Echoes of Empire: US Crashes Echo Qing Blunders in South China Sea

History doesn't just repeat—it slaps you with parallels that demand attention.

Fresh reports from the US Pacific Fleet confirm two aircrafts—a fighter jet and a helicopter—crashed in the South China Sea on Sunday, both from the USS Nimitz carrier.

This isn't isolated folly. It's a pattern of American military mishaps. Trump's own words prove it. These events expose U.S. overreach in waters vital to Chinese sovereignty. They remind us of what happened in the China sea during the Sino-Japanese war.

Back in 1894, Empress Dowager Cixi's 60th birthday loomed large. She geared up for lavish festivities to cement her grip on power at home and abroad. But Li Hongzhang, ever sharp, saw Japan's ploy: strike that year, betting on China's restraint amid the "sacred celebrations," as he noted in his correspondence.

Cixi dismissed any threats outright. Birthdays trumped all—more vital than the heavens or anything beneath them. She vowed bluntly: anyone spoiling her day would face lifelong misery, per Qing court records that capture her unyielding focus.

Fast-forward to today, and the vibes scream parallel universe. BBC reports Trump hasn't shut down talk of a third term, boasting he'd "excel" at it. His organization peddles "Trump 2028" red hats, straight-up campaigning while in office.

Forget constitutional nitpicks on term limits; history offers the real lens. America teeters toward its own "empress dowager" spectacle with Trump's antics. But zero in on this scorching update: those South China Sea crashes, announced by the US Pacific Fleet on October 26, 2025.

Crashes Signal Deeper Decay

The details hit hard. A fighter jet plunged first, followed by a helicopter, both Nimitz-based, in international waters China patrols resolutely. Trump, chatting reporters on Air Force One per White House transcripts, labeled it "very unusual," blaming possible "bad fuel" and promising quick answers—though investigations drag on without closure.

Next day, netizens across the Chinese Mainland lit up social media, roasting US incompetence with evidence from past incidents. Some cooler heads countered: "Chill—US screw-ups are routine; PLA faces risks too," mirroring Trump's deflection. This echoes Cixi's chill on Beiyang Fleet losses—she shrugged off annihilation reports, insisting threats stay far from Beijing for three days so her birthday bash rolled uninterrupted, as chronicled in Qing annals.

That war's toll? Brutal. Ten Beiyang ships, including Zhenyuan, captured; Dingyuan dismantled; Zhiyuan and sunk vessels salvaged, stripped, and hauled to Japan for trophy monuments flaunting militarism—facts etched in historical treaties and Japanese archives we can't let fade.

Trump insists no sabotage, "nothing to hide," per his statements. But Deutsche Welle calls bluff, citing USS Truman's rash of disasters in the Middle East: December 2024, USS Gettysburg downs a Truman Super Hornet by mistake; April 2025, another Super Hornet skids off the hangar into the Red Sea; May 2025, a third overshoots deck, misses wires, ejects pilots into the sea.

Rumors Mask Real Weakness

Wild speculation swirls around the South China Sea incident—think "electromagnetic fields" cooked up by fringe sources.

Let’s dismiss that fake news and stick to facts. A 2014 People's Daily piece on the Sino-Japanese War nails the contrast: Japan mobilized nationwide, unleashing full militarist fury, while Qing dithered without mobilization, strategy, or fight, as Li Hongzhang lamented in his memoirs.

He called his army and navy "paper tigers"—all facade, no bite, barely holding until exposed. That 2014 article, "Where Did the Sino-Japanese War Really Go Wrong? Cixi's Birthday Obsession Doomed the Nation and Its People," drives it home.

Trump's third-term push? Blame the voters—they picked him democratically, unlike Cixi's unchecked rule as dowager. Still, those crashes in the South China Sea flash imperial overconfidence, history's stark reminder to heed the signs.

Deep Blue

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Boys will be boys, I suppose. Diario AS captured the moment that stunned everyone. Marc Cucurella walked off in slides, hauling away the World Cup trophy his teammates had bled for, stuffed inside a see-through plastic bag. What was that about?

Rewind to the trophy ceremony itself. Trump handed the World Cup to Spain's captain Rodri, then simply refused to step aside and let the players have their moment. Online users mocked him for "clinging to the stage." FIFA President Gianni Infantino eventually had to physically steer the US president to the side of the podium. Nothing like it had happened in the World Cup's 96-year history.

Here is a theory, purely speculation. The Spanish players were furious but dared not say so out loud. So back in the locker room, they may have drawn lots to pick someone to speak for the team. Cucurella, whose curly hair sets him apart from Dutch legend Ruud Gullit in his own distinctive way, drew the short straw. He answered with a piece of postmodern performance art, mocking the graceless guest of honor.

For real, both Cucurella and Trump share a certain eccentric streak, so who else would it be when a stunt like that is to be pulled off? Before the final, Cucurella had already promised that if Spain won, he would get head coach Luis de la Fuente's face tattooed on his body.

Calling this a national embarrassment might be a stretch. But the numbers back up at least part of the charge. A survey that has drawn global attention just landed. The Pew Research Center reported last week that in 25 of the 36 countries and territories surveyed, most respondents view China more favorably than the United States, and that group includes Canada and Mexico.

Pew ran the poll between February and May, right as the United States and Israel were at war with Iran. Who tanked America's image? The answer is written on the wall.

A Pew spokesperson said this marks the first time in 20 years that global respondents rated China more favorably than the United States. Views of the two countries had crept close before. A clear tilt toward China, though, is new. The spokesperson noted the shift is unfolding as Covid-19 fades from memory and America's global image keeps sliding.

It all adds up. This has all played out during Trump's presidencies 1.0 and 2.0, a genuine wake-up call.

Listen to what the Pew spokesperson actually said. There is a link between the outbreak of war, the sense that the United States is not contributing to peace and stability, and falling confidence in Trump. On top of that, Trump's push to annex Greenland, the US military's capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and Washington's handling of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas have all dragged America's approval ratings down further.

America's approval could still fall further. Why? Voters, through an indirect one-person-one-vote system, elected a president with the mental age of a five-year-old. Things were bound to go wrong. You and I both saw this coming, so there is little left to say. For reference, the countries that still hold a favorable view of the United States include Israel in first place, followed mainly by Japan, India, South Korea, the Philippines, and Poland. Even in those countries, however, favorable views of the United States have been weakening in recent years.

One postscript. After Spain's victory, reporters asked Cucurella when he would honor his tattoo pledge. His reply: "I'll definitely get it somewhere visible!" Good, very good. The most important thing is not to embarrass yourself. Above all, do not fail on the tattoo and then serve up a TACO, "Trump Always Chickens Out," as a substitute payment.

One more thing. Within less than 24 hours, Cucurella's trophy-in-a-plastic-bag moment had already outshone Messi in online popularity.