US-China War Not Impossible But Hard To Imagine Will Start Intentionally - Air Force Chief

Faizan Hashmi Published April 19, 2023 | 10:54 PM

War between the United States and China is neither inevitable nor impossible, but it is hard to imagine that either country would start such a conflict intentionally, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said on Wednesday

COLORADO SPRINGS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2023) War between the United States and China is neither inevitable nor impossible, but it is hard to imagine that either country would start such a conflict intentionally, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said on Wednesday.

"To be very clear, war with China is not inevitable. War between China and military powers including the US would not be in anyone's interest," Kendall said, stressing that he has a very hard time imagining that either China or the United States would intentionally start such a conflict. "But that does not mean that war is impossible or even unlikely."

Kendall made the remark at the 38th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The Air Force Secretary pointed out that despite their strategic competition, China and the United States are not necessarily in a state of cold war.

On Monday, US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said China has largely ignored the United States' requests for communication and there is a lack of political will in Beijing to communicate with Washington.

Kahl also said that China would likely expand its influence to the detriment of the United States and its partners if Washington does nothing.

China appears to have a different view of global relations from that of the United States and the former Soviet Union, both of which bolstered deconfliction after the Cuban missile crisis; Beijing sees the answer to tensions as other powers leaving its desired sphere of influence, Kahl said.

A conflict between the United States and China would be devastating for everybody involved and create immense damage to the world economy, but such a conflict is neither imminent nor inevitable, Kahl added.