The US is still at a Cold War-like Standoff with the Communist nations

I agree, there is definite ambiguity in the topic that I have created; however, that does not mean it can't be defended. The term "communist" does not include Russia anymore as the Soviet Union had already dissolved after the Cold War. So, the last standing communist nations that are at a standoff with the United States are North Korea and China. Vietnam, Laos, and Cuba are not the friendliest of countries to the United States, but there has been extensive work done to bolster relations with those countries. China has become an economic powerhouse in the world. The population is booming and the jobs are appearing like a wildfire. With wealth, comes militarism, a militarism that relates to the Soviet Union's techniques seen during the Cold War. "China announced 05 February 2016 that it will raise its defense spending by 7.6% this year", an increase which will most likely continue to rise due to increased influence in the South China Sea. Also, Russia, although not communist, has agreed to partner with China. Military agreements could be made between the two countries as China seeks to gain more military power. The US continues to lead the world in the amount of warheads it owns; China, a growing power, will be looking to challenge the United States with the help of Russia. Just recently,"China's DF-41 has been described as the world"s longest-range missile, capable of striking the US from anywhere in China". What is the need for such a long-range missile? Furthermore, "Analysts also say the missile could fly over the North Pole and hit the US within 30 minutes". Surely this will cause the United States to continue expanding its own missile program. Once again, just another example of the old Cold War in which one power must outcompete the other. The power of these missiles also brings up the point of MAD(Mutual Assured Destruction). Also, how come the US is spending more and more for defense each year? The US must modernize many of its weapons and missiles which are outdated for modern warfare against the newly-industrialized and newly-modernized Chinese. Furthermore, the debate is not only about nuclear or missile warfare. China and the United States have been in a cyber warfare in the most recent years. The government has said that, "cyber operations from China are still targeting and exploiting U.S. government, defense industry, academic, and private computer networks". Cyber warfare has become the new method of warfare as political secrets can be released, defense systems compromised, and valuable information leaked. If the Chinese are in such good relations with the US, how come their people and tech officials are hacking into US intelligence systems? The response from their government has been vague. There has been no charges against these hackers and the government has not stepped in to stop them. Cyber Warfare is ultimately the next battlefield for Cold War tensions. Now, to the controversial topic of North Korea. North Korea is definitely a childish country looking to impose fear on the democratic nations. They have recently been performing missile tests and building their nuclear arsenal. The threat of North Korea is not as significant as the situation with China. However, they have continually threatened US allies such as South Korea and Japan and US intervention has been needed to protect democracy in the East. Looking into the past, the US has intervened in the Cold War conflicts to maintain the policy of containment in the East. The United States sent aid to South Korea to defend against the North Korean invasion during the Korean War. Also, they created military operations in Japan, which would supply arms to the soldiers in Vietnam. In these engagements, the US was indirectly fighting its communist opponent, the USSR. Today, the same example is seen against North Korea. The US is obligated to support the South Koreans from any chances of invasions as there was never an official treaty which ended the Korean war, only an armistice. Knowing the attitude of North Korean leaders, that armistice could be on the brink of being broken. Furthermore, China is a supporter of North Korea, which leads to even more communist relations between the two countries. China would most likely support North Korea in a military alliance if a continuation of the Korean war started. Japan, another democratic country in the East, is also resented by many Chinese and North Korean people. http://www.businessinsider.com... http://www.usnews.com... http://www.usatoday.com... http://www.foxnews.com...