With tensions rising between the US and China, one of the trends for the future that Shoebat.com has been watching is a war with China in the future. As Asianews points out, the US has been increasing her naval presence in China to such a point that
Washington is moving to counter Beijing’s “expansionist” approach. The South China Sea is the hottest frontline. For US experts, the US is trying to prevent China from gaining immediate benefits while preparing to fight a long-term conflict. The Chinese are training to invade Taiwan, which is boosting its own defences. Japan is also hard at protecting itself from the Asian juggernaut.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) – In the coming years, US naval forces will be more “assertive” in opposing China in the Indo-Pacific, this according to a paper released yesterday by the Pentagon.
The document identifies the South China Sea as the hottest theatre for future operations in Asia by the US Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. According to several observers, such a scenario increases the risk of a conflict between the two powers.
Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, but faces the opposition of several countries in the region, which have the backing of the United States.
For the US military, China is adopting an expansionist approach in the South China Sea and seeking to establish regional hegemony through programmes such as the Belt and Road Initiative.
The main charge against Beijing is that it is systematically violating international law of the sea.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the United States has stepped up its maritime operations in the South China Sea. In August, a US Navy ship came close to an incident with the Chinese Navy near the Paracel Islands.
According to experts, two warships “accidentally” colliding might be the spark that sets the fuse of conflict between the two powers.
For Harvard University professor Graham Allison, war might break out between an emerging power like China and a declining one like the United States (the so-called “Thucydides trap”).
The surge in US naval operations in the Western Pacific is a response to those US political and academic circles that are calling for action to prevent Beijing from gaining immediate geopolitical gains. (source)