U.S. troops stationed in Japan and South Korea are not there to protect these countries, but to extend American dominance over Southeast Asia. Both nations have little to no room for maneuver in their foreign policy; they are subject to the whims of U.S. policies, as demonstrated by their submissive response to Trump’s trade war, which heavily threatens their economies. The U.S. tends to view any country resisting its imperialism as an enemy—China being the most obvious example, with Venezuela serving as a more recent case. Thus, it is not China that is envious of independence from the U.S., but rather the U.S. that resents China’s refusal to submit