Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin traveled to Japan to negotiate moving operational control of Japanese troops from Hawaii to Japan. This means that if conflict were to break out, Japan’s military would be placed under US command to do with as they please. This is one of many recent moves the US has made to prepare for its unwinnable war against China. 

The United States already has operational control of South Korea’s military. In the event of war, the US would then control both South Korean and Japanese forces. This is no coincidence– it is a grotesque military strategy that would allow our government to use and abuse the people of another nation to accomplish its own imperial agenda. Hey, what’s new?

👉Tell Blinken and Austin to return operation control back to Japan and South Korea!

Our political leaders are drawing us headfirst into a conflict with China that would lead to mass loss of life, economic devastation, and environmental destruction. Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown recently claimed he is “fully confident” the US would defeat China, emphasizing that he “plays to win.” War is not game you play, Gen. Brown, and war with China is not something any of us will walk away from, let alone win.

Prior to the meeting in Japan, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin brought $500 million to the Philippines to boost their military capabilities. The US has been solidifying alliances in the Asia Pacific to ensure it is not Americans at the frontlines of war with China, but Koreans, Filipinos, and Japanese citizens. Meanwhile, opposition has been growing within. In nations across the Asia Pacific, protests are on the rise, calling for an end to US imperialism. The people don’t want to be cannon fodder between the US and China, which is exactly what will happen if the situation escalates into war.

It’s time to take a stand against the normalization of conflict and the dangerous preparation for war with China. 

👉Tell the US to stop pushing us towards war with China! 

To learn more, read The US Is Preparing for an Unwinnable War Against China.  

Join our webinar Korea on the Frontlines of War on August 15 at 8pm ET to learn about US operational control of South Korea’s military and the threat this poses to war with China. 

Peace and solidarity, 

Jodie, Megan, and the CODEPINK Team

Take further action:

• Join the US Out Of Korea rally on Aug 18th @ 1pm ET in NYC. More info here.
• Contact [email protected] to schedule a meeting and learn more about China Is Not Our Enemy biweekly meetings, including our upcoming one on Monday, August 19th at 7pm ET. 
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