US Naval Patrol of Taiwan Strait! Why Provoke China?

So it's working. So I, I'm using, by the way guys, I'm going to share it with you, I am using my, uh, uh, DJI sound system that I got in China. So that's, that's the, that's the one it's working. So wasn't connected the right. So in any event, this is what I'm gonna be, as I said, I'm gonna be talking about, uh, uh, uh, the two US naval stra— uh, uh, naval ships that crosses through Taiwan Strait. What does it mean? What is the message that the Trump administration is sending? It's very, very disturbing. But any event, I'm going to be providing you my own analysis given my familiarity with this. But first, I want to say hi quickly to our wonderful community. Alex Talokin, good to see you. Uh, China the Side You Don't See, that's an interesting screen name. Arsenio Alba, good to see you. John Lay, Taiwan Steel, Liang, Thunderbolt Design, good to see you. Willie Holman, as always. Joel M, good to see you. Truth Seeker, good to see you. Hangin G, as always. Rafael León, good to see you. Cam35, good to see you. Francis Tango, as always. Hangin G, uh, here I want to show you here. I want to share something with the community if you allow me here, because you shared it with me And I need you guys to, uh, really, I was very touched by what Hanginji wrote. Here is what he wrote, and I quote: Always a pleasure, Dr. Oualaalou. Thank you for sharing your professional skills in the security services and academia in geopolitical trends. It is rare for hosts to share professional skills in this faculty's security services corporate business and academia. Dr. Oualaalou, you think, uh, you ticked, uh, two boxes here. A rare breed. Thank you so much, Hangying Ji. I was very, very touched by your comments. So it truly means a lot to me, and I'm very appreciative of this. So, all right, let me ask the questions that we always start with to put things in perspective. So this way will understand— pardon me— will understand how this is going to shape up or how it's going to impact, uh, the, uh, the trajectory of whatever we're going to be addressing. So, so here are the questions right here. What's behind the, uh, Trump's order? Because it was Trump that gives the order. Uh, doesn't matter he did or not Commander-in-Chief per se, that means he had to be aware of what's going on. So what's behind this order? Our second question is, what message Trump is sending? So the new administration is going to be starting with already provoking China. What for? And third one, what is the link of this to the Philippines? Some might think, what, this has nothing to do— like I always say, you don't look at only on one specific topic when it comes down to geopolitics. You have to look at the big puzzle. You put the pieces together. To me personally, I see two main things: one with Philippines, the other one with Australia. But I'm not going to be addressing the Australia side of the house. I'm going to be focusing on the aspects of, uh, the Philippines part of this conversation. But before I'll do this, I want to say thank you all for responding to the survey, uh, regarding, uh, the video that I just released yesterday. And I'm gonna put the link for those who did not see it. It's right here in the chat box, guys, if you want to check it out, uh, for changing the name of the title of the video. I had it, uh, uh, Get Over It, uh, uh, The 21st Century Belongs to China. Some of you suggested to change it to Get Over It, uh, The 21st Century Belongs to Asia. So 61% of you said yes to change it to that. 33% said no, and 6% said they don't care. So, so made the decision based on what the community wants, and I went ahead and changed the, uh, uh, title to the new ones. That is, uh, two major headlines from around the world I need to share with you before I'll dive in into this topic. This one has to do with the idiotic, uh, Prime Minister of UK By the way, the guy said that he's gonna be arresting people if they wrote— if they write something that he doesn't like on social media. Well, wait a minute, man. Wait a minute. You are a public figure. Public figures will have to take the heat and criticism. So that means now he's gonna arrest me for criticizing him? So what happens with that so-called democracy? But in any event, Here is what, uh, the incompetent Starmer saying. This is an old picture from his first visit to, uh, Kiev back in 2000— back 2003, if I'm not mistaken. What the Prime Minister saying is that London is now ready to send troops to Ukraine, and Macron— yeah, Emmanuel Macron, the idiot Macron— too is involved in that as well. What they gonna do? You know, Russia has already proved that it can defeat NATO, and he already defeated NATO. So the Prime Minister, UK, uh, uh, uh, Minister— Prime Minister, that is, Stammer— announcing now readiness to send troops to Ukraine if necessary. Well, wait a minute, idiot. Didn't the Pentagon release the paper which wasn't disclosed to the people by which we indicated that if UK gets involved in a war with Russia, it will, it will, it will run out of ammo in one afternoon. Yeah, let me restate this one because this one was in the report that wasn't released to the public. It was for internal consumption within the Pentagon. Some high-ranking generals in the Pentagon saying how weak the UK military is and it will stand no chance in defeating the Russians. And their assessment stated that if the war breaks out between UK and Russia, the UK will run out of ammo in one afternoon. So it shows you now the— just the bravado that UK— and why, why UK, when it is now is irrelevant? You all know the poverty that exists in the UK right now. About 14.3 million people fall into poverty as of the stats of 2022-2023. And the stats that I looked at for 2024 confirms the same numbers, and I will provide you— as a matter of fact, I'm gonna put the link for you right now in the chat box. You guys can look at it or check it out later on should you decide to do that. But it's just very embarrassing that here you have now 8.1 million, uh, British working, uh, uh, adults, 4.3 million children, and 1.9 million pensioners, meaning those who receive pensions, are in poverty. So, and even if we are to go with this hypothetical of what is going to happen Ukraine now is done for because there is nothing left for Ukraine. Ukraine, in my opinion— by the way, the US and Russia made the decision they're going to move forward with the peace talks in Saudi Arabia without the presence of Ukraine or Europe. It tells you the story right there. But even we are to go with the hypothetical, if I am to put my geopolitical analyst hat on, I'm gonna tell you that Ukraine will be a frozen state. Basically, what I mean by frozen is the conflict. So right after the summit between Russia and, and the US, and if there is a consensus that they're gonna come into, the conflict is going to be frozen. Forget about it, because Ukraine will be more dysfunctional than it already is. And what is going to happen is that the Russians will cement their control of the new territory they gained. They're not gonna give that back. As a matter of fact, the comedian Zelensky just, uh, I mean, the guy is an idiot. He's an idiot. What comedian? What do you expect? What do you expect? So the interesting aspect about all this, and I'll move on to our topic, this comes on the heels of one particular phone call. And guess who makes the phone calls to whom? It was Marco Rubio who made the call to, uh, uh, the Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Now you're looking at a statesman versus an amateur. That's how I see it. I mean, Marco Rubio— can you imagine Marco Rubio having a conversation with Lavrov or with Mr. Wang Yi? I mean, come on. And speaking of Mr. Wang Yi, I don't know if you heard his, uh, or you read about his speech, uh, to the, uh, Munich, uh, uh, Security Conference. Very, very poignant. That's the word I will use, very poignant. So if you get a chance to, uh, check it out, uh, just look at that. But speaking quickly of this call, uh, that, uh, Sergey Lavrov received from Marco Rubio, this one's because they wanted to talk, of course, intend to start the peace talks in Saudi Arabia. That is the reason why. As a matter of fact, Marco Rubio is now in Saudi Arabia. So I just got to sort of confirm this information this morning. So anyway, enough of this, let's move on to our topic: US naval patrol of Taiwan Strait. Why the heck are we provoking China again? You know, of course there are those who's going to say the argument which I already read some of you put, that Well, wait a minute, this is like international water. Oh, I understand that argument, but come on, can't you go and sail elsewhere? Why specifically the Taiwan Strait? So this is no coincidence, guys. Don't be fooled by— because that's the reality of it. So, so what we have, we have two ships that sailed through, which by the way happened about 3, 3 or 4 days ago. I didn't want to address it at that time because I had other things in line as far as the topics that I cover for you. So, so these two naval ships sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait. We all know when I went to Taiwan and, and I was in Taipei, and, and I kind of— even during my time there, there were some US naval assets moving through the area, and I was like, why the heck are we provoking the Chinese for? So why do it? What is the objective? Because the Chinese going to be looking at this just nothing more than just posturing. But even with posturing, that could lead to miscalculation. Miscalculation, you all know what it leads to. So because now the Chinese are angry, they have the right to be because they've seen this movie over and over and over. Every time you got a new administration, they have to keep this issue, sort of just keep provoking the Chinese. But at some point, I say China will have to put the dots on the letter for the West, for the Americans to know. Simple as that. It's because— and please correct me if I'm wrong, guys— I believe Western so-called leaders are mistaken China's diplomatic approach for being— wanted to be diplomatically resolving the issues, they, they are misinterpreting that for weakness. And it's only a matter of time that China will have to, like I said, put the dots on the letter by acting forcefully, because sometimes you have to meet fire with fire. I am not advocating for war here, guys, don't get me wrong. So, and this is what I'm saying, that the Chinese reaction is going to be, or it is already And that's what I— part of what I'm going to be providing you in this analysis. Uh, please guys, if this is your first time here on the channel, I will greatly appreciate if you could subscribe to the channel. I'm going to put the link for you in the description here. And you all know we are about 2,000 short of 100K, so, so I will greatly appreciate if you guys can help me out with that. Just make sure to subscribe and share this with others. And thank you very much for for your support. So, so here is the interesting thing I'm gonna do. First of all, I'm gonna do the geography, even though I've did this 3 times. I remember when I talk, but I am gonna do it again. This time around, guys, I'm gonna provide you 3 separate links, 3 different, uh, sources of information. And what is the purpose for that? Is to highlight to you the wording That's my objective for this, is for you to be— to— I'm sure you know by now, you've been around long enough with me to know how to read between the lines. But it's just to make my point, to highlight to you how deceiving the narrative can be from Western media to push certain narrative towards one specific direction or another. So, so let's start with, uh, one from, uh, uh, uh this might surprise you, which usually I don't use, but this one I found it very interesting. I usually don't use Wikipedia. You all know it's not an academic source. I never used Wikipedia in my academic research. But what you need to understand about Wikipedia is that it had an influence inside in Washington behind closed doors that forced it to, to, uh, what's the word, change the wording And as a matter of fact, to my knowledge, it was the intelligence community that was involved in Wikipedia narrative. So listen to what they say about Taiwan. So this is based on an AI, by the way, this is an AI, artificial intelligence, overview from here. This is not a deep seek, this is right here in the US. Here is what it says. Taiwan is an island in East Asia with a mountainous interior and flat plains in the west. The island is located between the East and South China Sea and is part of East Asia island arcs. And it stopped right there. Taiwan, officially the, officially the Republic of China, ROC, is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as— does anybody know what the name that was used before? Before I move forward, if you know, please type in on the chat box. I would greatly appreciate it. It was known for one particular word. Oh, Alistalokin, you got it, you got it. Formosa. So, so that was my, my point is to share with you. This is based on the AI Overview, because that's how they word in it, you know. Taiwan is not a country. Taiwan is a province of the mainland China, is not part of the islands. Simple as that. So, and, and what I'm gonna do, guys, is I'm gonna show you two pictures because I need you to see both. Here is one independent here by itself. That was either even through a World Atlas, but the one I use usually, I use for the, uh, uh, for, uh, for or the mainland China as a whole. So, so here's the map, take a look. And I give credit to World Atlas because that's the map right here. So this is the map, okay? Now here is what it says word for word: China is an East Asian nation or country situated in the northern and eastern hemispheres of the Earth. China shares its borders with 14 countries. Okay, countries, that's the key word. Mongolia in north, in the north. Russia and North Korea in the northeast. Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India, Bhutan, and Nepal in the south. Pakistan in the southwest. Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Greekistan, and Kazakhstan in the west. China is also bounded by the Yellow Sea in the east and the East China Sea in the east and the South China Sea in the southwest. This is what I need you to understand when you listen to narratives. You always— guys, my advice to you— you always pay close attention to what it's been written into all that. It's very, very important. So now, as far as history, uh, I have a link for you. I'm gonna provide it with the chronological because it's so long, but I'm gonna just focus on one particular one that I came across. And I came across this one, believe it or not, through Quora. That's where I search my stuff, and I'll, I'll, I'll share it with you. So Taiwan has been— and by the way, the author of that particular, because I'm gonna open it here Uh, the author of that is, uh, what's his name? Not this one here. Sorry guys, because I need to get the, the right name of the individual who put this one in, because that's, that's just part of how, uh, how it works. So you have to, uh, give credit to— his name is, uh, Jiang Hong Chen. So I'm going to type it here for you guys. Copy. Yeah, I'm going to put it in the chat box, uh, just for you to see because it's the right thing to do. And if to those who speak Chinese, if you can help the community know how to pronounce it, you know, Jahong Chen. But anyway, that is his argument, and I checked the information. So here's what he wrote. Taiwan has been separated from China since— what year? What year, guys? Does anybody know what year when Taiwan got separated from China as a whole? Way back. Let me see. I, I, I need to know the year. We're going way back. Oh, Kevin James, Kevin James, I'm sorry. Yeah, the Qing Dynasty, that's part of it. I need the year, I need the year. No, no, no, no, no, not 1949. We're talking way before, way before, way before. You guys talking about after the, the, the, the, the, uh, Chiang Kai-shek fled. I'm talking about the history way back. Let me just see. I'll give you one more time. Lloyd Johnson, yeah, you want way, way back. I'm focused. I'm gonna, I'm gonna share it with you. Was 1894. You know what you guys said is way back, but I'm focusing on, on the last 200 or so. So Taiwan has been separated from China since 1894 when the Qing Dynasty lost its battle against whom? Who did they fight at that time? Does anybody know who the Qin Dynasty— I'm sorry, were fighting? Anastasia, you got it. Japan. The imperialist Japan. That's what it was. And this, when the Qin Dynasty signed the Treaty of Shimonseki. Let me put it for you guys in the chat box, so just for you to be familiar. With the name of the treaty. And I'm just learned about this one also. I mean, I knew about it before, but again, it's nice to confirm the information. So the Treaty of Shimon Seki, the treaty— this is the, this is the key— the treaty made Taiwan and Liandong Peninsula apart from the Qing Dynasty. Another word, because of the imperialist Japan And when the battle took place, they came to an agreement as far as the treaty by which Taiwan and Liandong Peninsula will be separated from Qin. However, Liandong was later returned to the Qin Dynasty due to the intervention of whom? Does anybody know? In modern era. It was Russia, Germany, and France. However, the treaty then remaining, because that was part of the other, the other part of the treaty remaining, Taiwan was still in Japan until what year? What was the last time Japan had its authority over, uh, oh, Francisco L, that was the Russia, you're correct. What year What year was it? What year was that, uh, uh, when Japan remained— I'm sorry, when Taiwan remained under the authority of Japan till what year? Oh, Jesus Aguilar, you got it! 1945. Why is 1940— you got it, Mehdi, you got it! Why 1945? Of course, World War II, and that's when Chiang Kai-shek retrieved Taiwan from, from Japan. Of course, came 1949, that's when Taiwan was separated again— as a keyword there, again— from China due to China's Civil War. Because you all remember what China went through, the history of China. That's why when I made that video yesterday, I released that one about— you, you, you give credit to a country like China that in a span of one century, if not even sooner, because for China is only the last 45 years or so that this massive development took place. But when you consider what China went through with the— what Japan did, what the colonialism did to China, I mean How can you forget? If you read the history of China, you will know. So, and this is when, as I said, 1949, Taiwan was separated again from China due to Chinese Civil War. Taiwan returned to China for only 4 years. So, and after that, the separation has begun continually, uh, till today. This is why But all this, all this— oh, Peace Lover, good to see you— uh, all this, that doesn't say Taiwan was independent. Why? Taiwan was just separated, which means what? If you go back into the historical record, you're going to find out that it has always been part of China. When I was in Taiwan and I talked to some people, uh, there that who could speak English a little bit, and I asked few questions here and there, And they, of course, they speak different dialects than the one in mainland. And my good friend Dr. Dashuan Feng explained to me just 2 days ago about, for example, why you see the link between Singapore, Malaysia, and China as far as ancestries, even into the dialect. There's the Fujian dialect and it is the, the, the, the, the, uh, the, uh, Mandarin dialect. In certain areas, be they in Shanghai— in, I'm sorry, in Singapore or Malaysia, they still have certain even pronunciation or the spelling of certain words are based on the Fujian dialect or, or, or language, that is. So that is what I found very interesting, uh, and this is the reality And this is why now, till now, Taiwan has been separated from China. It was never, at least to the record that I'm looking at, never says it was independent. This is why I don't get it when some state, oh, the country of Taiwan, under whose, uh, you know, under whose recognition? Because the UN didn't recognize that. Even the US signed the three communiqués recognizing that the authority of mainland China over the island, but two, two-party systems. And China mainland in Beijing, the government is allowing that. They doing the same with Hong Kong. I was in Hong Kong and I saw it's— they, they are living their lives. Well, what issue is there? None. So, and now here for Taiwan has been separated from China for almost 70 years since 1949. And 120 years since 1895. That just highlights to you the, the, the complexity of this particular— but I, I am of the, the— I am of the idea that, uh, when it comes down to, to, uh, I want to show, I want to show the map. When it comes down to the idea of the Taiwan, it is part of China, but just in an island. I look at like Macau, part of China, and yet they are— they live in their own system. Hong Kong, it is part of China. So the question becomes is how will China proceed moving forward? You know, of course the West, they pushing the narrative of, oh, China's gonna use force. Why? China is not interested in that. Only if you look at the discrepancies that exist between Taiwan military force and China's military force. I had to make a comparison between the two. There is no way. I mean, Taiwan— and I don't think so China is going to do it militarily, because like I always say, China is not about that. You need to understand the history of China to understand its behavior. This is why I push back against those who saying, oh, China wants to dominate the world. China has no intentions of dominating the world the way you and I understand it, like what the United States did after World War II. China has no interest in that. It's because if they would have intended to do so, they would have at least established so many military bases by now. They can afford it. Do you know they can afford now establishing military bases around the world? But they're not gonna do it. I don't see doing that. Rafael Ragon, thank you so much for your super sticker. You wrote, China philosopher Confucius, straight to the point, study and, uh, study and clear. China is not Russia. Today you ask them to be in Ukraine, and now this mistake. You got a point there, but thank you so much for sharing this, Rafael. And appreciate your continued support. All right, let me get in into what we're gonna be addressing. That's when I have some pictures I'm going to show you first. It's the destroyer, or the— yeah, this one's called the USS Arleigh. It is right here, and I, uh, I have some characteristics about it, uh, just FYI for those to know. But it is a reason why I'm sharing this. Uh, this particular guided missile destroyers are multi-mission surface combatant, which means what? That means they are capable of conducting anti-air warfare. It's known in the military jargon as AAW, anti-air war, uh, uh, and anti-submarines, okay, and anti-surface warfare. That's why they call them AAW— anti-air war, anti-air, anti-submarine, and anti-surface. So the destroyer armaments has greatly expanded the role of the ship in strike warfare utilizing the Mk 41 vertical launching system. And beginning with the ships equipped with AGS baseline ballistic missiles defense system. Now, and I don't get involved in this technical stuff, whatever, that's not my background, that's not my— suffice it for you to understand, uh, this is by the way an updated— an outdated, I'm sorry, an outdated, uh, photo of the US Navy. This is, uh, uh, what we call the, uh, uh, uh, uh, Badwitz Yeah, but it's a US Navy. It's, it's one of those— I, I don't know exactly what it is. But now, why am I wanted to share this with you? I wanted to share this with you because you need to understand what China also has developed, especially when it comes down to China's new submarine. And I got a picture of it. Because China disclosed that one so openly to the public. So why is this important? Because on April 2024, which is just few months ago, China launched this new type of conventionally powered submarine, one of its most advanced to date. Yeah, this is why it's important. And, and I had a chance to read an article by Gonzalo Vázquez, and I'm gonna put the link for you guys. As a matter of fact, I am going to do it right now in the chat box so you can read up on it, uh, later on should you decide to do that. And now, what's important about this one here? This not only shows you the progress that China has already achieved in the submarine capabilities. Why? It's because The, the, uh, and, and China has lifted now the secrecy regarding this new class. You know, to those who are familiar with the capabilities of the PLA, the, the People's Liberation Army Navy, the buildup under the rule of President Xi Jinping, this new, uh, asset here I've never seen before. This is the new one. And I'm not gonna get into the details of it and all that stuff, so read the article if you are interested in learning more about it. So this leads me also to address another type that China developed, and this is more detailed into what's in it. What's important about this one here, guys? What's important about it is that— and this was, by the way, was developed in a shipyard in Wuhan, which is now, uh, considered one of the most advanced non-nuclear type. Yeah, and this one is larger than existing ones as far as the size of the boat. So that is what's important about this one here. And what it does, it have Exactly what the US— see, I'm telling you, the reason I'm showing this, when they say that the US, this one has an advantage, and what is that advantage? Is the vertical, remember, is the, the, uh, the vertical launch system. Well, guess what? This new one has the same capability. So basically China is matching, if not even more And this is according to the naval experts. This is very major because one thing China was able to achieve in this, in this domain, it has to do with the sonar. China submarines now are able to detect the most advanced US submarines because of the sonar technology China has developed. So in other words, no submarines, be it British, American, Canadian, or whatever, they can hide no matter how deep they go. The Chinese sonars will be able to, uh, to, to find out where they are. So, and there is the reason why I, I wanted to share this with you guys, just to understand. So, and this, if, if I am not mistaken, This updated, uh, uh, version of this, it's, uh, it's, it's, it's, it's sending a message. China is sending a message here. This is its latest fleet. And once again, I fall back to my earlier point. If China's objective, if China's objective was to dominate the world, why aren't they establishing military bases in all corners of the world. And tells you right there, when you hear the narrative that suggests, oh, this is for conquering the world, whatever, I just don't buy it because I don't see— I don't see the signs. The only one I saw when I was in Djibouti was a very small naval presence of China, and this one has to do with the transits of commodities.. It wasn't even a military, of a military nature. Of course, the Navy people will have to be there, unlike what we had there, what we have still do in, uh, in, in Djibouti. And I'm gonna get into, uh, talking about Africa because it's very, very important for you to understand. So let's go back to our, uh, uh, conversation regarding the passage of these two US naval in the Taiwan Strait. So By the way, one of you guys— and I wish I remember, if you bear with me here, I just like to give credit where credit is due— one of you, uh, at the beginning when we just started, and I read it— oh, right here, Alistair O'Keefe. Yes, I do have it. I'm gonna show it here. You are absolutely correct about these statements. I confirmed it, checked it, the State Department's website and the White House confirmed this particular change. So Alistair O'Keefe was kind enough to, uh, give us a heads up on this. Thank you very much for this. So here is what it says, and I have the link and I will provide it for you later on. So the fact sheet produced by the Department Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, this one is hosted in the Department of State, or State Department, that is, previously stated— this is what is stated before, and I quote— that the United States opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side, meaning Taiwan or China. We do not— meaning the US— we do not support Taiwan's independence, and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, end of quote. Here is the updated version which changed on February 13th of this year, was about what, uh, uh, 4 days ago, and he stated the following, and I quote, the updated paragraph now reads, we oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. We expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people of both sides of the strait. You all see the nuances of the language. So all of a sudden you are seeing— first of all, you have a hawk, a warmonger, heading the Department of State, Marco Rubio. Marco Rubio, if you go back in a record, and it is in public domain, under public information, uh, if you go back to the record of the hearings in the Senate, in the Foreign Relations where he served, you will find out He was as hawkish as he can get regarding China and Russia, but mainly was pushing towards China. The same thing his colleagues, Tom Cotton, the same thing some other ones in the, in the Senate, which we all know what it means. And now I bet you he's the one who's been pushing for the language changes. This, even with this, it's not going to change the facts, and the facts are that, are this: The fact is that the United States and, and China have signed the three communiqués starting from the time of the, uh, of Jimmy Carter era. The three communiqués, all of them converge on one particular theme, and the theme is that China is the main decision makers regarding Taiwan. That means the United States recognizes the authority of China over Taiwan in three communiqués: 1979, 1982, and 1984, if I'm not mistaken. So changing this language is not gonna— you know, what are they trying to do? And here is the link from the, the government the US government website. I'm going to put it in the chat box for you guys for later on, should you decide to read it for yourself. Now, to go back to this Taiwan, uh, uh, strait with the two US ships. So China already has accused now the United States once again in engaging in risky behavior, because that's how you categorize this particular— why are you going all the way to the Taiwan Strait? Let me, let me pull up a different map here for you guys and, and just highlight. And I'm gonna just show something here because it crossed my mind. Okay, let's look at this map here. All right, why doesn't the US sail somewhere else? There are water all over. There's the Indian Ocean. Why aren't they going sailing there? Why did he have to go all the way to the Taiwan Strait? It just shows you right there that the intention might not be just this, uh, as we always call it, freedom of navigation. No, you could go elsewhere. So, and the problem is when China ships came closer to Alaska and the Russian ship as well, we freaked out. Once again, and I put it to the, to the argument, I put the argument on the table here. How do you think we will react if China or Russia send in naval assets? We're not talking, uh, uh, uh, uh, an oil bar, uh, what do you call them, uh, a frigate, whatever. I'm talking about naval assets, not an oil tanker. A naval asset. What would happen? What would the US do if China and Russia sent one to the Gulf of Mexico, or send it across near Florida Gulf— the Gulf of Florida, that is— near— no, south of Florida, that is, or in the Cuban waters? How would we react? So what makes us think that we have the right to react to an event, but other countries don't have that right. Yeah, you, you can't do that because that doesn't make any sense. Countries will defend their assets one way or another. And this is where the US is saying, oh, we are just transiting into the international waters. Well, China could make the same argument by navigate or, or transiting through near Alaska. So, so, however, Chinese are already— the, the, uh, the, the PLA, the Chinese People's Liberation Army, has already been monitoring these movements. They have now the capabilities— China, that is— they have the capabilities not only when it comes down to the submarine technology and so forth, but also the assets, the satellites. Deep. This is why they are, they are building their own. Why do you guys think China went ahead and really, uh, invested in the space program? Why do you think that is? You know, just read up a little bit more on their Beidou, the, the equivalency of GPS for the US. The, their, their system is far— it's moving forward. And I predict, I predict you're gonna see a major major transformation within the next 7 years.

7 years.

With all what Elon Musk is launching, the Starlink stuff, which by the way, those are— some of them are spy satellites. China is going to dominate there. It's gonna— it's like it become like a, an umbrella that it overtake all the satellites that Elon Musk is going to be releasing. But here is the thing, we think about it from a, from a geopolitical and from a security aspect. The US action now, in my opinion, and there is the opinion also of too many, many, uh, military experts, that it is sending the wrong signal to China by also increasing the security risks. Which tells you what? It tells you, Mr. A, it tells you that Mr. Trump's second term Don't expect any understanding, uh, between him and the Chinese. He's not gonna— at least from his part, Chinese will be willing to sit down at the negotiating table, but I don't think so China should allow. This is my opinion, should not— China should not allow sitting at the table while the US thinking that it has the upper hand. This is our problem. Our problem is we want to sit down with the Chinese but we want them to be less than us psychologically for them to be thinking. China shouldn't allow that. China should make it clear that if you want to negotiate with us, we can sit down on an equal footing.

Why?

Because China is in a better position to do so now than it did 25 years ago. And if the US doesn't like it, well, go get, get lost, as we say. I didn't want to use a a bad word, because that's what it is. You look at now what's going on with Canada, for example. You all heard about the tariffs. What did Canada end up doing? Cutting off the gas to the US and shipping it to Europe. And I bet you— I could be wrong— but I bet you what I see coming is that Europe in itself is gonna turn on Mr. Trump by cutting a deal with China. Economically speaking. So basically, we will end up holding the end of the stick because we say in the tariffs, whatever. That is why the only thing left for us now is the dollar. The strength of the dollar on the market is the only thing left. And that in itself, it's just a matter of time. That, that's just the way I see it. So, and this is why, uh, the Chinese went ahead and put their their troops on a high alert. They have to be. The reason being, you can't trust the Americans. Simple as that. So, and as a matter of fact, the US Navy confirmed the— these movements of these two vessels in the strait, which they describe, and I put in quote, as routine exercises. I don't think so. I don't think so. If you want to do an exercise, you go do it elsewhere, or at least stay far away from the Taiwan Strait knowing the sensitivity of that issue. So, and, and, and that is where I— my big concern is that the miscalculation on part of the US, because that is where I see it going. And this is where I asked the question earlier about what is Philippines has to do with all this. Well, because we are pushing Philippines to the forefront. You all know what happened with the Typhoon missile system, which by the way, it has never left Philippines, contrary to what has been said before. I know Marcos Jr., President Marcos Jr., has been talking about giving up the Typhoon, uh, missile systems. No, that was just lip service to the Chinese. How can you trust Marcos Jr. after his first trip to China when he won the elections? And what did he do right after he came back from Beijing? He signed an agreement with Lloyd Austin, former Secretary of Defense, for the Operation of an additional bases in addition to what we had. We had about— actually, there were 9, and the US said, oh, we only have about 5 bases or 6 bases. No, they were 9. The Filipino people might— the Filipino military might be— might have access only to 5, but the other 4, those are for specific type of weapons. And I will go as far as saying I will even rule out the option of having some type of tactical nukes on these missiles that the Filipinos will not have access to. The same arguments I— we make about Australia with this submarine deal, the AUKUS thing, whatever. Do you think that the Aussie is going to be operating those submarines, or the Filipinos for that matter, regarding the Typhoon missile systems? No, it's going to be the Americans, because we won't want them to have access to that. And this is why, uh, usually what the US does is that it will solicit the involvement of its allies in the region. Well, who are their allies in the region? You can name them, they are 4 or 5: Australia, South Korea, Japan, and Philippines. That's it. I mean, are you going to count Taiwan as an ally? No. No, even in South Korea yesterday, there is now a law, I think law or something, legislation that passed. They don't want to use the word, the English words anymore. Makes me just wonder where this is going. So what the U.S. Navy is saying, oh, this is just part of a normal, uh, normal, you know, routine that we do and so forth. And what this— what is disturbing to me here is what's disturbing to me, because when the US Navy confirmed— it's exactly what you, you all remember. I don't know if you remember, and I did talk about it in one of those videos when the US conducted some, uh, some routine patrols last time. The last two confirmed missions by the US Navy were an air patrol, as a matter of fact. And it was exactly in November, if I'm not mistaken. And why, why is this important? Because was one in, uh, October, one in November, two of them. I remember what's important one, the important, it was about the joint patrol that took place in the Strait of Taiwan in October by two, not just the US, two. It was the US and Canada. Canada naval ships were, were Why the heck is Canada doing in Taiwan Strait? The same argument I will make about Germany when it sent some of its naval assets. Why? That just tells you right there. So even naval ships from France, the Netherlands, and Japan's Self-Defense Force also passed through this, the Taiwan Strait, last year. Now, if you don't see this as provocation, I don't know what will convince you otherwise, because provocations started this way. You don't go directly to— you just do this kind of maneuvers. So, and this is why the response from Chinese, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, office that deals with the Taiwan affairs, it was in one word. And actually, the person was Zhu Fenglian, he's the spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office. He said one word, two words actually, one which sums up everything, describing the island as, and I put this in quote, "core interest." Now in the world of diplomacy and geopolitics, those words carry a lot of weight. Politically speaking. So, so here is again their statement, quote: We are resolutely opposed to this and will never allow any outside interference and have the firm will, full confidence, and capability to uphold the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Once again, those are measured. So very, very, very, very crucial, important to understand. Now, all these dynamics is coming on the heels of the new defense secretary, which somebody that is not qualified for the position. I'll tell him to his face if I ever get a chance. But again, he is in possession, so there's nothing It won't matter. Pete Hegseth, this is during his speech in NATO, which was 2 days ago, 2, 3 days ago. That's when it was. Here is what he said. By the way, he's going to be going to AFRICOM, and AFRICOM headquarters is not in Africa. It is in— does anybody know where AFRICOM headquarters is or command center is? Let me see in the chat box if you know. Just FYI knowledge, no more, no less, just for you to know. The, the headquarters of AFRICOM, which is Africa Command Center, usually that's the short term for All right, I'm, I'm scrolling down just to see, guys, if any of you know where the headquarters is. Uh, Victor, Victor, you got it! It's in, in Germany, in Ramstein. And Ramstein, because we have the Siliu, you got it too. Oh, I'm sorry, not this one, right here. Siliu, you got it. You guys got it in Germany. As a matter of fact, just to give you a heads up, a part of knowledge, when the conversation— I was still in Washington at that time, and I was aware of the talks that were taking place with some foreign countries in Africa. Well, one of the countries was Morocco. Morocco was approached by the Americans to have the Africa's, Africa, uh, command center there. And Morocco turned it down. Smart move, I say, because you'll, you'll put a, a target on your back, basically. That's what it is. So, so anyway, they decide to have it in, in, in, in Germany, and that's what it is. So the Secretary of Defense going there, but here is what he's saying. Just pay attention to this. When asked, meaning Hekset, during that Uh, this is during his press conference, uh, that he did. Uh, where did I put the picture? Right here. When he was asked, uh, uh, uh, about, uh, his, uh, first overseas trip as Defense Secretary, uh, visiting AFRICOM, he said this should be taken as a sign that US strategic aims in Africa are changing. Hegseth pointed to the threat posed by China in that region, end of quote. You all see what's coming. That's why I'm saying never ever assume that things happen in geo— in geopolitical domain independently from others. So because his argument is that he's saying that China's intention are pernicious. Pernicious, that's a very descriptive word. You all know what it means, right? Pernicious, meaning to cause harm. That is what— having a harmful effect, which is far from the truth. Once again, you need to pay close attention to the word itself. So anyway, uh, not just in their part of the world but also on the African continent. And he said, and I quote, and America's posture there, meaning in Africa, along with allies and partners— did you see how we always, we always have to pull in the allies and partners? Those are not allies, those are not partners, those are servants, vassal states, you know— is going to, is going to matter in regard to contesting that space, meaning in Africa or elsewhere. 'so it certainly remains a priority,' he continued, end of quote. And he also adding that in addition to continually monitoring China's presence in Africa, Hegseth said force posturing in AFRICOM area of responsibility is countering the ongoing terror threat in that region. You all see what's coming, right? This reminds me, and I'm gonna play a clip for you, and I want you to pay close attention to this one here. I'm sure some of you have, uh, I don't assume, I don't know whether you are aware of it or not, but I'm gonna share this with you. Take a listen here, guys.

About 10 days after 9/11, I went through the Pentagon and I saw Secretary Rumsfeld, and one of the generals called me in. He said, sir, you gotta come in and talk to me a second. I said, well, you're too busy. He said, no, no, he says, we've made the decision we're going to war with Iraq. I said, we're going to war with Iraq? Why? He said, I don't know. He said, I guess they don't know what else to do. I said, well, did they find some information connecting Saddam to al-Qaeda? He said, no, no, he says, there's nothing new that way. They just made the decision to go to war with Iraq. He said, I guess it's like, we don't know what to do about terrorists, but we've got a good military and we can take down governments. So I came back to see him a few weeks later, and by that time we were bombing in Afghanistan. I said, are we still going to war with Iraq? And he said, oh, it's worse than that. He said, I just got this down from upstairs, meaning the Secretary of Defense's office, today. And he said, this is a memo that describes how we're going to take out 7 countries in 5 years, starting with Iraq and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and finishing off Iran. I said, is it classified? He said, yes, sir. I said, well, don't show it to me. About—

so I just want to give you an idea. This is how you understand the dynamics of when the policies are formulated, uh, you know, there's always the pretext of how moving forward. Now it's going to become on China, how it's going to deal with it. And China cannot be this Mr. Too Nice. He can't be. So, so, because here is what Secretary of Defense is aiming at, and he's now stating it publicly, is that the operations that the US or the Department of Defense is gonna get involved in is now— is returning the tactical decision-making authority to the senior military commanders. So because Hegseth admits— here is weird thing— Hegseth admits that US alone cannot deter China. It needs to strengthen cooperation with allies, which means you have to pull in allies into. And this is again where you see that distinctions between why economic prosperity matters more so than conflicts. We have nothing to offer the world. What are we offering the world? And I'll say it straightforward. It's my country, and I criticize my country when it's warranted, and it is warranted. I know some have written that I hate America and all that. That's nonsense. You know, that's to me the weakest argument one can make. If you can't challenge me, you know, accordingly by just stating, "I hate America," just like that, then I say you are so weak intellectually speaking, and you get no place in our community. And I don't shy away from this. It's because if you got a valid argument, present it to the community and we'll discuss it. Because I ask the questions that matter. What do we offer the world? Beside conflicts? Tell me, anybody here. If you can challenge me on this, I welcome your challenge. What do I offer the world? And this is what I'm saying, you're gonna have to understand where now, sort of, uh, when you hear that now Hex, that is, the guy's not qualified for that position to begin with, let alone his statements. And I'm not gonna getting to the this and that. I don't care for that anymore. I care about the substance of the statements he utters, because those tend to turn into policy. When you are saying— he's saying, and I quote, the ambitions of the Communist Chinese are a threat to free people everywhere. I mean, come on, man, what are you saying? What are you saying? You know, you go and you tell, it is very critical for the US to work with allies and partners who understand the reality of the ascendant Chinese threat. He said that these allies include Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Australia, end of quote. That's his word. That's what I'm saying. Even those countries have no clue as to what are they getting themselves into. And if they think we're gonna come to their defense, they are mistaken. They are mistaken. Yeah. And for Hacks said to say, well, by the way, the US doesn't see conflict with China. Mr. President, President Trump has a good relationship with the Chinese President Xi Jinping. Yeah, that is true. But on the other hand, you saying one thing on one end and you doing the opposite on the other. Where is the credibility when it comes down to something like that? None whatsoever. So, and that is part of where the masses are so disillusioned with this notion of that, you know, America is going to come to their— we got our own issues to deal with here. Like I mentioned yesterday in the video I released about the poverty in the likes of Detroit, New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, even in Germany and Australia. And what are those governments are doing for their people? Nothing, nothing. Ask them, ask the Europeans how they were 5, 10 years ago versus where they are today. Go and ask the Germans how their economy was when Angela Merkel was in charge. Not that she was perfect, but at least she had a gut to stand to the American president and said, no, we're not gonna do that. I remember when we threatened her with sanctions if she does not pull back from Nord Stream 2, and she said no, because the access to the cheap energy from Russia is what fueled the economy in Germany And once the German economy was fueled, whole Europe raised or rise— I'm sorry, rise economically. Not all countries, of course, but you get the idea. No, you don't. I just had a phone call 2 days ago from Paris. Thanks. They said, if you come to Paris now, you're not going to recognize it. And I intend to go. I intend to go, and I will report to you even in a, in a short clip or whatever. And I know where to go in Paris. I'm very familiar with, with that city. Will I be surprised? No, because I've seen the degradation of France for the last few years. You got the likes of Macron. What does Macron has to offer the French people? Gone that era of Charles de Gaulle when he took stand, when he decided to pull France out of NATO against the wishes of the United States. Did he fear the Americans? No, he's like, hell no, I am leaving NATO. And he did. So to me now, I say, if Mr. Trump is really thinking about the welfare of America, pull the US out of NATO because we are contributing almost 70% of its budget. Why? Why my tax dollars will go there? So why are we provoking China for Why are we fomenting more tensions in Eastern Europe? And that's to me where it becomes the idea of what the leadership is all about. And sad to say, and I'll say it, it shouldn't be sad about it, is that there is a deficiency, massive deficiency in the leadership across Western world for that matter. And that in itself, like I wrote in one of my books, is the beginning— is the, uh, Western hegemony is on its last leg. That is the way I see it. That is the way I see it. So, uh, Rafael, I saw another super sticker from you, man. Appreciate you. Why do you think today Scholz, Orbán, uh, Fico do not get into an airplane fly to Moscow, tell Putin we are all European, let us compromise now. Well, they have no say. I mean, they can't control the narrative because remember, for them to do this, the European Parliament will have to sort of, uh, exert its authority by authorizing that this is a European— that's why they have the European Parliament, you know, because that is the price of becoming part of the EU. You end up falling under Hungary had no choice at the time when they decided to join the EU, but now they are realizing maybe it was a strategic mistake because now Hungary and your, uh, the EU are butting heads. I mean, Orbán made Ursula von der Leyen cry during a session of the parliament, you know. But again, they are part of the European Union, they have to follow by these rules. He can't just go unilaterally and cut a deal. If he wasn't part of the EU, he can do that. Serbia will be able to do that. And this is why the European Union is so pissed at Hungary for cutting a deal with the Chinese. And again, mark my word, guys, I bet you it's a matter of time. Once the tariffs start biting the Europeans, they're gonna— they're gonna— you start seeing flights to Beijing. The head of states in Europe going to Beijing asking for assistance. I always describe this: you ask with one ball for help, and the other one, you carry a knife stabbing it. Because they can turn on China as well, because you can't trust Europeans. There is no more credibility anymore. You know the saying, you know, watch what a man does, not what he says. Like Marcus Aurelius always said, and I live by that because it proves to be true. You know, they can say all they want. It's in action that you find out. It's like for us here, guys, you know, to me, when I tell you I'm going to do something, I better do it. Why? Because I gave you my word. My word is my bond to you, to the community. Simple as that. And there is no, there is no, I'm Mr. Nice or no, no, no, no, no, no. It has nothing to do with that. It just has to do with holding your end of the bargain. You give your word to the community, you follow through. If you don't want to do something, don't say it. Simple as that. So, so that is, uh, I see your point, but Scholz, Scholz is so weak, uh, uh, Raphael. Uh, he, he just, he wasn't even qualified for that position to begin with. Even Germany, the last, even when Helmut Schmidt used to be, and Helmut Kohl after him, Gerhard Schröder, then Angela Merkel. For me personally, and I remember all those— I was, even though I was a kid, but I still remember Helmut Kohl at that time and all that. But for, uh, for at least Angela Merkel, because I was following her closely, her policies and so forth, and I have family lives in Germany, so I used to go a lot to Europe at At least she was moving Germany in the right direction. Now look, they going in reverse, and it's going to be up to the people now, be they in Germany, be they in Philippines, be they in South Korea or whatever else, or Canada or even the US. I mean, just look at my fellow Americans here. I mean, they are so clueless. And oblivious to what's going on in our own country on all aspects. You look at now the massive waste that we have, that the government is wasting our tax dollars. It's not their money, why will they care? And yet you have an average citizen spending over 40 hours breaking his back to have some decent, uh, uh, living for his family and so forth, and the government comes and takes his taxes and not forcefully, but you know. But even with that, do we have to pay taxes? Is there something in the Constitution that says you have to? I don't— I had the book of— I don't know where I put it. Uh, anyway, I had the book for the Constitution, small booklet, read it through. There is nothing there that says we are obligated to pay taxes to the government, let alone that we have the right to hold the government accountable for the spending. So why did we send over $300 billion to Ukraine for? What did we get out of it? I mean, let's ask the questions that matter. And this is what I'm saying. When you compare, for example, you see where China is, like I argued yesterday in the video, why this— why China reached what it reached is because it's reinvested into itself. Reinvested into the welfare of its people, reinvested into alleviating poverty. Anyone know how poor China used to be? I wish I would have gone back then, or I was born back then, whatever, just to see. But older generation will be able to, to, to, to tell the story, the one who went through that era of poverty to all of a sudden see where, where the country is. And at least during my last visit, I saw, I saw, I saw with my own eyes there is no signs of like the massive poverty you are now witnessing in the West. Are there poor people in China? Of course they are. But did I see people with the, with the carts and the COVID and all that have sleeping in the streets. I did not see that. Do they exist in some part of China? Maybe, maybe not. I, I can't say something that I didn't see with my own eyes. That's the reason why I went there, and that is why the reason I am also thinking of going back to, to Asia one more time here, because there are certain things needs to be reported accurately. This way we remove any doubts. And we expose the false narrative regarding China. And again, I am not doing it on behalf of China. No, I'm doing it on behalf of you guys, on behalf of the truth, because it matters. So, Rafael, once again, man, thank you so much. And you put AFD party is going to win the elections. And this is where the pro— that's why JD Vance lashed out at Europeans. Well, yes, that's all great, and I'll applaud him for that, but how about lashing out at our own system here when we still have even censorship here? So what happened to— because, because we can dictate the terms to our servants, but we won't do them to ourself. So AFD, yeah, there is possibility, but there is also now a push inside the government not to work with AfD in case it wins powers. So you can already see the establishments in Europe, across Europe, starting with Ursula von der Leyen, trying to undermine AfD because AfD is pushing for the welfare of the German people. AfD does not want to send money to Ukraine. AfD doesn't want to be part of NATO. The, the things that matter for the country to evolve economically. And we— they're gonna undermine it, mark my word. I hope the German people will step forward and do what's right for their own country. So thank you again, Rafael. Oh, Boon, good to see you, Boon. We haven't seen Boon here for a while. Good to see you, Boon. And, and, uh, and Boon is in around Germany if if I'm not mistaken. And it's someone I trust, someone I know. I've known Boone for a long time. And usually, believe it or not, guys, if I need to fact-check something, I reach out to Boone and ask his opinion because I know he's going to tell me the truth. Good to see you, Boone, and thank you so much for your Super Sticker. You've been an avid supporter since, since we started both channels. So, and I am very grateful to you. So good to see you, Boone. And this is my point, guys, just for you to understand which these dynamics are going You can't assume that just because governments are saying whatever, uh-uh. And again, I am— I've been watching these trends regarding the South China Sea and the tensions that's going to be. I wrote some about it. I had a talk one day with a retired admiral, and I was like, do you think we have a capability of fighting the Chinese? Oh yeah, we do have some. And I say, really? Of course, the retired admiral is not going to tell me otherwise because officers in the US military been indoctrinated to follow certain narrative. Just listen to retired generals who come to certain networks here in the US and provide analysis, whatever assessment. It's pushing one direction or another. So that is what I need you to pay close attention to as you watch the evolvements of events. So So to me now, I feel comfortable saying China is now— just to wrap this up for you guys— China now is in a position to sort of flex its military muscle. I'll use it, I'll use the term because there is no other way of saying it. As to its internal affair with Taiwan, it's up to it how it wants to handle that. Do I see China moving in militarily? I don't. Could I be wrong? Possibly. But I just don't see it because you reflect on the Chinese history, it's not part of their DNA, this kind of expansion through— not expansion rather, but yeah, expansion that is not about dominating other countries, whatever. It's just, it's not part of their DNA throughout their history. As a matter of fact, Chinese absorbed a a lot, a lot, a lot of, uh, pressure from outsiders. I mean, I don't need to tell you what the Europeans did to China's Opium War. I don't need to tell you what the Japanese did to the Chinese. History tends to provide us this insight. And speaking of history, I'm going to be reaching out to a, a good friend of mine, Dr. Ken Hammond, and bring him in along with Dr. Dashwan Feng. He's also a good friend of mine, and, and we'll have a conversation about the history of that part of the world. There is a lot of that the Western world have no, no clue, and we don't teach here. I was a teacher, I was a professor, I used to teach. We don't teach the accuracy of the information. Uh, that's to me, to those— I'm sure I shared this with you before— why I left teaching here. Is because, uh, uh, it's because I didn't want to do what they wants me to do. And what they wants me to do was to stand there in the classroom and just read the slides to the students. I say, what a pathetic, you know, if I can't challenge my students intellectually, then that is not for me. That is not for me. Because those students, first of all, if they are sitting there because they think they deserve it, They are mistaken. You don't deserve to be sitting in a classroom in a university. You earn your seat at the university because education is not your right, it's privilege. And you have to put the work to earn that seat. Because I had one day, I had to say it to one of the students who was kind of, you know, being some sort of I don't know what was the issue with him, but again, I don't take it personally. It's just I will not allow disruptions in my classroom. And I was like, if you think you are sitting this because you earned it, I think you're mistaken. And given your interaction with me, I'll say you're intellectually handicapped. I wasn't nice about it. Why? Because of the arrogance. Because turns out that that individual's father was a donor. Well, I don't give a damn whether your dad is a donor or not, because there is someone out there that deserved that seat and just couldn't get to it because of financial hardships. It's all it was. It's all it was. Oh, Rafael, once again, man, appreciate you. Question: What is your take on USS Harry Truman hitting a merchant ship in plain sea? I was on a float many times. No way this can happen for real, that's for sure. That is for sure. The question becomes is what that ship hit by something underwater that of course, uh, I don't know, something that impacted its trajectory. Sonar system maybe was impacted somehow, influenced, hacked. Yeah, there are many explanations to that. So you're absolutely correct, it's not normal for, uh, uh, the, the Harry Truman, uh, hitting a merchant ship. I mean, that just doesn't make any sense. So anyway, guys, I hope you— by the way, I will greatly appreciate if you can, uh, I'll take this opportunity, by the way, I need to say thank you to some supporters who already bought me tea and coffee and, and, and support the channel. And I am very, very grateful to all of you. Let me just quickly here, just if you allow me, just to say thank you, because it's the right thing to do, like I always say. And, uh, to those who have donated through PayPal, I am also grateful to you for that. Uh, I, I really, really appreciate it. And, uh, this is in support of my upcoming Asia trip, uh, that I am gonna be, uh, probably the end of the summer, somewhere around that time. No dates have been confirmed yet till I figure out, uh, so every— so I want to say thank you to Stephen Chang, Minaro Zeli, Scott Dixon. Thank you so much from Down Under, appreciate you. Tony, appreciate you for that. Uh, W. Cheryl, 2002, much appreciate you for that. Strong Wind 609, Morris, as always appreciate your support. Uh, Fana Family, much appreciate your buying me tea. Uh, SK Wong, thank you. And Farid Amel, truly appreciate your support. And to all new, uh, members of the channel, uh, uh, on YouTube, I am very grateful for your support, and I really, really appreciate you. Please make sure to hit the like button and share this video with others, as always. And I'm going to be working, by the way, on some other topics for you this week, and I look forward to seeing you again. As always, remember, geopolitics impacts your daily life in more ways than one. Till next time, guys. Bye-bye.