In war, there are no winners– and in a war between the US and China, the entire world would lose.

That’s not just considering the mass loss of life that would occur, but also the reverberating effects of war that would sink millions into economic devastation, destroy the environment, and lead to widespread displacement and human rights atrocities.

The potential use of nuclear weapons is often disregarded as a side note, but it shouldn’t be. According to experts, conflict between the US and China could easily escalate into nuclear war– and a nuclear winter isn’t much farther away.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown disagrees. He says he is “fully confident” that the US would defeat China if war were to break out over Taiwan, even though the Commission on National Defense Strategy predicts extreme losses on the US side. Just last week he announced,

“It’s going to take all the nation if we go to conflict with the PRC, and I’m confident, if we’re challenged, we will be there.”

“I play to win,” he continued, after acknowledging that “these will be major conflicts akin to what we saw in WW2, and so we’ve got to come to grips with that.”

Born in 1962, Gen. Brown knows nothing of the horrors of WW2. For him, it’s words in a textbook– a game to “play.” For others, it will be lost limbs and terror.

The US has been in near constant conflict since its inception, and our more recent wars paint an obvious vision of ineptitude. The only things Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan accomplished were widespread death and destruction. Violence does not end just because war does, but hangs over communities like a specter, negatively affecting the health and economic wellbeing of nations, as well as contributing to environmental harm.

While our government has been edging us towards war with China for some time, it’s not often we hear the words spoken so starkly. Gen. Brown’s point is clear: the US is preparing for war, and they’re not holding back.

This week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin brought $500 million to the Philippines to boost their military capabilities. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was negotiating a deal to move US operational control of Japanese forces from Hawaii to Japan.

Make no mistake: this is not another small play of some far-away war game. This is a big deal.

Having operational control over Japan’s military means our government doesn’t need to send as many American soldiers across the ocean to engage in battle. They’ll have full command and control of thousands of Japanese troops to do with as they please. The US already has operational control over South Korea’s military, meaning that if war broke out, all ROK troops would be placed under US command as well.

This isn’t just about war strategy– it’s about public perception. The American people are far more likely to support a war when they aren’t losing loved ones left and right. That might be the only lesson our government learned from Vietnam, and Iraq only solidified it. Drones and special forces won’t cut it in a war with China, which is why the US is working overtime to solidify military partnerships across the Asia Pacific.

Modern US war-waging often occurs through the use of proxy states and funding the troops of another country as long as they act in US interests. They’ll call it military strategy, but at the very root of it, you’ll find a dark feeling of indifference towards the citizens of other nations. Our government could not care less what happens to innocent people in Japan, South Korea, or the Philippines– as long as US global hegemony is preserved, they will let them die.

Meanwhile, opposition has been growing within. In South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, protests are on the rise, calling for an end to US imperialism. The people don’t want to be cannon fodder between the US and China, which is exactly what will happen if the situation escalates into war.

At a Foreign Relations Committee hearing last week on strategic warfare with China (the 7th so far), Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell stressed the importance of AUKUS and other trilateral partnerships when dealing with China. “This will be never ending,” Campbell told the committee, emphasizing that the Asia Pacific “requires the most capable naval and advanced long-range air capabilities that the United States has ever needed before.”

Well, alliances are being made and billions of tax dollars continue to fund hyper-militarization of the region. Gen. Brown even commented that he is accelerating the effort of stockpiling weapons, ammunition, and other supplies in the Asia Pacific in preparation for war.

Just a few months ago, a trilateral summit between Japan, the Philippines, and the United States deepened their military alliance in the region. Biden reaffirmed the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, which states the US will respond to any attack on the island nation. AUKUS, which Secretary Campbell repeatedly stressed the importance of, is a defense alliance between the US, the UK, and Australia in the Asia Pacific region. Criticized by China for its “cold war mentality,” the strategic partnership is not unlike those that led us into global wars during the 20th century.

Everywhere we look, our government speaks of war with China as if it is an inevitable and warranted endeavor. It’s not. War never is.

And yet, the media will continue to follow our politicians like lap dogs and feed the narrative that war with China is unavoidable– even though China itself has repeatedly denounced any potential escalation into conflict. At this point, it rests on the shoulders of the people to say otherwise.

It’s time for the American public to take a stand against the normalization of conflict and the preparation for war with China. It’s time to tell our government that war with China is not only unacceptable, but global suicide. We now stare this unwinnable conflict in the face and there’s no time to look away. The time for action is now.

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Megan Russell is CODEPINK’s China is Not Our Enemy Campaign Coordinator. She graduated from the London School of Economics with a Master’s Degree in Conflict Studies. Prior to that, she attended NYU where she studied Conflict, Culture, and International Law. Megan spent one year studying in Shanghai, and over eight years studying Chinese Mandarin. Her research focuses on the intersection between US-China affairs, peace-building, and international development.

Featured image: China-US relations Photo: GT