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Originally Posted by IbnMardhiyah
China has deep-water berthing rights to the new warm-water port they're building at Gawadar, Pakistan. They're financing the lion's share of that port in return for those rights, and that port will give them nearly unrestricted access to the warm Gulf waters. Through diplomacy and business, they got what the USSR failed to get 30 years ago.
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Fair enough, but that doesnt change the fact that the USA has a huge edge over them in all aspects of military power, most importantly in missile capabilities, nuclear warheads, anti-missile technology, submarines, and all other nuclear platforms. A nuclear war is extremely unlikely, but as things stand now the USA would mop the floor with China and basically have their entire arsenal and population at their mercy from the first couple of hours. And the most likely arena for a conventional war is in the oceans around Taiwan, where the US has another huge edge.
Maybe in some time that will change, it would be interesting if it did, but it takes a while to build up technology and forces.
Quote:
Originally Posted by IbnMardhiyah
And if you read the Economist and what they've been saying recently, they've noted that its a high probability that in less than 60 years, we'll see an America that's looking inward more and more as India and China expand, so much so that a time may come when America will seek implicit permission from China & co. before going on ill-fated missions like Iraq.
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That could be right, it also could be wrong. 60 years is a long time, I would be wary of being too confident in those predictions even if they come from the Economist. But thats an interesting viewpoint, and it wouldnt surprise me at all if things go that way (if I live to see it). It seems like we're headed in that direction, anyway