We are starting to realize that China is arming up and that they look at us as their main potential enemy. Strategypage has a word of caution, however:
Unfortunately, it's now an open secret that all the scare tactics of the original Cold War were based on lots of puffery and paranoia. When the Cold War ended, and a more accurate assessment of Russian military strenght was possible, it was seen that the Russians were much weaker than the Cold War era estimates had them. Some thing is happening with China, as the neo-Cold War begins to paint the PLA (People's Liberation Army, the official term for the Chinese military), in bolder and more intimidating strokes. It's much easier getting money out of Congress if you have a scary threat to justify it.
Like I've repeated, even when I've warned of the Chinese threat, I wouldn't change positions with them. We have the clear advantage in power. Given enough time, we would gather enough strength to pound the Chinese. And a high percentage of China's power is in their army while our Navy and air power are far superior to their air and naval power.
But rather than inflating the Chinese threat I've noticed far more who belittle Chinese strength.
China could never think of projecting power much more than a few hundred miles beyond its borders. We fight globally. But the fact that we will be fighting China close to China evens up the odds a bit for China. At least in the short run when the distant tip of our spear is but a fraction of our total power. We can be beaten if the Chinese plan a short campaign that exploits our distance and their closeness. We need to be on guard for this.
The Chinese aren't ten feet tall. But they aren't incapable of beating us. We need to respect their capabilities even if they aren't as well rounded as ours. It might be enough in limited scenarios.
