Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

• China Direct: Taiwan crisis — 4-day de facto blockade — G7 slam drills
• We now have an unprecedented series of four-day-long, round-the-island live-ammunition exercises featuring advanced warplanes, warships and missiles.
• The Chinese military designated six closure areas, one of which is merely 12 miles from Taiwan’s southern shipping hub of Kaohsiung. Beijing also warned commercial airliners to avoid wide swaths of airspace around Taiwan, in what amounts to a no-fly zone over major flight routes. Even though China portrays this as a step short of total encirclement, Taiwan’s defense ministry describes it as “a maritime and aerial blockade.”
• EUROPE JOINS U.S., IN WORDS: After several days of silence, Europe joined the U.S. and other G7 partners in a statement on Wednesday slamming Beijing’s “escalatory” drills.
• “There is no justification to use a visit as pretext for aggressive military activity in the Taiwan Strait. It is normal and routine for legislators from our countries to travel internationally. The PRC’s escalatory response risks increasing tensions and destabilizing the region,” the foreign ministers said. They also reassured Beijing there’s no change to their respective one China policies — “where applicable” — and asked “all parties” to “maintain open lines of communication to prevent misunderstanding.” One such opportunity may arise today.

Read the original article by clicking here.