How Japan And Greece stopping China's Plan for Shipping World Domination - Jack Chapple

This is the South China Sea. Roughly one third of all global maritime trade occurs in these waters. And yet, if you were to take a look at the ships traversing these waters, the majority, are not owned or operated by China. In fact, most of these ships are run by Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

And most of these ships are what you expect. Some are oil tankers that import oil from the Middle East, some are bulk carriers that can carry over 100,000 tons of bulk items like coal or grain, and some are container ships, transporting your latest impulse purchase from Temu to your front door anywhere in the world.

And these ships are all normal and are being run in the same way that shipping has been done over the past few thousand years. Crew will load the cargo onto the ship, the ship is then checked for clearance by technicians of the port authority. The ship then departs the port and the captain navigates the open sea for days or weeks on end. The ship then gets boarded by pirates…i mean, safely travels to its destination where it docks, and unloads its cargo.

And virtually all ships have done this for thousands of years…Until recently, when an old maritime tradition began getting turned on its head. You see, there are two ships near the South China Sea, and 1 other one in northern Europe, that might transform the entire industry and shift the power of global shipping…

And that country is Japan. A nation that once transformed its entire maritime force from an outdated, rustic fleet that was laughed at, into arguably the most advanced and powerful fleet in the world. And it might do that once again with its new invention.

In the early 1800s, Japan was falling behind the western powers in its economic, militaristic, and naval capabilities. You see, Japan was essentially a rural feudal society at the time when the western world was already well into the industrial revolution.

But then its new Emperor, Meiji, took power in 1867 and the fate of Japan and the world would change forever.

After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, which consolidated the power of Japan into the emperor's hands… Post-Meiji Restoration, Japan didn’t just dip a toe into modernization; it dove headfirst. British naval architects were the hot ticket, helping Japan paddle from feudal canoes to steam-powered battleships. The goal? To avoid becoming another notch on the colonial belt of the western world and instead, a major player at the world’s military poker table.

In the early 1900s, Japan’s naval résumé quickly filled up with wins against China and Russia, turning its navy into the darling of the region. These victories were like putting out a regional "We’ve Arrived" sign, signaling its presence as the new heavyweight on the Asian block.

The global powers decided to cool down the naval arms race with the Washington Naval Treaty, which was the maritime equivalent of telling everyone to chill out and stop building so many ships. Japan, feeling shortchanged on the deal, reluctantly agreed but wasn't happy about having its naval wings clipped.

With nationalism as the new trend in the 1920s and 1930s, Japan started to ignore the "Please stop building" memo, and kept churning out battleships and carriers as if they were going out of style. The country was gearing up for a significant expansion, and the navy was its trump card.

World War 2 rolls around and The Imperial Japanese Navy, now beefed up and ready to rumble, kicked off its Pacific tour with the surprise gig at Pearl Harbor, bringing the U.S. into the war with a bang. What followed was a series of naval chart-toppers until the tides turned and Japan faced the music at places like Midway.

====================

The video continues beyond the summary provided at about the 4:00 mark.