There are dangers for the United States and Japan in underestimating or confronting China. The Abe government's interest in changing the postwar Japanese Constitution threatens relations not only with China but also with the U.S.
Despite the optimists, military conflict in the region would be uncontainable. Any form of confrontation involving China would likely spiral out of control and engulf the entire region, if not the world.
Since the Liberal Democratic Party was last in power, the world has profoundly changed. The first noticeable change is that the U.S. is in serious, perhaps irretrievable trouble. Much has been said about how the Chinese giant awoke and arose, but much less has been said about what happens when the U.S. giant stumbles and falls.