Since returning to office last year, U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered military strikes from the Caribbean and eastern Pacific to Africa and the Middle East, targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats and suspected terrorist groups. He has attacked Venezuela and kidnapped its leader, Nicolas Maduro. And he has joined Israel in a large-scale assault on Iran that amounts to a major escalation from last year’s strikes, which supposedly “obliterated” the country’s nuclear facilities. Meanwhile, he is tightening a noose around Cuba, in the hopes that the resulting humanitarian crisis will open the way for a “friendly takeover” of the island by the United States.

As Trump acts with open contempt for international law, China is taking notes. The Cuba model, in particular, offers a useful blueprint for Chinese President Xi Jinping to apply in pursuing his “historic mission” of “unification” with Taiwan. This is a live demonstration of how a superpower can strangle a country into submission.

Modern societies depend on a handful of critical systems such as food, water, transportation and communications. But one system rules them all: energy. Electricity powers water pumps, refrigeration, health care, digital networks and industrial and agricultural production. Once the grid begins to fail, so do all other critical systems — and social stability. This makes countries that depend heavily on imported fuel to generate electricity fundamentally vulnerable.

© The Japan Times