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Is it just me or do others feel that the tensions are rising all around the world to what seems like a boiling point? Everyone is getting touchy and since the “Great Satan” America is being run by wusses no one is afraid that their hand will be called no matter what stunt they pull. Maybe the Mayans knew something...like the fact that an “Obama” would come along and be put in charge. God save the Republic...and in addition “Da Woild”.

Is it just me or do others feel that the tensions are rising all around the world to what seems like a boiling point?

I think it's run-of-the-mill stuff. China's neighbors all want their territorial disputes with China resolved in their favor. But nobody actually wants to engage in an armed clash with China. Destroyed equipment is expensive to replace, and the Chinese obviously can take more punishment than any of the other claimants, because of China's economic and demographic heft.

In the background, each of the non-Chinese players figures that Uncle Sam will fight China in their behalf, so why get involved? From their perspective, the best of all possible worlds is for them to be able say to the Chinese that any conflict between the US and the PLA Navy is purely a matter of Uncle Sam being a busybody as usual, so the Chinese shouldn't sever trade relations with them or punish foreign businesses in China that are owned by their citizens.

I'm no isolationist, but we should be aware that a lot of these countries are deliberately keeping their defense expenditures low with the understanding that we will fight the Chinese in their behalf. In essence, we have signed up to provide military welfare for these wastrels. When the bill comes due, and the fighting starts, there's a non-zero possibility that our people will be taking casualties in their behalf while getting jeered from the sidelines by these countries, which will promptly declare their neutrality in the conflict.

As to why the Chinese are throwing their weight around at this time, it’s not so much a matter of us being weak as the Chinese becoming stronger. They’ve spent three decades modernizing their military, and have now accumulated enough new equipment to feel confident about acquitting themselves reasonably well in any armed clash with a regional navy and perhaps even with the USN. I think we’ve been raised with the notion that any clash with China would be WWI and WWII rolled into one, but the reality is that most military clashes are limited ones. We fought China in Korea (People’s Volunteer Army) and Vietnam (PLAAF air defense units posted in North Vietnam), and both were limited wars. The Chinese have fought India and the Soviets in limited clashes. Any future clash with China would likely be limited as well. Whatever the issue at stake, no decision maker on either side is going to risk losing his capital in a nuclear exchange.