The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) and accompanying carrier strike group seen from above during a visit to Da Nang, Vietnam, circa 2023. America’s aircraft carriers are likely to play a central role in any future Indo-Pacific conflict. (Shutterstock/peterhoangkhanh)

How China’s Navy Plans to Take On America in the Indo-Pacific

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China has a crucial advantage in a matchup with the US Navy: it is fighting on its home turf, while the Americans are thousands of miles from home.

The world’s next great naval conflict—if it ever occurs—will probably take place in the Indo-Pacific, between the United States and its allies on one side and China on the other. Both Washington and Beijing are hard at work planning for this conflict, and contemplating the ways each can gain an advantage over the other.

To be clear, any military conflict between the United States and China would be calamitous. Both sides possess nuclear weapons, raising the risk of nuclear annihilation. Even if nuclear weapons were not used, the US and China have two of the largest militaries on the planet, and a war between them would certainly result in tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands or even millions, of deaths. This is an outcome that should be avoided at all costs. Yet if it does occur, it will probably start over a Chinese attempt to take Taiwan—or potentially over a provocation in the South China Sea, where China’s expansive territorial claims have put it in contention with its neighbors.

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© The National Interest