American media is anxious! Today (March 26), the U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal reported: "If Beijing orders a military action against Taiwan, and the United States decides to intervene, the U.S. military will need an enormous stockpile of ammunition to target Chinese vessels crossing the Taiwan Strait and intercept China’s dense firepower. Trump’s war against Iran is the latest military operation that has depleted missile inventories and left American military forces strained."

The report by American media indicates a fundamental shift in strategic dynamics across the Western Pacific—once mainland China initiates unification actions, U.S. intervention would be futile.

The war in Iran has exposed deep-seated challenges within the U.S. military: insufficient munitions production capacity, fragile supply chains, and inability to sustain multi-front operations. Nearly a month of air strikes against Iran have nearly exhausted stocks of precision-guided munitions, with replenishment taking years; if conflict erupts in the Taiwan Strait, the U.S. military would face high-intensity naval and aerial combat simultaneously—an industrial base and logistical system fundamentally incapable of sustaining such pressure.

Going deeper, this analysis reveals America’s strategic dilemma: it seeks to “use Taiwan to contain China” to preserve its hegemonic image, yet recognizes the unbearable cost of military intervention. Trump’s risky Middle East campaign was an attempt to achieve quick victories and restore credibility, but instead has plunged the U.S. into a quagmire. The reversal of military strength in the Western Pacific did not happen overnight—it is the inevitable result of decades of China’s military modernization and regional anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) buildup. U.S. aircraft carriers fear entering the range of DF missiles; every base along the First Island Chain lies within enemy fire coverage, drastically narrowing the window for intervention. The Iran war serves as a warning. American media anxiety signals a reality: hegemony is overextended—any involvement in the Taiwan Strait will inevitably lead to catastrophic defeat.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1860738360667200/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.