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little conversation on the bridge as the cutter neared the last known position of the Rajah Humabon .  Not only was her fate foremost in the minds of all aboard, but China’s role in what had happened and their next moves ensured tension throughout the ship.  A naval patrol plane had r e ported that a Chinese frigate was approximately 150 kilometers north of Seahorse Shoal, which would put its guns far out of range but possibly not its missiles, though no one knew for sure since the Chinese had been updating their weapons systems at an alarming rate. 
    Captain Antonio Vega was scanning the waters with binoculars when he noticed the sunlight glinting off something floating about 500 yards off the starboard bow.
    “Helmsman, come right five degrees,” he ordered.
    The object turned out to be a floating cooler, likely not from the Rajah Humabon , but what he saw next most assuredly was.  A uniform-clad corpse bobbed forlornly on a nearby swell. 

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    March 11 th 2013  –   0730  –  White House  – Washington DC
     
    The president was half way through his morning briefing when an aide entered the room and handed him a written message, which he scanned, then read aloud.
    Early on the morning of March 10 th , Philippine time, a Philippine naval vessel, the Rajah Humabon , was challenged, it is thought, by a Chinese fri g ate.  The Philippine ship radioed that two shots had been fired across its bow.  Subsequently, Cavite Naval Base lost contact with the vessel.  A search has turned up bodies and wreckage presumably from the Rajah Humabon .
    “Damn !” the president muttered.  He looked downward in thought for a moment, then turned to his aide.  “Are we certain the Chinese actually sank the Philippine vessel?” he asked.
    “Not at this time, Mr. President.”
    The president glanced over at Thomas Benedict, CIA Director, who simply shook his head, signif ying that this was the first he’ d heard.  He then turned to the Secretary of Defense, Melvin Larimer:  “Any thoughts?”
    “Mr. President, last year alone the Chinese captured 17 Vietnamese fishing boats with some 210 fishermen while they were fishing off the coast of Viet Nam.  In December Japan's coastguard arrested the captain of a Chinese fishing boat fishing there illegally.  The captain claims he was rammed by a Japanese coast guard vessel.  I could quote a number of other incidents, but the bottom line is that China’s foreign minister has stated plainly that the e n tire South China Sea belongs to China and they appear to be systematically provoking confrontations to show that there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”
    “Frankly, Mr. President,” interjected James Langley, his national s e curity advisor, “there isn’t a damn thing we can do about it.  This is as much about poking us in the eye as it is about asserting territorial claims.  While they’ve been busy building a blue water navy, we’ve been busy paying for it by buying their products and then borrowing our money back from them.”
    The president shot him a glance that made it clear he was irked .  He was fully engaged in increasing the scope and power of the federal gover n ment to an unprecedented level and didn’t like being reminded of global r e alities, especially when they concerned the source of much of the money he was using for his expansion.  R ather than adapt to reality, he seemed dete r mined to instead bend reality to his views.  He was a typical ideologue, a r rogant and self-important, a person whose paternal and condescending view of the world led him to make dangerous miscalculations.  
    Not since Woodrow Wilson had a US president seen as his mission the establishment of ‘world governance , ’ a top down sys tem in which the ‘elite’ decide what is best for the rest.  As with Communism, the elite are chosen by each other, conveniently eliminating the archaic and risky custom of holding elections.  The Speaker of the