Is Communist China upstaging the US in the West Philippine Sea?

I just saw an article by the Wall Street Journal claiming that Communist China has upstaged the US in the WPS.

 

For the record, I think the main obstacle to US Military Action against Communist China in the WPS is Wall Street. Which, understandably, wants to protect its investments in Communist China at all cost. No investor in his right mind would exchange a multi-trillion dollar portfolio for a bunch of uninhabited islets, shoals and reefs in the middle of nowhere.

Beijing knows this too. That's why she is brazenly doing what she is doing now, notwithstanding the overwhelming firepower of the US Military she is facing.

Communist China is not upstaging the US in the WPS, she is just taking advantage of the Economic Interests of America's 1%!

But how long will this Economic Interest Umbrella last? You and I know that it can be trounced overnight by adverse American Public Opinion. And the way I see it, all that is missing now is that teenie-weenie spark that will propel adverse American Public Opinion to heights that would justify US Military Action.

Just remember, before Pearl Harbor, the Empire of Japan was seemingly upstaging the US all over the Western Pacific too.

Tick-tock... Tick-tock...