And this time, China could win.
There is no will to confront any military challenge anywhere on the planet any more. The US military has been eviscerated and left bleeding by the lack of support in many crucial areas, and by the overuse of a valiant few in futile battles which are immediately traded away even when a clear victory had been achieved. In an effort to be “conciliatory” with an amorphous and often elusive enemy, that fades into the civilian population, and later strikes out in widespread asymmetrical warfare, the policy has been retreat and withdrawal.
Perhaps the business of policing the world SHOULD be turned over to China, even to the point of providing them with much of the recent developments of technology and some of the hardware to do the job.
But we would soon find ourselves bottled up in our own ports.
We have become Sweden.
They wouldn't do it - China is wiser than the USA in that regard, and only acts in its own national interest. Just try getting a Chinese force to go to, say, Syria for occupation duty. The UN would have to pay them in gold and cede them a couple of provinces. :)
I agree with your observation.
Far too much “American” manufacturing has been sold out, and now is in China.
Making China richer, and making America poorer.
Bring back American manufacturing. Now.
If we were to maintain the Swedish policy of neutrality through marksmanship, I might not object so much.