China, Russia and North Korea's military might explained as Xi's parade sends WW3 signal
Xi Jinping has ordered his forces to be ready to strike Taiwan by 2027, forcing the West to prepare for a confrontation with an Eastern alliance armed with hypersonic missiles and nuclear might.
If full-fledged war breaks out between China and Western nations, then it is likely to be caused by Xi Jinping’s attempt take Taiwan. Military strategists believe this could occur between 2027 - the centennial of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) - and 2030, by which time the United States, Taiwan and Japan will have deployed more F-35s, long-range missiles and hardened bases.
Xi has ordered the PLA to be “ready for war” by 2027, making that date a focal point for both Chinese planning and Western countermeasures.Any Taiwan conflict would quickly widen beyond a US-China clash.
Analysts see the likely outcome as a Western coalition - led by the US, UK, France, Australia, Japan and South Korea, with European allies in support - facing an Eastern bloc of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
On paper, the West holds overwhelming superiority.
Together these nations spend nearly £1.4 trillion a year on defence, compared to around £330bn for the Eastern bloc.
They can also draw on about 4.2 million active troops and 2.5 million reserves, against roughly 3.4 million active and 1.6 million reserves for China, Russia and their partners.
Western armies are better trained and supplied, while much Eastern manpower sits in North Korea’s poorly equipped ranks.
Air power is even more lopsided.
The West fields around 20,000 combat aircraft - including 1,000+ fifth-gen fighters and B-52, B-1 and B-2 bombers - against about 4,500 for the East. China has developed modern jets such as the J-20 stealth fighter, but in limited numbers compared with the West’s far larger fleets.
BEIJING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 03: The militia formation marches through Tian'anmen Square during a gran (Image: China News Service via Getty Ima)
BEIJING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 3: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY - MANDATORY CREDIT - ' XINHUA / KREMLIN PRESS (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
BEIJING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 03: The nuclear missile formation passes through Tian'anmen Square during (Image: VCG via Getty Images)
BEIJING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 03: The echelon of J-10 fighter aircraft flies in the sky during a grand (Image: VCG via Getty Images)
At sea the imbalance is stark.
The West could muster more than 1,800 warships and 160 submarines, including 18 aircraft carriers, against roughly 450 warships and 110 submarines for the East.
China’s three carriers are still working up, though it has invested heavily in hypersonic “carrier killer” missiles designed to offset Western naval power, while Russia’s surface fleet has shrunk to a fraction of its Soviet heyday.
On land, China and Russia field large tank and rocket forces, much of it Soviet-era.
The West retains a qualitative edge with Leopard 2, Challenger 2 and Abrams tanks, and long-range precision artillery in NATO networks.
In drones, the West leads in stealth, ISR and AI swarming, though China and Iran are expanding mass production of loitering munitions.
The East has strengths too, however.
Russia still controls the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, while China is rapidly expanding its own.
They also enjoy geographic cohesion, with forces concentrated near home.
In a crisis, Beijing could mass forces against Taiwan within days, while Russia pressures Eastern Europe and Iran targets Gulf shipping.
By contrast, Western forces are dispersed across three continents.
The US would respond first, but bringing European forces to Asia could take weeks or months.
Geography gives the East the initiative; the West must hold the line until its superior power arrives.
