I'd love to get Australia involved early. There are at least two ways to do so and you've already mentioned one of them. I'll get back to this in a minute, but first I'd like to see which of the following scenarios regarding the order the U.S. ends up making war on China and North Korea.
Do you think the Chinese might goad the North Koreans into invading South Korea to draw U.S. attention away from Taiwan before striking to reclaim their island? Or do you think it makes more sense for North Korea to opportunistically invade the South once the U.S. is drawn into an attempted defense of Taiwan? Either way, once the U.S. is overstretched and committed in Asia (maybe doubly so), Russia makes its play for the Baltics. We can discuss that later.
Now, if we go with the NK invasion prior to China making its big move, Australia would send troops to SK, no? That might be a lower stakes way to get them into the war, rather than entering into a more daunting struggle vs. China first. Either way, once Australia is committed, it's committed when other regional powers enter the fray.
I do like the idea of getting Indonesia involved and essentially allying with the Chinese. What other allies do you see China having in 2030? Myanmar, maybe? I'm assuming that the little fish in the region would be peeing their pants as the Chinese military continues its meteoric rise and would therefore look to more closely ally themselves to the West, but maybe they would pursue a policy of rapprochement with China and eventually become satellites.
Now one thing that's always troubled me about the thought of a war against China: How does the U.S. get ground forces into action on the mainland? In 30 years, following current trends, China will have a larger navy than the U.S., and any war in east Asia gives them the interior lines of supply. To me, the U.S. would be fighting at a huge disadvantage. It's going to need the RAN for sure, and other regional allies as well. Japan is one potential springboard. It's got a capable navy, and one that could also grow, albeit not as quickly, by 2030.
But, if the tension in Asia originally heated up over a boarder dispute with Vietnam, maybe that's the doorway into the Chinese mainland. Wouldn't it be interesting to have U.S. and SRV troops- former enemies- teaming up to take on their mutual foe, the Chinese?
I've asked a lot of questions so I'll stop and give y'all a chance to address them before asking any more.
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