Adjacent means nothing. It's outside of the conflict area and thus it wouldn't be touched, especially since neither the US nor China want a war with one another

Adjacent means nothing. It's outside of the conflict area and thus it wouldn't be touched, especially since neither the US nor China want a war with one another. It's not just about face. Neither side wants to escalate the situation or to be dragged into war. NATO is adjacent to Ukraine. Has Russia attacked them? No. Has NATO attacked Russia? No. Neither side are suicidal. So it remains a proxy war. The same would happen over Taiwan. Geopolitics 101, really.