Donald Trump's closest advisor Steve Bannon thinks there will be war with China in the next few years
Mr Bannon's comments on his radio show are re-surfacing as the 'special counsellor' assumes unprecedented power in the White House
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump's closest advisor thinks that the US will be at war with China in the next few years.
The far-right figure, who has been given unprecedented power in the White House and has suggested in the past that he supports white supremacy, suggested that the two countries are headed towards war over the South China Sea.
“We’re going to war in the South China Sea in five to 10 years, aren’t we?” Mr Bannon said on his radio show in March 2016. “There’s no doubt about that. They’re taking their sandbars and making basically stationary aircraft carriers and putting missiles on those. They come here to the United States in front of our face — and you understand how important face is — and say it’s an ancient territorial sea.”
Tensions between the China and the US and Japan, as well as other countries, have increased in recent years over a dispute about who exactly owns the part of the Pacific Ocean. China has been asserting its ownership of the sea by building huge islands in it on which it has put military installations.
Since Donald Trump's election, and the anti-Chinese rhetoric that marked the campaign that preceded it, the relationship between China and the US has become increasingly fraught.
Last week a senior Chinese military official said that war with the US is "not just a slogan" and that it was becoming a "practical reality". The same official called for increased military deployments in the East and South China Seas to guard the area, according to the South China Morning Post.
Mr Bannon's views are coming under increased scrutiny as he ascends to power within the White House. Over the weekend it emerged that Mr Bannon had been appointed to a committee on which only senior generals usually sit – a move that journalist Michael Moore seemed to suggest a coup was underway.
The ex-head of Breitbart has in the past likened himself to Lenin, for instance. The Russian leader "wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment," he told a reporter from The Daily Beast.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments