Is a war with china inevitable in the next 20 years? China's armed forces has been doubled in the last ten years. Reports I have read says china can mass an one hundred million man army. When the oil starts to run out will china march to secure the supply it needs. A country can't be a global power without a navy to project power. China has four aircraft carriers being built now. They bought a hull that the Russians didn't complete along with buying the rights to su35 naval version fighters to fly off them. They have went on a sub building spree to launch cruise missles meant to combat US aircraft carriers. I wonder how the US could fight such a large army. China also has fifty thousand outdated t74 tanks. They are old but still fifty thousand of them. The amarican Sherman tanks were poor compared to German tanks in ww2 but the numbers were so great to make up for it. If a war with china were to happen could we win without going nuclear. China also shot a satalite down a few years ago. Our armed forces are reliant on satalites. China will take these out first taking away much of the advantage we have in communication and information technology. What do you think. I'm looking forward to hearing what red has to say. opcorn:
China's large army would only do them any good if it was a war on the Asian continent. Any war anywhere else they would have to transport that army by sea. They would never get there. They may be building aircraft carriers, but we have 80 years experience in operating them and perfecting the tactical use of them-they are newbies. Our ASW capability is second to none-their subs might sink a ship or two, but would never be able to strike a crippling blow.
I agree. The chinese army is in fact, huge. Ground forces, mainly trained in close quarters combat. Their air forces and naval forces are nowhere near what the US brings to the table. True, they are becoming a world power who is technologically advanced, but again, the majority of their military buildup are foot soldiers. Their entire military force probably outnumbers us something like 4 to 1, maybe more, but our experience far outweighs theirs. I'll take experience over numbers any day.
Agree about the army, but China is developing some weapons that should raise some concerns: US admiral: Carrier killer won't stop US Navy - Yahoo! News I don't think it necessarily threatens the US, but if I was Japan or some of China's neighbors I would be a bit worried. That missile and some other technologies they are developing would severely impact the influence we can have by having a force in the area. Of course, if we know about the technologies, the military probably has for a while now. Some counter weapon might be developed, and a counter-counter weapon is being developed that we won't hear about for a few years. Who knows really. As far as a full out war, I think we are way too dependent on each other for it to happen anytime in the near future.
No. But rumors of war with China are inevitable. Well, that's the rub. A 100 million man army is a sitting duck. Such armies won't march to war in the 21st century, they won't march anywhere. Not only are they vulnerable to nuclear weapons, they lack mobility and it impossible to supply it logistically in the field unless they are sitting in their own country. That is all a such a huge army will be able to do . . . defend itself against invasion and act as a prop to an increasingly unpopular communist government. The big Chinese army cannot project power beyond China. Japan kicked their ass in WWII. They did not prevail in Korea. The last war the Chinese army fought was with Vietnam in 1979 and Vietnam kicked their ass. Yes, let's see . . . it was the Soviets who were the last to have this idea. They discovered that not only are aircraft carriers extraordinarily expensive and complex to build, but that carrier operations are not as easy as the US Navy makes it look. The Indians and the Spanish learned this, too. It takes more than owning a carrier to use it effectively. Only the British and the French have successfully operated modern aircraft carriers but neither can afford it any more. The Chinese do not have a blue-water navy. They can control their coastal waters, but that's it. The carriers will cost them so much that they will never risk them. They will never develop an competitive operational tempo. They will be used as status symbols as the Chinese continue to posture as a Superpower. They are unlikely to survive full-scale combat with the US. Again the Soviets did the same thing and the Chinese have the same issues as the Soviets . . . no overseas bases to operate from, insufficient logistics to support carrier task forces, and a huge US fleet right in their face that is not going to let them operate outside their coastal waters in a conflict. How would it get to us? Why would we go after it? There is no benefit to either party to have a war. Our economies are intertwined. Whoever wins the military battle (us) would lose the economic one anyway. Possibly. We will not fight a war with China on China's terms. China cannot force us to fight a war on their terms. We will not face a Chinese army in Asia. Russia might. The moment the China even attempts to move beyond China, all of our superiority comes into play. China also has a huge Air Force of obsolete jets and inexperienced pilots that can defend their beaches against invasion. Only nobody is going to consider such an action. They cannot move their airpower or their army anywhere except in small pieces that we can completely overwhelm due to our global navy, global airpower, global logistics, unparalleled mobility of ground forces, and technological superiority. They would try. We also have a anti-satellite capability and the capability to defend our satellites. All-in-all China has much more to lose in a war with the US than they have to gain. And the reverse is also true. We can beat them, but at the cost of ruining our economy. We can no longer win wars of attrition, we don't have the manufacturing base anymore. We can no longer get bogged down in expensive and unwinnable knife fights like Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. The American Way of War in the 21st century must be lightning fast, extremely violent, and concluded expediently.
Well if it all goes to hell I have 12 acres in backwoods Mississippi I can move to. If you are invite I'll invite you along.
