Considering that our involvement in World War II started when one of those countries attacked us at Pearl Harbor, Asian conflict leading to a world war is a very real possibility.
What isn't as well known to Americans is that Pearl Harbor was preceded by many years of warfare between Japan and China, much of which was precipitated by still earlier conflicts between Japan, China, and Russia over who would control the Korean peninsula and its warm water ports to which Russia badly wanted access. The Japanese invasion of Manchuria and subsequent invasion of the rest of China happened at least in part because of Korean independence fighters — some of whom were Communist and some of whom were virulently anti-Communist — based in portions of Manchuria adjacent to what is now North Korea who were causing problems for the Japanese occupiers of Korea.
The United States, which at that time was a major exporter rather than importer of oil, finally got tired of selling oil to the Japanese war machine which was committing horrible atrocities in China. Rather than backing down and making peace in China, the Japanese decided to “go for broke” and start a war with the West rather than just with China. That decision wasn't stupid. The hope was gaining access to the breadbasket of the US-controlled Philippines and the oil of the Dutch colonies which are now Indonesia, and it came quite close to succeeding.
Of course, Japan is no longer a military threat and has not been for more than half a century. Its aging population and sclerotic economy mean it probably won't be an economic threat a generation from now.
But just as the conflict of the early 1900s over who would control the Korean peninsula led to a war between Russia and Japan which established the reputation of Japan as a world-class military power, it is very possible that a conflict a century later in the Korean peninsula could have long-term world-changing consequences.
Americans ignore Asian issues at our peril.
Interesting info. If China and/or Russia attack Japan, then we are supposed to defend them. Course “O the One” is totally undependable in that regard. Not sure we could do that much to help them anyway, the way this administration has gutted the military and misused them.
Japan better be building up their military again, and planning on doing their own heavy lifting. Russia and China are building up their forces for sure, and they are going to gain a military advantage in space, since we have basically withdrawn from the competition.
The times are really changing, and not necessarily for the better.