Taiwan Should Not Look to Ukraine for a Warplan that Offers Salvation: In the aftermath of Tsai Ing-wen and Kevin McCarthy’s contentious meeting in California on Wednesday, the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong and the American carrier USS Nimitz both patrolled off the Taiwanese coast, barely 400 nautical miles apart; a stone’s throw away, in naval terms.

While war is not inevitable, the chances for conflict between Beijing and Taipei continue to rise, and along with it, the possibility that the United States – through miscalculation, mistake, or mishap – could get sucked into open conflict with nuclear-armed China. The consequences of even a conventional clash with China could leave the U.S. Pacific Air Force and Navy crippled, almost no matter which side “wins.”