horse of george

I hadn't considered that... China's increasing reliance on ballistic missiles to deny the battlespace for American carrier groups in any future conflict presents a troubling escalation problem - if this defense succeeds or otherwise appears workable and America wishes to counter any future Chinese aggression they may be forced, barring some technological trump card not immediately evident, to resort to ballistic missiles themselves - the rub here being, how will the Chinese know that these are not nuclear missiles? Seems like a nasty problem, especially if the Chinese are relying on the dreaded escalation implied or carried along within the ambiguity to dissuade the Americans from responding in any forceful way whatsoever - in short, it could prove an extremely effective bluff that leaves the US no choice but to go entirely on the defensive.