People overrate the risk of military conquest by China - and why do they even need to risk it? They just finished destroying every single Western economy using one mildly dangerous virus and a little bribe money directed to the medical experts.
Sun Tsu says that the best war is one where there is no actual physical violence, but that where you subtly overcome the adversary, and they don't even realize the attack.
The "Belt and Road" strategy is just one such 'peaceful' method of overcoming national sovereignty through financial and political coercion and intimidation.
Selling out one's national sovereignty and control little bit, by little bit, etc., etc...
Sorta like the frog in the warm pan, and then gradually raising the temperature, until it is cooked !
The Chinese are the only country that I am aware of who have a "thirty-year plan" for domination; they think in terms of long-range goals.
Because there is a reason no modern army has ever been left untested. Too many generals in the PLA with easy access to 'their' weapons and cray ideas (see also, "Russia in Afghan"). All accounts suggest the PLA orchestrated COVID release - it was their weapon, you see -- not the CCP.
But it wasn't very effective, .006% of the world population (maybe), so ... what was the purpose?
It's patently, painfully obvious that it is a script that the PLA will follow to the letter when China is not just going to annex Taiwan but consolidate all of their military islands so as to demand the recognition of their exclusive No-Go Zone from the Spratlys to Qingdao.
To ensure compliance and a treaty to that effect, the PLA -- in a gross miscalculation -- will seige the Phillipines with a naval cordon and shut down their intra-island commerce (China owns Phillipines ferry services outright and most freight and port services). Duterte will be out of toilet paper in 2 weeks.
And then the nuke. "Oh velly solly, beeg mistake like COVID accident accident, have eriminated generals responsible"...
That is a line that we will cross. Anyone who thinks China won't use nukes against the US mainland had better get a lead snorkel and swim fins, because if you live on the coasts in the range of a Chinese sub, you could be swimming in radioactive glass.