In the foreseeable future, the United States is very likely to enter into an armed confrontation with China. This was stated by one of the most respected American military experts, General Ben Hodges.
Former commander of US land forces in Europe, and now a representative of the Washington Center for European Policy Analysis, Gen. Hodges arrived in Vilnius to the so-called “Snow meeting”. At this event Lithuanian and foreign experts in the field of defense and security meet.
According to Hodges, China now is the main likely opponent of the United States. The American general even revealed the approximate dates of a possible war between two great powers:
I am convinced that we are on the path to conflict with China. A few months ago, I thought it would happen in 15 years, but now I think it is much closer — maybe closer than 10 years or so.
At the same time, Hodges noted that the United States does not have the forces and means to act on two fronts – to fight in the Pacific against China and restrain Russia in Europe. Therefore, European countries, including Lithuania, will have to take care of their own security.
By the way, the main Russian threats for Lithuania and other Baltic countries Hodges considers not “green men” from the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, but cyber attacks and dependence on energy supplies.
As for the words about self-care for security, it is obvious that the USA is already annoying to keep countless satellites in Eastern Europe. After all, they are useless from the political, economic and military points of view, but they constantly require financial assistance, declaring that Russia is threatening them. Therefore, Hodges, in a somewhat veiled form, only voiced what the American leadership has long been thinking about.