FLYING THE FLAG: The U.S. Navy at work.

MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE HIMALAYAS: There’s been another China-India border clash near Ladakh.

China on Wednesday urged India to protect the peace and stability of their border after Indian sources said soldiers of the two Asian giants were involved in an altercation in the western Himalayas.

Troops from the two countries have been embroiled in a seven-week standoff on the Doklam plateau in another part of the remote Himalayan region near their disputed frontier.

On Tuesday, a source in New Delhi, who had been briefed on the military situation on the border, said soldiers foiled a bid by a group of Chinese troops to enter Indian territory in Ladakh, near a lake called Pangong.

Yes, India.

Background on the trouble around Doklam:

Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in a stand-off in the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector for seven weeks now after Indian troops stopped the Chinese army from building a road in the disputed area. China claimed that they were constructing the road within their territory and has been demanding immediate pull-out of the Indian troops from the disputed Doklam plateau. New Delhi has expressed concern over the road building, apprehending that it may allow Chinese troops to cut India’s access to its northeastern states.

6. India has conveyed to the Chinese government that the road construction would represent a significant change of status quo with serious security implications for it. Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Doklam, while China claims it as part of its Donglang region.

7. Of the 3,488-km-long India-China border from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, a 220-km section falls in Sikkim. China also claims that Thimphu has no dispute with Beijing over Doklam.

China is involved in disputes in the South China Sea and on the Korean peninsula that could lead to war. Beijing would be wise to end them, peacefully. Because India.

STATUS QUO IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA?:

China has assured the Philippines it will not occupy new features or territory in the South China Sea, under a new “status quo” brokered by Manila as both sides try to strengthen their relations, the Philippine defense minister said.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano also said the Philippines was working on a “commercial deal” with China to explore and exploit oil and gas resources in disputed areas of the South China Sea with an aim to begin drilling within a year.

This deal is bilateral. The U.S., Japan and Australia have floated a “code of conduct” proposal for the region that sounds similar to this agreement. Will Beijing live up to this emerging deal with Manila? Good question.

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S FULL-COURT PRESS: Coordinating U.S. power to squeeze the nukes out of North Korea. (bumped)

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S FULL-COURT PRESS: Coordinating U.S. power to squeeze the nukes out of North Korea. And it looks like it’s getting results.

STEPHEN POINTED THIS OUT: But it needs to be pointed out, repeatedly. Iran is threatening to re-start its nuclear weapons program. But do we know if the program was really stopped? The truth is, Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran was a very bad deal. It was puffery and posturing by the Obama Administration. It did not penalize Iranian behavior and did little to hinder Iran’s ballistic missile program.

WHY PYONGYANG’S FAT KID STOOD DOWN: Trump’s pressure diplomacy is working. That’s why Kim Jong Un stood down his threat to strike Guam with ballistic missiles.

Whoops. I was writing my post while Glenn was writing his. Oh well, let the link fest begin.

TRYING SOMETHING DIFFERENT WITH NORTH KOREA

AND YOU THOUGHT THE GEO-SCIENCE WAS SETTLED: Scientists discover new tectonic plate.

A COORDINATED ATTACK ON NORTH KOREA’S NUKES: And North Korea has blinked.

B-52 WITH THE DESERT BELOW: Another fine B-52 photo. (Readers seemed to like yesterday’s BUFF Lightning photo.)

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S FULL-COURT PRESS: Coordinating U.S. power to squeeze the nukes out of North Korea.

MEANWHILE, BACK IN IRAN: Iranian parliament votes to spend more on ballistic missiles. Yup, Obama’s nuke deal with Iran was a very very bad deal.

SHERLOCK HOLMES EXPLAINS WHY THE DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ DEMOCRAT PARTY IT SCANDAL IS NOT AT THE TOP OF THE NEWS: Democrat media privilege, he says.

“Democrat Media Privilege,” Holmes said evenly. Responding to my puzzled face, he explained. “American Democrats operate with an unrestrained presumption of media favoritism. So-called objective American media prefer to ignore Democrat wrongs, or, that tactic failing, attempt to justify the offences. It echoes The Adventure of Silver Blaze, good fellow.”

The dog did nothing in the night time.

“Yes, an echo of silence. The press lapdog that didn’t bark? In your media intense environment that makes Democrat political operatives a privileged class…Please proceed.”

Don’t smirk. He cracked the case.

BUFF LIGHTNING: A rather spectacular photo snapped last week at Minot AFB, North Dakota.

U.S. ARMY VET PITCHING IN THE BIG LEAGUES: Chris Rowley made his debut last night with the Toronto Blue Jays. According to MLB.com, he’s the first West Point grad to pitch in the major leagues.

NO KIDDING: Iran’s expansionist aims pose problems for the U.S.

RELATED: Obama’s Iran nuke giveaway was a very bad deal.

VERY MUCH RELATED: Iran is watching the U.S.-North Korea stand-off very closely.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Sherlock Holmes investigates Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and her rogue computer techs.

He’s cracked a case The New York Times and FBI failed to crack.

RESTING AT SUNSET: A USMC M1A1 Abrams tank and a dramatic desert sunset. The tank crew was participating in an exercise at Twentynine Palms.

SOMALIA: Where the Global War on Terror continues.

The Pentagon conducted drone attacks on against Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militants in Somalia this week, U.S. Africa Command said.

The two strikes, in which armed but unmanned aircraft hit targets in Somalia’s Banadiir region, were the first since President Donald Trump authorized expanded offensive operations against the militant group in March.

The article doesn’t specify the types of drones used in the attacks. But MQ-9 Reapers are replacing Predators.

RELATED: Reaper on a night mission.

SHERLOCK HOLMES INVESTIGATES DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ AND HER ROGUE COMPUTER TECHNICIANS. (bumped)

Don’t you dare sneer until you read it. Sherlock has a lot more credibility than the sensationalist climatologists at The New York Times. The sensationalist climatologists claimed they had a scoop. Except they didn’t. Holmes, like Detective Sergeant Joe Friday (LAPD-TV), just has the facts, ma’am.

SHERLOCK HOLMES INVESTIGATES DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ AND HER ROGUE COMPUTER TECHNICIANS. (bumped)

Hey, he’s way ahead of both the FBI and the mainstream media.

SHERLOCK HOLMES INVESTIGATES DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ AND HER ROGUE COMPUTER TECHNICIANS.

FUSION GPS AND ITS RUSSIA CONNECTIONS:

Here’s where it gets weird: Fusion GPS is the same firm that was hired to put together the infamous “dossier” on Trump’s alleged ties to Russia. The dossier is said to have been commissioned by the campaign of a Republican primary opponent before the project was taken over and funded by some unidentified Democratic client after Trump won the GOP nomination. It contained a wild mix of allegations, some salacious, some provably false, many of them hard or impossible to corroborate. Despite questions about the document’s reliability, the FBI relied on it in part to procure a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to eavesdrop on Carter Page, a former national security adviser to the Trump campaign.

In short, it appears Fusion GPS was simultaneously on the payroll of Democratic interests seeking to discredit Trump on the basis of his ties to the Russian government even as it was working on a lobbying effort whose beneficiaries would be Vladimir Putin and his billionaire cronies.

As someone around here once said, “Heh.”

UPDATE (from Steve): Democrats working hand-in-hand with shady Russian characters for domestic political gain? But that’s unpossible!

SEARCH AND RESCUE IN THE CORAL SEA: This photo was taken August 5, right after a Marine MV-22 Osprey crashed and three Marines went missing. 23 others were rescued. The Australian ship HMAS Melville located the downed MV-22. The Marine Corps has determined the missing Marines are dead: 1st Lt. Benjamin Cross, 26, Cpl. Nathaniel Ordway, 21, and Pfc. Ruben Velasco, 19. All of us regret their loss and thank them for their service.

RELATED: The V-22 is an expensive aircraft.