security is a right-wing/hawkish think tank. Its board of directors includes a rogue's gallery of neocons and war profiteers.

It calls the South China Sea the "epicenter" of US geopolitical interests. It urges countering China's right to its own sovereign territory.

It wants its regional power and influence curbed. It claims constructing land formations in its own South China Sea waters amounts to "slow motion strategy to achieve" Asia/Pacific regional hegemony.

It urges more aggressive US action to counter China. On Saturday, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter keynoted the ongoing Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

He asserted America's right to fly, sail and operate anywhere in the region it wishes - anywhere in the world.

He called for "an immediate and lasting halt to land reclamation by all claimants" in the South China Sea.

He accused China of being "out of step with international rules and norms." No country in world history violates them more consistently and egregiously than America.

National University of Singapore's East Asian Institute research associate Tseng Hui-Hi called Carter's remarks "an unnecessary provocation."

"The so-called international rules and norms (he) referred to is the (US dominated) East Asia order…"

"What the United States means by freedom of navigation is (its) freedom (to conduct) military activities in the region" - or anywhere else in the world it wishes.

China justifiably takes issue with US interfering in a part of the world not its own. People's Liberation Army Deputy Chief of Staff Admiral Sun Jianguo said Beijing may establish an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in South China Sea disputed waters based on its regional security assessment.

He called China's actions peaceful and legitimate. He warned other countries against "sow(ing) discord." He rejected Carter's anti-China remarks.

"We hope relevant countries will work together in the same direction to build the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship and co-operation," he explained.

Not as long as US bullying wants things its way. It considers sovereign waters of other nations its own - in terms of building military bases near them, conducting overflight spying missions, and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, including belligerent provocations at its discretion.

It bears repeating. America's major electronic and print media are mouthpieces for US imperial interests. Irresponsible Russia and China bashing are consistently featured.

So are Big Lies. Fiction substitutes for hard facts. One-sided pro-US views dominate reports. Ones favorable to adversary countries are shunned.

On May 29, New York Times editors headlined "Pushback in the South China Sea," saying:

"The United States has good reason to push back more forcefully against China's grab for power in the South China Sea…"

"Beijing has repeatedly ignored earlier warnings to moderate the aggressive behavior that is unsettling its regional neighbors and further undermining its relations with the United States."

Times editors want Washington to forcefully assert its (illegitimate) regional presence - a policy risking a dangerous Asian war after previous ones turned out disastrously.

America "cannot allow China's (legitimate) claims to go unchallenged," they said - maybe risking direct confrontation.

Beijing's claim to most South China Sea waters go back centuries. They've been traditional Chinese fishing grounds.

China's President Xi Jinping said "(w)e will never stir up trouble, but will react in the necessary way to the provocations of other countries."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said actions infringing on China's sovereign rights and jurisdiction jeopardize its security and violate international laws and norms.

Washington Post editors are notoriously hawkish. They urged "US firmness (to pressure) Asian nations" to unite with America against China.

In the past, they barely stopped short of urging war against US adversaries. Pushing China aggressively threatens world peace and security.

US major media march in lockstep with Washington's imperial agenda demanding condemnation.

China, like Russia, wants cooperative relations with all other countries. America wants them subservient to US hegemonic demands.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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