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All of which only really matters to those of us on this side of the ocean. China doesn’t need to project naval power, they project economic and political power

All of which only really matters to those of us on this side of the ocean. China doesn’t need to project naval power, they project economic and political power due to being physically closer and a large exporter. Belt and road is their method for controlling the transport of goods. They can get oil/gas from Russia and the Middle East over land via trucks and pipelines. Which is why I think the next 10 years will display how little control the US military is able to exert. 20 years of pointless war have ground the US military into dusty incompetence. Do we want to protect Taiwan or our access to the Persian Gulf? We may only be able to keep one of them.

boc 5y ago
First off, oil is a global commodity, so it's not true that you can just isolate yourself from global price movements. Second, how many soldiers in the Chinese PLA or PLAN have ever fired a weapon against a hostile force? The US has spent the better part of two decades in an active war environment. For better or worse, there's value to having actual experience with large-scale invasions. It's not being "ground into dusty incompetence", it's being battle-tested. Third, the US military doctrine since WWII has been about fighting two wars at once. We can certainly protect Taiwan and the Persian Gulf at the same time. If we couldn't, then any intervention wouldn't be credible because the second we invade a nation, all other strategic objectives would be at risk.