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

The US is at a Cold War-like Status with the following countries: - China -North Korea These are the countries influenced by the Soviet Union during the real Cold War. Now, they continue the legacy of the communist intentions. The other East Asian countries are not at a Cold War Standoff necessarily. In the argument when you said, "The One Child Policy...nuclear war is incredibly unlikely," that is somewhat true. The "rapid population growth" is an issue in China but it presents another factor for expansion and neo-imperialism. As the country grows past its limits, the Chinese will have to find new territory for the most populous country in the world. As seen in the Cold War, the Soviet Union had to expand beyond its limits and spread its influence(not necessarily for population reasons though). This search for available land could lead to imperialistic patterns seen in the 20th century and possibly conflict with neighboring countries, specifically Taiwan(U.S. ally), South Korea, and many other East Asian countries. Also, on the topic of energy, China has created a new Five Year Plan(example of influence from Communist USSR) to achieve lower levels of air and water pollution. However, is that their true focus? The world had to pressure China into making such actions in the first place because of how horrid the smog levels were becoming. China was only "investing nearly $90 billion in 2014" for renewable sources of energy. As said in my earlier argument, the Chinese Defense spending is on the rise and rising much faster than the budget for renewable sources of energy. "With wealth, comes militarism". Not all countries follow this pattern. It is only exemplified in countries that seek to use their wealth to gain political, territorial, and military power. Obviously, countries like Norway or Sweden are wealthy countries but they aren't militaristic. They don't have the same goals as China though. Also, the past is important because it affects the present. Militarism has occurred since the earliest of times, ex. expansion of the Roman standing army forces. Militarism was a primary component of WW2 conflicts in Europe, with fascist Dictator Adolf Hitler leading the way in mass production of military vehicles and weapons. The USSR had a similar process of building up their military and their nuclear arsenal. Now, the Chinese are experimenting with new weapon systems and long-range missiles. Why does a country need missiles? Why does a country keep more than a few missiles? To compete with other countries and to maintain power and protection. China saw the U.S. with missiles, India with missiles, the USSR with missiles. China had to join the party. Their booming economic gains and industrialization provided the wealth, their population provided the labor. Now, all they needed was a communist regime which would lead them to the new age of warfare. China and Russia are very close. Being that Russia had economic and military ties with China during the Cold War, that caused their relations to grow over time. Even today, "China and Russia have increased their security, economic and diplomatic relationship, complicating an already fragile Asia-Pacific region. Many analysts have viewed this enhanced collaboration as the beginning of a partnership set on destabilizing the Western-led order and diminishing the capacity for the United States to influence strategic outcomes in the region". That seems like a very close relationship to me, to be able to allow the Russians to have influence in the Pacific commercially and with their own military. You said, "The need for a long-range missile is to defend against a long-range missile". Now, when I said that countries compete, I meant that they compete for power and control. If there are rivals in my way of prosperity, I would compete with them to achieve my own destiny. China, with their bolstering nuclear programs and defense programs are created to compete with the Western World and their systems. Yes, there is a need for defense "against a long-range missile", and that also proves my point. In the Cold War, countries like the US and USSR competed in nuclear production. Innovation led to innovation. The United States felt the need to create more warheads to defend against Soviet warheads. This situation is happening in China today, they're building missiles to "defend against a long-range missile" and also compete with the world on a nuclear and military level. Also, when you say "Russia is its(US) most prominent enemy...Trump and Clinton are debating Russian foreign policy more than the Chinese", that's somewhat false. Trump and Clinton are debating about Russian "hackers" more than any foreign policy issues, and if there is a foreign policy issue, it could be the situation in Syria. However, the talk of hackers has been a headline for weeks now. The candidates have both spoken about the situation and whether or not the accusations are true that they're hacking the election process is another debate. Also, news coverage on a certain topic often subsides over time, that doesn't necessarily justify that the topic is more controversial than another. The South China Sea situation is definitely an eruption in the making with all the territorial disputes being formed there. Back on Cyber Warfare. This is a new battleground for Cold War-like tensions. The issue boils down to national security of our country. These hackers are focusing on hacking congressional accounts and other defense accounts in order to gain intelligence on US operations. This is not a social media issue, it's a matter of national security Finally, on North Korea. The US has a physical standoff with the North Koreans at the Korean border as the US has already sent defense systems to engage North Korean invasions. However, it's also a Cold-War Standoff. North Korea vs. South Korea. The U.S. would definitely support the South Koreans; however, the Chinese would support the North Koreans like they did in the original Cold War. Back then, military support wasn't strong, but it was mostly advocation for North Korea and commercial treaties which would help support North Korea in its efforts. Today, China would most likely not fight in a war like that; instead, they would support North Korea possibly with military armament like they did in the real Cold War. Remember, the Cold War did not directly involve USSR and Chinese troops vs American troops. It was a war fought in other locations like Vietnam and Korean war with the communist parties supporting communist regimes and the democratic countries supporting democratic parties. There was no evidence of USSR troops fighting American troops. Today, there may not be clear evidence of Chinese troops fighting US troops, but there will be involvement in other countries as the Chinese and US vie for power. http://nationalinterest.org... http://www.cfr.org...