East Asia allies doubt U.S. could win war with China

http://www.drudgereport.com/ ^

[NYjarcola]

The overwhelming assessment by Asian officials, diplomats and analysts is that the U.S. military simply cannot defeat China. It has been an assessment relayed to U.S. government officials over the past few months by countries such as Australia, Japan and South Korea. This comes as President Bush wraps up a visit to Asia, in which he sought to strengthen U.S. ties with key allies in the region.

Most Asian officials have expressed their views privately. Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara has gone public, warning that the United States would lose any war with China.

"In any case, if tension between the United States and China heightens, if each side pulls the trigger, though it may not be stretched to nuclear weapons, and the wider hostilities expand, I believe America cannot win as it has a civic society that must adhere to the value of respecting lives," Mr. Ishihara said in an address to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Mr. Ishihara said U.S. ground forces, with the exception of the Marines, are "extremely incompetent" and would be unable to stem a Chinese conventional attack. Indeed, he asserted that China would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons against Asian and American cities—even at the risk of a massive U.S. retaliation.

The governor said the U.S. military could not counter a wave of millions of Chinese soldiers prepared to die in any onslaught against U.S. forces. After 2,000 casualties, he said, the U.S. military would be forced to withdraw.

"Therefore, we need to consider other means to counter China," he said. "The step we should be taking against China, I believe, is economic containment."

Officials acknowledge that Mr. Ishihara's views reflect the widespread skepticism of U.S. military capabilities in such countries as Australia, India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. They said the U.S.-led war in Iraq has pointed to the American weakness in low-tech warfare.

"When we can't even control parts of Anbar, they get the message loud and clear," an official said, referring to the flashpoint province in western Iraq.

As a result, Asian allies of the United States are quietly preparing to bolster their militaries independent of Washington. So far, the Bush administration has been strongly opposed to an indigenous Japanese defense capability, fearing it would lead to the expulsion of the U.S. military presence from that country.

On Nov. 16, Mr. Bush met with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The two leaders discussed the realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan and Tokyo's troop deployment in Iraq.

During his visit to Washington in early November, Mr. Ishihara met senior U.S. defense officials. They included talks with U.S. Defense Deputy Undersecretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs Richard Lawless to discuss the realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan.

For his part, Mr. Ishihara does not see China as evolving into a stable democracy with free elections.

"I believe such predictions are totally wrong," Mr. Ishihara said.

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[NYjarcola]

Yea, keep filling the banks of Walmart and the red chinese. America loves the Walmarts of the world and China laughs at us as we help build there War Machine.

[peyton randolph]

Same argument was made for the Japanese in WW II. Americans too soft. Japs too ruthless. Guess what? Hiroshima and Nagasaki got redecorated.

Moreover, not enough Chicoms believe in their government with the religious fervor possessed by the Japanese. The latter thought they were obeying the orders of a divine Emperor. Chicom leadership aren't considered deities.

[burzum]

This article is confusing. Do the leaders wonder whether we could defeat China in a land war or whether we could hold conquered territories in China? It seems to me the lessons from the Iraq war are that we could annihilate anyone in a land war (and are even more effective in the air war, sea war, and space war aspects), and that we can hold territories even when we are opposed by massive foreign funded gorilla operations. I think these world leaders might want to talk to their military officers instead of basing their assessments on the nightly news.

I doesn't matter though, because neither the US or China is going to war (at least a direct war). We both have nuclear weapons and neither side is willing to pay for the consequences of their use. Any future wars between us are likely to by proxy wars (like the Korean and Vietnam wars).

[right right]

China knows they would lose 100 million people but they have at least that many to spare. That's scary. They also think our left will not allow a war that may last longer than a sitcom on TV. Our coward left has put us in a real bad spot. If the china clowns thought they would be immediately wiped out and left to dry in the sun, they would be easier to get along with.

[Daralundy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1526938/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1526999/posts

Posted earlier directly from insightmag not through Drudge.

[gcruse]

Could the US invade China? Not any more than they can invade the US. As for Taiwan, if the PRC resorts to neutron weapons, they might subdue the Taiwanese without flattening the country before the US could do much.

Short of neutron weapons, the PRC's flotillas of troop carriers would be submarine-bait before they could reach Taiwan in sufficient numbers.

If history is any guide, the US will rattle sabres over Taiwan, then give it up. We're not up for attacking the Chinese mainland

[Americanexpat]

The world has said that about the US before almost every war we have fought and we kicked their asses.

If we were to try to fight a war on mainland China they are probably right. But suck them into a war away from their land mass ans massive population with long supply lines and we will be able to beat them. As long as we stop fighting these pi$$y wars we have been trying to wage to appease liberals and the world.

[BunnySlippers]

What's all the garbage at the end of the article?

[freeandfreezing]

Nonsensical blathering. There is little chance that the Chinese government would risk destruction of their economy and their growing importance in the world by starting a war. Particularly one that they would lose hands down.

Ishihara is clue free. Why would the USA even bother engaging with the Chinese on the ground? Wouldn't just shutting down their export driven economy using air and sea assets do the trick? Does Ishihara think the Chinese are planning an amphibious invasion of California?

[Cicero]

Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara is confusing war fighting ability with political will, and political will in a time of prosperity with political will in a time of adversity.

We could deal very well with Chinese forces, although I'm not sure where that would occur, since we are unlikely to want to invade China, and the Chinese are unlikely to invade, let's say, Europe or the Middle East.

This confuses the daily headlines of the Traitor Media with the political will of America when our backs are to the wall. America has lost only one war, and that was basically because it was distant, seemingly unnecessary, and incompetently led by Lyndon Johnson.

What history has shown is that western democracies are slow to go to war, but that when they get their dander up then there is no more dangerous enemy anywhere.

Nevertheless, it's not a bad idea for Asian countries to prepare to defend themselves, rather than sitting back and relying on us the way the Euros have done.

[U S Army EOD]

Not to sound unpatriotic but I think we would have a very rough time with China. We actually started getting ready in our planning for WWII as early as 1937. I was late 1943 before we were even close to being in full swing.

Any war with China without the use of nuclear weapons would require us to go back to the draft, change the infrastructure of the entire defense force and mobilize the economy for a major war. During WWII we were pretty much self sufficient on war materials to include oil and steel. We are not any more. It would take up to five years to finally defeat them if we could muster the will to do so.

[DustyMoment]

Wow!!! I wasn't aware that we were at war with China!! I have GOT to pay more attanetion to the news.

[45Auto]

Even Doug MacArthur was not confident that we could win a conventional war with China 50 years ago. But he was in favor of using the nuclear weapons that we had at the time of the Korean War to beat back the Chinese invasion. There is no doubt that we could devastate China today - if we used the firepower that we have.....the problem is that there is no political will do do it - unless we are attacked first. And even then, I doubt the Congressional RATs have the stomach for a real war.

[Dave Elias]

An even more pertinent question is who would win in a fight between a Wookie and ten Ewoks?

[uncbob]

Thank you RICHARD NIXON/HENRY KISSINGER/PAT BUCHANAN (Hypocrit)

for dragging China into the 20th century