Thanks to our treaty with Panama, we had a bit of control over this happening - but Bill Clinton signed off on it allowing their deal to proceed. This is just the first time that both planes with damaged to the point of being unable to continue flying. Thanks to the past 8 years of democrats in the presidency, our military is at its all-time weakest. So, while on paper we look to be the same, we're not. That's 40 million people they have available for war.
China still practices some of the most fucked up acts on it's own people.
To test biological weapons they whiped out a village of 25000 people. If the family hides the child, they can be put to death. China has recently purchased a fleet of Mig fighters and torpedoes that can go up to 260 mph specifically designed to take out aircraft carriers. And they have a strong hate for the United States. If you're American and you're not worried about China, you should be.