Checkmate? US Removes Missiles From the Philippines As China's Xi Plays JFK to Biden's Khrushchev

BIDEN: George, I'm the guy that put NATO together, the future, no one thought I could expand it. I'm the guy who shut Putin down... - streiff

...Most concerning is that claiming “checkmate” in the Pacific overlooks the fact that China has the largest Navy, largest Coast Guard, largest Naval Militia, and largest shipbuilders in the world. It also has the world’s largest fleets of military controlled merchant ships and owns ports globally...

• At issue was the Typhon missile system, which would be critical in any conflict with China or anyone else in the Pacific... 
• Well, China says "no," Hoss, and they are calling the shots with Joey SoftServe in the White House.

A US mid-range missile system deployed in the Philippines for annual joint military exercises -- to the annoyance of China -- will be pulled out of the country, a Philippine Army spokesman said Thursday...

The presence of the mid-range missile system on Philippine soil had angered Beijing. 

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun warned in June there were "limits" to Beijing's restraint on the South China Sea and over the deployment of ballistic missiles in the Asia-Pacific region...