It appears that we have a new battle line being drawn between the US and BRICS (home to Russia, India, China, etc.). Will Biden push or allow everyone to side with them, leaving us to stand alone? And as we do so, when do we stop funding, aiding, and trading with these adversaries and enemies? When do we stop allowing their citizens to enter and stay in our country?
The US, Russian and Chinese world.
1. Our world is by far the largest by landmass, economically, politically and militarily most powerful. We are culturally the most influential, i.e. our music, Hollywood, Internet, news exports our views. Our world includes Japan, Australia, S. Korea, New Zealand, all of Western and central Europe as well as Israel, Jordan, most of Central and South America.
2. The Russians are by far today the weakest and arguably no longer a conventional world power. Their frontier, i.e. Libya, Venezuela, Syria, even in their backyard, i.e. Ukraine, Republic of Georgia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia are low hanging fruit we can go after (tear under our control - which we are). Russia has 55% of our ground, 47% of our air, and 43% of our naval force. They have a smaller economy than Texas and California combined, few and weak allies, only 40% of the amount of men that reach military age we do, far less industry and high tech, 44% our population (US vs. Russia) but only 16% of our population when you compare our world to their world (all the nations aligned with us and them).
We want it both ways when discussing them as a threat, and it's nearly funny to hear how we portray them as this huge threat that wants to invade all of Europe, but then at the same time talk about how they are mired down in Ukraine where they are having problems simply taking and holding the Eastern parts of Ukraine (they never intended to take all of Ukraine). Somehow, despite the obvious contradiction, we argue both points at the same time.
Bottom line is this, the Warsaw Pact is gone. The Soviet Union is gone. What you have today is a Russia that cannot really hold on to their territory as we try to pry it away from them.
The ONLY area where they are on an equal footing with us is with their nuclear arsenal, but they will not use this despite all the subtle threats.
3. Finally there is the Chinese (PRC) world. While our true and a viable threat, we do not want to see, hear nor speak about that. Why?
The same economic forces behind the conflict in Ukraine, do not want any problems with the PRC (US and European economic interests which want Ukraine both in the EU and NATO). The PRC is a major export market as well as where much of the US HQ’d manufacturing takes place (slave labor and side stepping the EPA). They have a political presence in the US through lobbying and Chinese owned but US based subsidiaries that donate big to political campaigns (including Biden - simple fact which you can check up), a huge expat community, media presence as well as engagement of US media. Bottom line is Amazon, Walmart, GM, Hollywood, Dell, HP, Cisco... no one wants to rock this boat, even though they are our real military threat.
In the PRC case, the money favors ignoring tanks crushing pro-democracy students on Tienanmen square and the same year that happened (89), they got most favored trade status and our support for them being in the WTO. The disappearance of political dissidents, oppression of Christians, internment camps for Muslims, forced abortions, forced labor, a one child policy a while back, torture, single party communist regime with no elections, mass censorship, occupation of Tibet, slow take over of Taiwan, is all acceptable. They can literally have a naval blockade of Taiwan, under the guise of a naval live fire exercise, and we will try to “downplay” this: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZTmzPxWQAIzSN7.jpg
However, it is this less talked about threat which poses the bigger threat, may that be their population, industrial capacity, tech, military manpower, motivation/intentions... While Russia has one small carrier that is comparable to our smaller LHA (nothing comparable to our super carriers of which we have 11), China is soon putting to sea their fourth carrier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_aircraft_carrier_programme Developed heavy hitting long range anti-ship missiles which everyone knows only serve one purpose, go after US carriers: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3194806/china-airs-footage-anti-ship-carrier-killer-nuclear-missiles While the US media is having it's PRC love fest and few US politicians (most are for sale) say anything, the PRC builds true to size US carrier mockups and practices sinking these: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-builds-mockups-us-navy-ships-area-used-missile-target-practice-2021-11-08/
PRC today is not the military it once was in the 1950s. Thanks to massive US industrialization, technology transfers, and education, today you're dealing with a military that is modernizing. They are a nation today that can develop their own advanced weapon systems:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Liberation_Army_Air_Force
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Liberation_Army_Navy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Liberation_Army_Ground_Force
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Liberation_Army_Rocket_Force
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Liberation_Army_Strategic_Support_Force
Countries like Mexico are interested in Russia as a trade partner, but even more so China (PRC) and that is true for much of Central and South America and ironically, us too (even though we are in reality at odds on several issues and see each other as direct opponents):
https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/mexico-and-central-america/
https://tradingeconomics.com/mexico/exports/china
There is one sad but true quote which sums up the situation between the US and PRC today: https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-when-we-hang-the-capitalists-they-will-sell-us-the-rope-we-use-joseph-stalin-28-6-0675.jpg
