The only country capable of stopping them is led by a cowardly, incompetent, military hating President, with an in-transit, incompetent national security team. It is in recession, deeply in debt, not even able to afford to refuel its aircraft carriers. China holds much of its massive debt, which can either be used to blackmail the US into inaction, or to bankrupt the US government by selling off that debt quickly & cheaply.
The only possible danger for China is that a narcissistic US President might start a nuclear WWIII just to save face.
Who here thinks Obama would defend Taiwan & Japan, if necessary? I certainly don't. And, please don't bother mentioning mutual defense treaties, as Obama rarely follows the law, & only when it benefits him.
This is about China and their hegemony over the entire Pacific rim. Taiwan is the jewel in that crown, but in order to take that jewel, they need to prove by taking control of Japan with US compliance, that they will meet no real resistance.
So, first they establish that the US, because of our debts to China, will do nothing to protect Japan.
Then, they amass their military along the already fortified coast facing Taiwan and simply state that Taiwan is now theirs. We stand down. The other regions that have resisted Chinese aggression, such as South Korea, similarly fall under their rule, if not directly, under the rule of fear.
This has been China’s goal for 70 years and they’ve been slowly approaching it tactfully.
America, thanks to its socialist/Keynesian policies by anti-Americans and those who oppose ‘freedom of the people’ (regardless of their civil-rights chants to the contrary), is in no position to defend Pacific democracies against this takeover.