Not Monroe 2.0—The World Moves Without America

Trump is telegraphing a pivot: pull back to the homeland and the Western Hemisphere—a refurbished Monroe Doctrine in all but name. Some are already celebrating, saying the “US threat” can be shrugged off and it’s time to focus on growth and business; that is naïve. China’s resolve and kit are only now being readied precisely because a major showdown has long been judged unavoidable.

Is it really that serious though?

Obama, Chávez, a signal

On 18 April 2009 at the Summit of the Americas, Barack Obama drew global praise as he calmly shook hands again with Venezuela President Hugo Chávez and accepted a gift: “Open Veins of Latin America” (Spanish: Las venas abiertas de América Latina), the 1970 landmark by Uruguay’s Eduardo Galeano on Latin America’s colonial past and the exploitation by Western “great powers.” Asked what he thought of the book, Obama quipped: “I thought it was one of Chávez’s books. I was going to give him one of mine.”

Chávez’s choice was deliberate. A staunch anti‑US figure in Latin America, he often accused Washington of its “imperialist” policies in the region. Obama parried deftly—wry, quick‑witted, and assured. For the record, in 2006 he published “The Audacity of Hope,” a deep dive into core American political values that became a runaway bestseller.

What Washington believes

Here’s the point. America’s core doctrines—old or new—are not the democracy‑freedom‑human‑rights, knight‑errant stuff people imagine. As mainland scholar Zhang Xinping argued last year, historically the United States embraced the Monroe Doctrine, using interference and carrot‑and‑stick tactics to force Latin American states to serve US interests, driving economic decline and social turmoil across the region.

In recent years, under the banner of “promoting democracy,” Washington has pushed a “New Monroe Doctrine,” waving the flags of democracy, freedom, and human rights to mould other countries and the world order to American values and political systems. From Monroe to “New Monroe,” it is the through‑line of might‑makes‑right—naked hegemonism—that not only gravely harms democratic principles in international relations but also brings chaos and disaster to many countries.

Chávez died in 2013, and Nicolás Maduro promptly took over as Venezuela’s president. Now in his third term, he faces severe US threats. Even as Trump’s camp talks “retrenchment,” Washington suddenly struck Venezuelan merchant vessels, causing heavy casualties—the White House eager to proclaim Monroeism’s ancestral maxim: “America for Americans,” with the United States watching over and calling the shots across the entire hemisphere.

Blunt reminder: this is not the world of 200 years ago. We live in a globalized economy. Shut your door and decide as you wish—fine, but that applies only within US borders. Beyond that—any corner, any patch of ground—the United States must not step over the line. Remember, the global economy and technology require global energy and materials in combination, and the world must operate under one roof—one governance framework—to run smoothly.

Fight your own battles

Trump has rebranded the Pentagon as the War Department and boasted Chicago will soon learn why—because the White House is hell‑bent on “fixing a Democrat‑run city with crime through the roof”. That’s their lane, not ours. It’s an internal affair, period.

Beijing’s September 3 parade springs to mind. When the DF‑5C rolled by, the message was simple: a new liquid‑fuel ICBM with a reach past 12,000 kilometres, and a doctrine boiled down to three terms—“Nuclear trinity, global coverage, full-time alert.” In plain English: any target, anywhere, on call. There is no sanctuary, but assured retaliation.

People say, America’s power brokers are stubborn, and they don’t walk away from two centuries of hegemony on a whim.

Global minus America

Let’s hope there are grown‑ups in Washington who actually understand China’s nuclear mantra. If America wants to focus inward, be my guest: close the door, argue among yourselves, make what you use and use what you make—deliver a world that runs just fine minus America. Most people would happily live with that.

If Trump wants to play, China’s ready to clear the decks and give him the undivided attention—right to the bitter end.

Deep Blue

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The “decapitation” hype just hit fever pitch. Here’s the bold new chatter: Japan’s defense officials told local media that if the Fujian carrier ever enters the Taiwan Strait, Japan’s Self-Defense Forces should team up with the US military and put sinking it at the top of their to-do list.
  
This is what some war games lay out: If China ever expands its strikes from Kyushu and Okinawa all the way down to the Nansei Islands—plus every US base along the chain—Japan would recoil into defensive mode. And then, Taiwan has no choice but to do the same, as well as the US. Suddenly Tokyo, Taipei, and Washington are all in the same foxhole. The old “defend Taiwan” story morphs into an East Asia mega-battle, where there’s zero daylight between countering threats to Taiwan and threats to Japan.
 
That’s why, as Taiwan commentator Lai Yi-chung pointed out back in July 2023, everyone needs ironclad, three-way security channels—whether defending Taiwan, Japan, or America.
  
Solid logic, the old Russian doll theory: If Taiwan’s in trouble, so is Japan, so is the US. Back under Abe, nerves in Tokyo were already frayed, serving the right wing a golden opportunity. When COVID still stalked the world in 2022, Japan mapped out a plan for 1,000 anti-ship missiles—that’s three for each of China’s 300 warships (now nearly 400, more than even America fields). Their message was clear: Chinese carriers are to be sunk before they ever manage to sail. Taiwan’s mainstream loved it. Double insurance from both the US and Japan, island stability—no need for unification nor independence. Case closed.
  
Then came reality—the Fujian carrier entered service, and shattered this stack of Russian dolls to dust. America sobered up first. The others? Not even worth a footnote.
  
Punchline to the War Game
Last weekend, China Central TV pulled back the curtain: “2 Seconds, 20+ Years—The Untold Grit Behind Fujian’s Launch.” Here’s the money quote from the expert: “Sure, our carrier jets can blast off in two seconds. But getting to that moment took more than 20 years of grit. At the start, plenty doubted. Foreign giants spent decades and still fell short. Could China pull it off? Turns out, yes we can.”
  
The narrative’s heart-tugging, but the real story is buried in the specs. Qiao Jia, who led the Fujian’s construction, spells it out: Unlike Liaoning or Shandong, the Fujian is China’s first homegrown, catapult-equipped aircraft carrier. And it doesn’t just use any catapult system—it’s the world’s first with a conventional-power electromagnetic catapult. Every inch of that tech pushed China’s engineers to the brink, and they didn’t blink.
 
Here’s the cold, hard takeaway: Don’t just stare at the Fujian in awe, or obsess over the road China traveled to get here. The killer fact is, after more than 20 years of grinding, China now owns this tech—and its world-class manufacturing machine means the next Fujian-level carrier could roll out in two years, one year, half a year, or even just two months.
  
No Magic, Just Muscle
Why should anyone take China at its word? Are the claims real—or just bluster? Against nonstop foreign skepticism and a wall of Western tech barricades, CCTV lays it bare: “We started from zero. No playbook. No shortcuts. Real power tech isn’t handed down or bought in a back room. Only by blazing new trails, daring to outdo the world, grinding in silence, and refusing to quit can we keep smashing ceilings—and locking core tech in Chinese hands.” In short, that “Made in China” label? It’s the one thing no rival can beat.
 
Let’s cut the magic act—there’s no David Copperfield here. Think Japan’s top brass wants to wait for a Trump comeback to “sink Fujian”? By all means, keep waiting. If you’ve got the nerve, then step up and show us.