Should the US be prepared for war against a belligerent China?

[piasabird]

China is actually in a weak position. China is projecting itself out to outlying countries where they are growing food supplies. If they cant keep their supply routes open people would start to get low on supplies. They have polluted their own rivers and their own farmland, and they now want to get supplies from other countries just like colonial Japan.

That does not mean we should attack them. We should just teach them to restrict their polluting ways and over regulate themselves till they become irrelevent. Maybe we should send some environmentalist tree huggers over there. However, first they need to plant some actual trees.

 

[Jeff7]

There will not be any war, that is utter nonsense...it would be a massive lose - lose for both sides.

Because war is always fought over reasons other than utter nonsense.

Some would consider the fact that we even have wars, to be utter nonsense.

 

[lsquare]

The answers to your poll are not in line with the question. To the question "Should the US be prepared for war against a belligerent China?" the answer is "yes, of course". The US should be prepared to defend itself against all comers.

I wanted to change the options, but I couldn't.

 

[lsquare]

If anything we should back down and let them do what they want over there.

I can't address every single posts in this thread, but I'm going to address them in this post since those people's positions are essentially the same as yours.

Our economic prosperity is increasingly tied to the Pacific. Without a doubt that the 21st century is going to be focused on the Pacific. If we leave and let the Chinese dominate the region, then we're going to suffer. Our prosperity is possible thanks to the peace and stability that the US military have provided since the end of World War II. What China ultimately wants is to dominate the region and shape it to meet its expectations. China has long stated that it wants the US military out of the Pacific and it's definitely going to continue to modernize its military to fight a potential war against the US.

 

[lsquare]

Yep, their military would be squashed. It is coming up but still leagues behind the US.

You don't think they can nuke us? Of course we can nuke them back, but it still doesn't prevent us from suffering heavy casualties.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Should the US prepare for war? That's a tough decision, but I believe it is in the United States' best interest to do so- even thought I believe it is the morally wrong choice.

America needs a foe to keep the nation unified. The Soviets and Communism were made into looming enemies in order to keep America's industrial and economic positions strong. Heck, we said nothing when China and Russia went to war against each other in 69, despite both countries being communist. The situation with China is similar. If the US doesn't focus, it will fall asunder. It's the only viable option for the US albeit the morality of it.

Aha, thus instead of cleaning up your own internal mess. You prefer to call just a random person your enemy because you do not want to agree that expansion driven market principles are flawed by default when you are not the only player in the street while there are limited resources and limited customers ? Market based on infinite expansion, which idiot came up with that idea ? it is an archaic idea no longer useful.


Or you create a common enemy (same thing is used to rape the principle of religion, use religion as a tool to sow hatred against people who do not share the religion instead of using the religion to educate people)...

Or you accept that it is all for all.

 

[William Gaatjes]

I can't say that I would be to happy with China sending a few super carrier battle groups (lets assume they have them for a moment) to Cuba and running military exercises in the Gulf of Mexico. Pretty sure they feel the same way but might makes right. Unfortunately the "golden rule" still applies and not sure if any of yall noticed but they have the gold and we kinda need it.

Bottom line, we ain't going to war with China. For the foreseeable future we are their bitches. If we both tell each other to get fucked then we both are economically fucked, our people rise up and our country is in serious trouble. Their people rise up and they, well the kinda kill them with tanks and shit until the rest STFU. They win.

OTOH, we should be prepared to fight and win against any aggressor. If they start landing troops in the US I will be among the first to pick up my rifle and fight for my homeland. I would appreciate if you would let me know when they are a few days out if you can but in a bind it doesn't take me long to put my boots on and load my mags.

The really amusing part of this entire discussion is the best way to prevent wars between countries is for those countries to trade "stuff" with each other. Guess what we do a lot of with China? Aint gonna be no war, we like their stuff and they like ours.

I can assure you that the principle of the enemy of my enemy is my friend : common enemy also applies for the Chinese. If the US would attack China, i am sure that a lot of Chinese people against the Chinese government would turn into patriotic Chinese in an instant and fight together with that very same government they where so opposed of.

 

[StageLeft]

You don't think they can nuke us? Of course we can nuke them back, but it still doesn't prevent us from suffering heavy casualties.

They probably could only get nukes to major US cities. I doubt they'd bother with mine so I'd be good. Wait a few years than march into the big cities get a free mansion, maybe some free lambos, etc. it's a win for me!

 

[Newbian]

They probably could only get nukes to major US cities. I doubt they'd bother with mine so I'd be good. Wait a few years than march into the big cities get a free mansion, maybe some free lambos, etc. it's a win for me!

Well you would still have to avoid the radioactive zombies to get to those goodies.

 

[Siddhartha]

Eleven Supercarriers compared to the two possessed by the rest of the world isn't already "prepared" enough?

Not to mention the long range nuke bombers, the submarine fleet, etc.

 

[Siddhartha]

I voted no against starting another Cold War based on a fabricated Yellow Peril paranoia.

 

[rudder]

What is so good about China in Africa? Didn't you learn anything in international economics? Nations of the same income bracket trade with each other. What do the Africans have that we would want? We have a black president, they look up to America, end of story.

It has nothing to do with trade really.... more like exporting some Chinese culture to Africa. They are competing with the U.S. as far as aid packages go now. Plus they are viewed differently as say the United States is. China was able to get into Sudan and work on oil infrastructure projects when the U.S. and Canada were unable to (i.e., UN sanctions).

Africa is rich in mineral and oil resources and China is positioning themselves to be a big force in that region. They have the money, technical expertise, and lots of influence in the UN. You will probably find more obama posters than chairman mao posters... but that influence is growing.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I can assure you that the principle of the enemy of my enemy is my friend : common enemy also applies for the Chinese. If the US would attack China, i am sure that a lot of Chinese people against the Chinese government would turn into patriotic Chinese in an instant and fight together with that very same government they where so opposed of.

Yeah. That's interesting. And depending on how we get into a war... our own citizens could respond in a variety of ways. If it's a Vietnam-like thing, you can bet there will be mass anti-war protests 24/7. If it's like 9/11, then you can have that huge 95% approval post 9/11.

Yep. They're beating the hell out of us in a "financial war."

With so many manufacturing jobs going to China, could the US even ramp up its military machine if needed? Kind of hard to build weapons if all the manufacturing facilities are in a foreign nation...especially in the nation of our enemy...and YES, I still consider China to be an enemy of the USA.

You do realize defense manufacturing is heavily done in the US. Granted a lot of things are outsourced now, but the first line of manufacturing to come back online will be purely for defense in the US. It might be painful at first, but I can bet with 9% unemployment you will have people jumping back into the industry.

And you sound very foolish for saying China is an enemy of the USA. Shrug.

 

[irishScott]

We are prepared for a war against China, in that China's military can't match anything but our numbers.

 

[lord_emperor]

What constitutes "prepared" anyway? I mean if China attacks with conventional forces they need to come by air or sea, pretty sure you guys could shoot down 1,000,000 planes or boats with the fighters on just one aircraft carrier, considering China has no aircraft carriers of their own with which to protect them.

If China wanted to get anywhere they'd have to go straight to nuclear weapons, that turns out bad for everyone.

 

[BoomerD]

You do realize defense manufacturing is heavily done in the US. Granted a lot of things are outsourced now, but the first line of manufacturing to come back online will be purely for defense in the US. It might be painful at first, but I can bet with 9% unemployment you will have people jumping back into the industry.

And you sound very foolish for saying China is an enemy of the USA. Shrug.

Yes, I do realize that MOST defense manufacturing is done in the US...but we buy components and materials from other countries.

Are you Chinese? If not, how can you NOT realize that China is our enemy...not our friend?


IF the USA ever had to go to war with China, it wouldn't start here with an invasion from China. It'd probably start over some little rock in the South China Sea or some other part of the Pacific Ocean...Taiwan or someplace similar...when the US was called on to defend one of it's trading partners or a treaty-nation like Japan.

IF things got bad enough, then MAYBE the war would spread to the shores of the US, but IF it got that bad...I think fire would be falling from the skies long before the first Chinese soldier ever put boots on US soil.

 

[Infohawk]

Presently we have a pretty significant lead over China. We should do our best to keep it up.

 

[lsquare]

Yes, I do realize that MOST defense manufacturing is done in the US...but we buy components and materials from other countries.

Are you Chinese? If not, how can you NOT realize that China is our enemy...not our friend?


IF the USA ever had to go to war with China, it wouldn't start here with an invasion from China. It'd probably start over some little rock in the South China Sea or some other part of the Pacific Ocean...Taiwan or someplace similar...when the US was called on to defend one of it's trading partners or a treaty-nation like Japan.

IF things got bad enough, then MAYBE the war would spread to the shores of the US, but IF it got that bad...I think fire would be falling from the skies long before the first Chinese soldier ever put boots on US soil.

I don't think anyone of us would be worried about Chinese troops storming the US mainland anytime soon. They lack the capacity to project power over long distance. We can probably sink most if not all of their ships heading our way if they do decide to try to invade us.

 

[Eagle1969]

Not to mention the long range nuke bombers, the submarine fleet, etc.

China is not needed. Already in 1988, before the collapse of the Soviet Union, in every American city was hidden a small nuclear bomb. Your government knows about it, this has allowed Russia to avoid invasion of your troops and complete destruction of the country. Already in 1988, they knew that you create a missile defense system, so the ballistic missiles do not guarantee safety. So they went to such a step.
In China, there is agreement that, upon request, these suitcases can life be activated. If this happens, your government will tell you that it was a terrible terrorist attack, the Muslims and you will not know the truth.

 

[Infohawk]

China is not needed. Already in 1988, before the collapse of the Soviet Union, in every American city was hidden a small nuclear bomb. Your government knows about it, this has allowed Russia to avoid invasion of your troops and complete destruction of the country. Already in 1988, they knew that you create a missile defense system, so the ballistic missiles do not guarantee safety. So they went to such a step.
In China, there is agreement that, upon request, these suitcases can life be activated. If this happens, your government will tell you that it was a terrible terrorist attack, the Muslims and you will not know the truth.

Is this you?

 

[BoomerD]

Is this you?

In Soviet Russia, tinfoil hat wears you!

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Yes, I do realize that MOST defense manufacturing is done in the US...but we buy components and materials from other countries.

Are you Chinese? If not, how can you NOT realize that China is our enemy...not our friend?


IF the USA ever had to go to war with China, it wouldn't start here with an invasion from China. It'd probably start over some little rock in the South China Sea or some other part of the Pacific Ocean...Taiwan or someplace similar...when the US was called on to defend one of it's trading partners or a treaty-nation like Japan.

IF things got bad enough, then MAYBE the war would spread to the shores of the US, but IF it got that bad...I think fire would be falling from the skies long before the first Chinese soldier ever put boots on US soil.

Yeah. I am Chinese. For that matter, Taiwanese, but how ignorant can you be to say that China is our enemy? I'm no fan of communism and I'm no fan of the mainland being native Taiwanese, but it's not like they are our enemies. I'm a US citizen and my family and I are loyal to America. During the 2008 Olympics, someone once asked us what we would do if our country went to war against China or even Taiwan? Well I would support the US. I am here for a reason.

Sure there are differences and we have different forms of government, but how does that make us enemies? China is just another superpower, or another emerging superpower. They're not the ones funding Al Qaeda. They're not ones supplying North Korea with nuclear missiles or Iran with WMD. Please. They're not going to be there with us in Iraq because they don't support every aspect US foreign policy, but neither does Russia and many other countries. Like any superpower, they have a desire to be #1. But that doesn't mean the likelihood of an invasion is imminent. You must be thinking too much about the Cold War and how we trained for nukes raining down from the USSR and us firing back, etc etc. It's not like this anymore.

Globalization ties us in more than you can imagine. We need them and they need us. Granted basic security needs still dictate some international relations of two nation states, but by no means are we both having drills everyday for a possible massive war between the two nations.