by Daniel Carter
It’s no secret that tensions are heating up between the US hegemony and the emerging super powers of the east. While the US frantically tries to prop up its empire, Russia and China try to tear it down. The conflict is very serious and is quickly progressing towards a military showdown, according to my contacts in the US military. When the showdown arrives, who will be in the best position to win? Only time will tell, but Russia and China continue to make great strides towards gaining the upper hand.
Compared to any single military, the United States clearly has the advantage. The US spends more on military than at least the next seven countries combined. With congress approving the raising of the military budget by another $100 billion this year, the US has significantly added to their already staggering advantage. If the US were to enter a war with any nation, they would have much more tanks, planes, ships, troops and military technology.
As you can see from the image below, the United States out classes Russia in just about every category. Russia has only a slight advantage in long-range aircraft and nuclear warheads. A slight advantage in nuclear weapons is quite meaningless as both countries have enough warheads to destroy the entire world many times over.
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The United States also has a clear technological advantage over the Chinese military. The US dwarfs China in naval capacity and nuclear weapons. However, China has a clear advantage in number of personnel because they have approximately one billion more people in their country than the US does.
(Note: The US numbers are slightly different from the previous chart because of the year in which they were calculated.)
Clearly, the US could go up against any country and have a huge military advantage. But what about going up against several countries. Russia and China do not have a perfect relationship, but they do seem more than willing to team up to bring down the US empire. They combine to make up half of the US’s military budget, and their combined strengths go far in cancelling out their singular weaknesses. Together, they hold more submarines than the US, which could help them pick apart the relatively immobile US aircraft carrier fleet. Furthermore, China’s lack of nukes is supplemented by Russia’s excessive supply. The same goes for aircraft, although the US would still have the advantage over both countries combined. Finally, China and Russia’s personnel outnumbers the US personnel by quite a big margin. They could add even more military might by gaining more allies.
If war were to break out between the US and North Korea, China and Russia would likely stick up for their neighbor. The United States’ blunders in the Middle East have pushed Iran, Turkey, Syria and Iraq towards the side of Russia and China as well. That would add at least a million more troops to their side. However, the US is still in good graces with Japan, Germany, France and the UK. That would help negate some of the advantages Russia and China are gaining, but surprisingly, not by that much. US allies largely depend on the US for military support so many of them do not have large militaries of their own to contribute. Take a look at the top militaries in world to see which countries would support which side.
This century, many more countries are drifting the way of China and Russia. That doesn’t just mean more military personnel will be on their side. It means more strategic locations, more money and more equipment. If the US keeps using bully tactics to accomplish its goals, and Russia and China continue to use diplomacy, the upper hand will go to the east very soon. It will mark the first time in almost 100 years that the US is not the world’s most powerful military force.
