The Chinese are not capable of contending with an entire carrier strike group on short notice in a situation like this.
It can be argued, that with one DDG, we are increasing the chance that they would respond...because they can.
But that's just my opinion and thoughts.
Maybe that is the idea, like Japan in the 30's. Provoke something, poop hits the fan. Treasuries are registered ... BOOM ... 1 trillion dollars debt repudiated against enemy nation.
Not likely, barely possible, but not impossible.
Yeah, I understand what you mean. And yes, some would like to “increment” while others want to show full force.
But, I would keep in mind, if you’re showing full force, right off the bat, you’re also taking significant resources away from other things that may be just as necessary. And you might not “really” need all that force, in that a minor “increment” may be enough to “get the message across”. And thus, you will have saved yourself considerable force being moved from other areas that you need it in, too...
So, that may be part of an “on-going and overall strategy” that the military uses...
Just a thought of mine... :-)