We here lots of chest thumping these days about the capabilities of the US military…..and in the same vain we here about the expansion of the Chinese influence in the Pacific and the possibility of some sort of confrontation is in the cards without some changes…..

China is working hard to replace the influence of the US in the Pacific…..

China, especially under President Xi Jinping, seeks a return to what it regards as its rightful position, replacing the U.S. as the world’s dominant economic and military power. Previous U.S. administrations have slouched in the direction of understanding the strategic competition that grows from this ambition but did little. The current U.S. administration gets it, as evidenced by the National Defense Strategy’s identification of China as a major peer competitor.

https://www.hudson.org/research/14861-china-wants-to-replace-the-u-s-in-the-pacific

But if the confrontation comes to the forefront how does it look for the US in such a conflict?

The United States Studies Centre (USSC), a research center based at the University of Sydney in Australia, released a study titled, “Averting Crisis: American Strategy, Military Spending and Collective Defence in the Indo-Pacific.” The study makes the argument that the US would not be able to defeat China in a military confrontation in the Indo-Pacific.

The USSC is funded by the Australian government, over the past five years one percent of their budget came from the US government and eight percent came from “US-based foundations, companies or individuals.”

The three researchers whose names are on the study are part of the USSC’s Foreign Policy and Defence program. The program lists its partners as the Australian government, The US defense company Northrop Grumman, the French defense company Thales and the US State Department.

New Study: China Would Beat US Military in Pacific

Does Trump’s trade wars help this situation in any way?