The US response to China (catch all)

[AdamG]

TAIPEI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States sent two warships through the Taiwan Strait on Monday in the second such operation this year, as the U.S. military increases the frequency of transits through the strategic waterway despite opposition from China.

The voyage risks further heightening tensions with China but will likely be viewed in self-ruled Taiwan as a sign of support by President Donald Trump’s government, amid growing friction between Taipei and Beijing.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-t...-idUSKCN1MW1Z0

[AdamG]

Probably also warrants a separate thread under Futurists.

Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, who was U.S. Army commander in Europe from 2014-17, told the forum that it's likely but not inevitable that the United States will be at war with China in 15 years.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/y...-general-says/
See also
http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...Battle-Concept

[AdamG]

Time for your Survival Kit Contents Check?

Amid increasing tensions with Beijing, the Pentagon on Tuesday released a new report that lays out U.S. concerns about China's growing military might, underscoring worries about a possible attack against Taiwan.

Speaking to reporters, a senior defense intelligence official said the key concern is that as China upgrades its military equipment and technology and reforms how it trains and develops troops, it becomes more confident in its ability to wage a regional conflict. And Beijing's leaders have made it clear that reasserting sovereignty over Taiwan is their top priority.

The official added, however, that although China could easily fire missiles at Taiwan, it doesn't yet have the military capability to successfully invade the self-governing island, which split from mainland China amid civil war in 1949. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to provide more detail on intelligence findings in the report, which was written by the Defense Intelligence Agency.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wire...aiwan-60400254

[AdamG]

A U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyer and a Coast Guard National Security Cutter completed a transit of the Taiwan strait early Monday, the fifth such transit in six months. The move was immediately decried by Chinese officials.

USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) and U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Bertholf (WSML-750)
completed transiting the roughly 110-mile wide body of water separating mainland China from Taiwan early Monday, according to media accounts and first reported by The Japan Times.

https://news.usni.org/2019/03/25/421...jQJBYIL-CkLPY8

[AdamG]

A tiny island off the coast of Japan has just become the centre of attention in the escalating game of brinkmanship being played out in the South and East China Seas. Ie Shima is only 23 square kilometres large. It has an airstrip, a fishing port and a population of about 4500. It’s just been attacked by a US Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU).

https://amp.news.com.au/technology/i...5O4XoSPkzfv4lA