RED STORM RISING: As Defense Secretary Mark Esper travels to Guam and Palau to take part in ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, he is carrying with him a warning about the next battle of the Pacific: countering what he calls China’s “rule-breaking behavior, debt-backed economic coercion, and other malign activities.”

In a speech last night in Hawaii, Esper warned that China is on track to be the dominant military power in Asia by 2049, the 100th anniversary of its communist revolution. “The People’s Liberation Army continues to pursue an aggressive modernization plan to achieve a world-class military by the middle of the century,” Esper said. “This will undoubtedly embolden the PLA’s provocative behavior in the South and East China Seas and anywhere else the Chinese government has deemed critical to its interests.”