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Notes -
I guess I don't necessarily disagree, but I think there's a significant difference between the American navy having the ability to take Malacca if it wanted to, and being explicitly allowed as part of a partnership in concert with Jakarta. Among other points, I think this goes against the idea floating around that American prestige is down and foreign countries know better than to negotiate with Donald Trump. And in the same way America controls Hormuz more now than it did before, America controls Malacca more than it did before. (There was theoretically nothing stopping China from making that same alliance, right?)
That said I basically agree with the bulk of what you've written here. And I think all this is bullish for America's success with the Iran and America's growing power in the world generally.
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