US-China battle for dominance extends across Pacific, above and below the sea
HONG KONG — A 1,005 sq km chain of U.S-controlled islands in the Pacific Ocean is shaping up to be a focal point in Washington and Beijing’s ongoing jockeying for global influence. The Mariana Islands in the north-western Pacific, comprising the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, were once seen as “the tip of…