Subject: Re: New defense partnership with Indonesia announced
What is *really* important, to the Pirate King, is he could charge tolls to transit the Malacca Strait, just like he has floated the notion of charging tolls to transit Hormuz.

More like we've ID'd a partner who understands what the stakes are in the South China, doesn't want the belligerent party up there to seize any of their islands, is willing to help us give The Dragon an asymmetric hotfoot from time to time, and has repair facilities they'd like the US to use (very likely in exchange for some protection).

I get that this board AT BEST views China as some distant, far-off curiosity that supplies the gear that Costco and WalMart sell...but the government doesn't see it that way.