China Gears Up For World War III

Nuclear missiles with multiple warheads, anti-ship missiles, and man-made islands are all evidence China is increasing its military ambitions, and the United States isn’t happy about it.

The latest confrontation between the United States and China happened this week after an American spy plane was warned away from Chinese man-made islands eight times, according to CNN.

China is constructing the islands, which have been called a Great Wall of Sand, 600 miles from its coastlands to extend its dominion into the South China Sea, an area long disputed by rival countries, according to the Inquisitr.

The area includes fertile fishing grounds and rich undersea resources, along with important international trade routes.

The United States and other countries don’t recognize the artificial islands as extending Chinese territory, and the disagreement could spark a military conflict.

Along with pumping submerged sand onto live coral reefs and then paving them over with cement to create land, China is also upgrading its ballistic missile capabilities by arming its missiles with multiple warheads, according to Voice of America.

China has had the technology to do this since the 1990s, so their sudden decision to upgrade their ballistic missiles looks a lot like a Cold War move to the United States.

Rearming the missiles makes them harder to shoot down and, more likely, they could be used as a first strike weapon.

The United States also fears China’s new anti-ship missile and their ability to fire at American carriers from the mainland.

That’s one reason the new islands under construction in the South China Sea could be so important. They represent a potentially unsinkable Chinese carrier, capable of launching an attack an attack miles from the mainland.

China’s growing economic power mirrors its growing military power.

Last year, China passed the United States as the world’s largest economy by at least one measurement, according to RT News.

China has a larger Gross Domestic Product measured by purchasing power parity, meaning Chinese citizens in China can buy more stuff than American citizens in America.

The U.S. still has a larger per capita GDP, but the gap is rapidly shrinking, according to Time.

In fact, it could be this trade gap that keeps the two military powers from coming to blows with each other in a full-blown military conflict.

War would benefit no one, as the United States and China remain dependent on each other economically.

In other words, get ready for a new Cool War between the two powers.

[Photo by Kin Cheung-Pool/Kevin Frayer/China Photos/Getty Images]