The author Andrew Rhodes divides thinking in space or the role of geography in

national security decision-making into three category levels: the individual,

national, and global. Here is how I see the two rival powers (the US and China) in
terms of security as they relate to geography in each of the three levels of
"thinking in space".
THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
The individual American feels secure because there has never been an instance in
its history that it has been subjected to attack by an adversary. Being the lone
superpower in the world at the moment, it feels secure in the thought that no
country or countries on earth would dare attack the US mainland. Hence, ordinary
Americans are not prepared for, say, a nuclear attack on the US itself.
China, on the other hand, had been preparing for such a scenario when Mao Zedong
made a call in the early 1950s to: "dig tunnels deep, store grains everywhere, and
never seek hegemony". Since that time till now, they have kept on digging such that
they now have more than 5,000 kilometers of strategic tunnels; augmented by subway
system in most, if not all, of its major cities serving as civil defense in times
of emergency. China had also built some 41 air bases with underground hangars and 1
underground submarine base in Hainan.
With China's development of DF41 and DF 31 intercontinental ballistic missiles
(that can hit any part of the US), nuclear submarines with SLBMs, and strategic
bombers with long-range cruise missiles with nuclear warheads; Americans feeling
safe and secure might in fact turn into a false sense of security.
THE NATIONAL LEVEL
At the national level, the US being the more powerful between the two, will be
forced to take the offensive posture while China will be forced to take the
defensive posture. Being on the offensive, the US will be forced into the role of
the invader; while China will be forced into the role of defender. Being the
invader, the US will be forced to operate on "exterior lines"; meaning it has to
cross the Pacific Ocean to bring its combat troops, aircraft carrier strike groups,
and logistics to the potential battlefields with China such as the South China Sea
or Taiwan. Doing so opens the US forces and its potential allies (UK, Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, and Japan) to interdiction by China's land-based anti-ship
ballistic and cruise missiles, attack submarines, and J-20 stealth fighter-bombers.
China, on the other hand, will be operating on "interior lines"; meaning it will be
maneuvering forces and supplies along railroads and highways within its own
protected territory. And since the Chinese mainland is criss-crossed by the largest
high-speed rail network in the world (i.e., larger than all high-speed rail network
of all the other countries combined), China's troop movements will be faster than
that of any invading forces. This will allow China to rapidly concentrate firepower
at chosen points and defeat the invading forces one-by-one. US' "exterior line"
operations are vulnerable to interdiction. China's "interior line" operations are
inside China's own territory (or that of her allies in the SCO) and are more
secure. China's troop movements will also be more rapid and stealthy; assisted by
the extensive high-speed rail network infrastructure inside China.
China will also enjoy the advantage of popular support over its invading adversary
at the national level. Since they are subject to invasion by a foreign foe, it is
very easy for their leaders to rally the popular support of more than a billion
souls. The US, in contrast, would earn the deepest enmity and anger of the whole
Chinese citizenry. As Mencius preached centuries before Christ: "Perfect timing is
less important than positional advantage; but positional advantage is less
important than popular support".
China also enjoys geographic proximity compared to the US. Proximity of China to
the South China Sea and Taiwan renders its land-based, hypersonic, anti-ship
ballistic and cruise missiles (DF 17s, DF21D, DF 26, DF 100s, etc.) effective
against moving targets like US aircraft carrier strike groups as well as fixed air
and naval military bases surrounding China. China's policy is never to be the first
to attack; but when attacked, it will surely counter-attack. When China does so,
all existing air bases and aircraft carrier strike groups plying within 4,000 kms
of the China mainland would each receive a pre-allotted barrage of said missile
strikes. The counter-attack would include attacks on satellite-based C4ISR and US
submarines. As to the latter, China has unmanned underwater vehicles that could
monitor adversary submarines and attack in swarms. This is augmented by some 70
Chinese submarines waiting in ambush. The above are the advantages rendered by
geographic proximity to the potential hot spot. It gives China the advantage of
fighting in its own backyard. The US, in contrast, has to cross the Pacific Ocean
for its resupply; which could be interdicted by DF26s, DF 17s, J-20s, H6Ns, and
nuclear attack submarines.
ON THE GLOBAL LEVEL
On the global level, China, Russia, and Iran appears to be forming a formidable
TRIUMVIRATE. It so happens that the said triumvirate is sitting right in the middle
of the Eurasian "HEARTLAND"; what Sir Halford Mackinder called the "geographic
pivot of history". According to Mackinder, "... he who controls the HEARTLAND,
rules the WORLD ISLAND"; and he who controls the WORLD ISLAND rules the WORLD."
Now, the TRIUMVIRATE is in control of the so-called HEARTLAND of Eurasia; which is
now being criss-crossed by railways and highways of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The TRIUMVIRATE is supported mainly by the other members of the SCO or Shanghai
Cooperation Organization consisting mainly of countries at or near the so-called
HEARTLAND.
Ever since the end of WWII, the US have made attempts of gaining a foothold in the
HEARTLAND of Eurasia. The US war in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, the
Balkans, Georgia, Ukraine are all connected to the "great game"of gaining control
of the HEARTLAND. The fight for control of the HEARTLAND include the setting up of
US military, air, naval, and drone bases surrounding the TRIUMVIRATE - some 800 of
them. The problem with such US/NATO bases is that their location can be plotted
with precision and targeted, also with precision by existing missiles of Russia,
China, and Iran. Said bases will be the first to go in a major confrontation in
the area.
In a global confrontation between the US and its allies on one hand, and China and
its allies on the other, the global picture may look something like this: China
will open a South China Sea Front and a Taiwan Front (to recover Taiwan to the
mainland); Russia will open a Ukraine Front and a Syrian Front; Iran will open a
Persian Gulf Front by closing the Strait of Hormuz; Pakistan will open an Indian
Ocean Front; while North Korea will open a North Korean Front. China and Russia
can open an additional two war fronts: Chinese submarines positioning on the west
coast of the US; while Russian submarines positioning on US east coast - ready to
retaliate in the event that the US uses nuclear weapons in attacking Chinese or
Russian mainland. Hence, the US and its allies may be confronted in nine (9) major
war fronts simultaneously. US will be forced to disperse its forces thinly and be
weak everywhere. "Never hit with both fists in two directions at the same time"
goes a military dictum that remains true to this day. The US will be forced to
strike not only in two directions but in nine directions all at the same time.