It's highly likely---everyone is waiting for the shoe to drop.
Lionel Lim 24, Singapore based reporter covering the Asia-Pacific region, 7/16/2024, “Experts worry that a U.S.-China cold war could turn hot: ‘Everyone’s waiting for the shoe to drop in Asia’,” Fortune, https://fortune.com/asia/2024/07/16/us-china-conflict-war-export-controls-brainstorm-tech/, kav
On Monday, both Helberg and Harburg warned the fractious relationship between the U.S. and China could become something more dangerous.
“Everyone is waiting for the shoe to drop in Asia,” Helberg warned.
Harburg, borrowing a phrase from Henry Kissinger, warned that the U.S. and China are in the “foothills of war.”
U.S. military officials worry that China wants to quickly gain the ability to invade Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province, by the end of the decade. Over 60% of U.S. business economists consider a conflict between mainland China and Taiwan, even if it doesn’t develop into an outright war, at least a “moderate possibility.”
Analysts also worry that a possible miscalculation in the hotly contested South China Sea could also trigger a wider conflict.