US cant fire on a smaller weaker ship without looking aggressive and it allows the chinese to do whatever they want, short of firing on the US

We would decimate their navy in matter of weeks to be honest.

If they tried.

Then their islands they made would fall.

Weeks. LOL

We have a system in place for how many people we can let in for immigration including asylum seekers, why should someone get to cut the line if they are on this side of the hemisphere

It's hard to say Dusty.

Look at our aircraft carriers.

Look at the number of fighter jets and bombers.

Look at the number of subs.

Local troop strength isn't as lopsided as people think. Particularly in local Chinese Waters.

Look at the number of ships.

Troops don't matter in the water.

The chinese navy is very dangerous inbetween their coast and the Philippines

Yes, but most of those boats and people are somewhere else.

Theyll have the edge in ships, planes, and missiles they can lob at the area

What are they going to do, stand on the shore and yell at us?

Actually you underestimating the Navy.

Lob missles. They do have very good anti-ship missiles.

Diplomacy probably always the best option when dealing with Chinese shenanigans

The number of planes, ships, and missiles we can lob at them easily.

It's not about troop strength over there in the overall. It's about the fact that if China actually pushed a naval engagement, we can ping every ship they have, launch fighters, and blow every last one of their ships up within 24 hours. All it would take is someone giving the order.

We have rapid deployment all around the world.

It takes time to mobilize and concentrate your forces dude. By the time the US gain local numerical superiority, the UN would have made an ultimatum/armistice by then.

No dusty, your patriotism is blinding you. The chinese have local force superority in a way the US cant hope to match.

Make no mistake, in total war with all assets, it's probably in the US's advantage.

But locally, in a short war. Or one in which the US is skittish.

Now, if it actually became a land war... that'll take a lot more time to deal with.

However, wars arent local anymore and in a global battle the US cant lose.

It's not exactly the US's edge.

I wouldn't say the Chinese win either. But it wouldn't be a blowout.

Nobody wins a global war on that scale though

https://www.rand.org/paf/projects/us-china-scorecard.html

99% of the US's military limitation is that we don't just go in and wreck up our enemies. It's because we're always playing the 'good guys', that we don't just bomb our enemy into the ground and be done with it.

Basically we hold back every time we engage in warfare.

Period.

ehhh

Don't get me wrong, that's a good thing, since it limits civilian casualties. But consider this: The last time the US didn't hold back, we had these two little bombs we dropped.

Ask Japan about it.

It also depends on how much President does without congress

I wouldnt say dumping Agent Orange on rando rice farmers was 'holding back'. The main point should be whether US ground troops are allowed to occupy significant land area of enemy territories.