US Navy Rear Adm. Bill Byrne, commander of Carrier Strike Group 11, observes Indian, Japanese, and US ships from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz during Malabar 2017 in the Bay of Bengal, July 17, 2017. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Holly L. Herline)
Christopher Woody, Business Insider: Countries in Asia are wary of China — and they're 'wondering exactly how far America would go'
* China and its neighbors have been rapidly enhancing their militaries in recent years.
* Countries in the region, worried about Beijing and uncertain about the US, are also looking to boost cooperation with each other.
* Beijing is in an advantageous position and can wield considerable influence.
Military spending has ramped up in Asia, led by China, whose addition of submarines to its fleet has inspired similar ambitions among its neighbors.
Beyond hardware, however, countries in Asia are also reassessing the balance of power there, contemplating how to engage China and what role the US — long a guarantor of security and trade in the region — will play going forward.
"Everyone out in Asia is, on one hand, scared of China, and, the other hand, they need China for trade," Mike Fabey, author of the 2017 book "Crashback," about tensions between China and the US in the Pacific, told Business Insider. "Also there's a real sense of, 'China's right here. America's on the other side of the world.'"
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WNU Editor: The comment .... "China is here and the U.S. is way over there" .... is the situation that these Asian countries are now facing. My prediction .... economic issues will trump all other issues and these Asian countries will try to find some balance with China. But they are not going to be happy.
