Foggy Bottom is the sobriquet for the U.S. Department of State, and some observers might be wondering whether that tag couldn’t be more appropriate these days regarding U.S. policy regarding North Korea. On first glance, it might seem that American policy is comprised of two approaches that are in opposition to each other – and thus not at all productive. Is the U.S. government aware that its right and left hands look out of sync with each other? There is an answer to that question – and it may be surprising – but we need to look at the context first, and that involves observing how the U.S. interacts with China. The former Middle Kingdom is squarely in the middle of this.

AMERICA AND THE CHINA SEAS