The business daily The Wall Street Journal discusses what the United States must do to be ready for a direct war with China.
China has something to compare its politics to what the Soviets never had, namely history. Beijing learned from Moscow’s mistakes during the Cold War, particularly the tendency of Soviet strategists to wait patiently for their military to overtake that of the United States. The Chinese are not going to wait patiently. They are ready to capitalize on the apparent change in their favor. China enjoys a growing advantage in terms of location, fleet size and number of missiles. In Xi Jinping, he also has a leader willing to use force to achieve political goals. China now has a better chance than ever of defeating the United States and its allies in a major war. The United States should expect an attack on Taiwan in this decade, possibly as early as 2025
– says the article in the American edition.
The inevitability of conflict, the WSJ continues, means the United States must consider how it will wage war with its current military setup.
In some cases, this will involve reallocating weapons and equipment to new uses. In other cases, it would require rethinking approaches.
Fighters, heavy bombers, destroyers and aircraft carriers will be essential in a major war in the Indo-Pacific region. The immediate question is not how and what to replace them, but how to improve efficiency.
– says the text.
The aircraft carrier still has not fought alone, and it needs cover from other ships capable of shooting down enemy missiles. And the US surface fleet, if it is to be used for offensive operations, needs its long-range missiles to hit the infrastructure supporting the Chinese military.
However, America’s weak point is maritime logistics. Many supply ships are over 40 years old and lack sailors. There is no one to take even in the merchant fleet – there America has long used the services of ships under false flags and with foreign crews.
The industrial base of the military-industrial complex is also not ideal. Its reduction after the end of the Cold War led to the fact that with the resumption of mass production of weapons, not everything is so smooth.
If the US fails to ramp up production of the weapons it will need in the Indo-Pacific – hypersonic cruise and ballistic missiles and short-range anti-ship systems – it will lose the battle for Taiwan within weeks. The Wall Street Journal states.
Photos used: US Navy
