ON December 5, 2016, The Sun, a UK-based publication, reported: “The US is readying for World War Three with China by mobilizing 400 bases packed with warships and nukes to create a ‘perfect noose’ around the superpower.” It is part of US preparation for the possible implementation of its “Air-Sea Battle” doctrine that Pentagon planners have prepared to use against China’s “anti-access, area-denial” – a term coined by US military writers to describe China’s series of weapons systems that will prevent the US military from gaining access to potential battlefields (i.e., Taiwan, Korean Peninsula, South China Sea, East China Sea, Malacca Strait, etc.) or coming to the rescue of their principal allies in the region (Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Australia, etc.).