Ace at Ace of Spades HQ knows (as does China) that warfare is fought in many dimensions.
Money quote(s):
"This was sort of inevitable, and it's pretty bad. China has long supported every indecent country in the world, because America has alliances with most of the decent ones."
China has, and has had, for decades, a Non-Interference Policy (NIP). That essentially meant that it would do business with you and not worry overmuch about your internal affairs. Sort of the stance China would like the rest of the world to take regarding China's internal affairs.
"China has now made it official: an attack on Pakistan (terrorist hunting) is now to be taken as an attack on China.
They have extended their own security zone to the terrorist state of Pakistan, which means China is now officially a terrorist sponsor."
Ace is, as usual, a few steps ahead of the rest of the United States, including with regards to treating the state of Pakistan as an actual enemy of the U.S., rather than as a partner in the war on terrorism, &tc.
I'm not saying he's necessarily wrong, but perhaps prematurely right.
"(L)ucky us. We just found a trillion and a half dollars we thought we were in the hole for, but now we're not."
Chinese strategists plan for assymetrical operations in all theaters, all dimensions, of war, particularly against peer or near-peer opponents. Included in those battlefields will be the financial and economic dimensions. Being prepared to return fire effectively isn't the worst idea I've ever heard.
