At stake in the clash over Taiwan is not only control of the South China Sea, but also control of what Nicholas Spykman called the “Asiatic Mediterranean” and its islands and littorals. The outcome may determine whether this region of the western Pacific remains a vital international maritime artery or becomes China’s Caribbean Sea. To put it in classical geopolitical terms: Who controls the South China Sea commands the Asiatic Mediterranean; who commands the Asiatic Mediterranean controls Asia; and who controls Asia commands the destinies of the world.