WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Asian allies are becoming increasingly skeptical of the U.S. military and are quietly warning the Bush administration not to enter into a military confrontation with China.
The overwhelming assessment by Asian officials, diplomats and analysts is that the U.S. military simply cannot defeat China. It has been an assessment relayed to U.S. government officials over the past few months by countries such as Australia, Japan and South Korea, Insight magazine online reported in its Nov. 21-27 issue.
Most Asian officials have expressed their views privately. However, Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara has gone public, warning that the United States would lose any war with China.
"If each side pulls the trigger, though it may not be stretched to nuclear weapons, and the wider hostilities expand, I believe America cannot win as it has a civic society that must adhere to the value of respecting lives," Ishihara told the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Ishihara said U.S. ground forces, with the exception of the Marines, were "extremely incompetent" and would be unable to stem a Chinese conventional attack. He said China would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons against Asian and American cities -- even at the risk of a massive U.S. retaliation.
Ishihara said the U.S. military could not counter a wave of millions of Chinese soldiers prepared to die in any onslaught against U.S. forces. After 2,000 casualties, he said, the U.S. military would be forced to withdraw.
