China is not a kinetic threat to the US off paper. The terrifying reality for them and every other nation is their submarine defense capabilities are generations behind American submarine attack capabilities. They may throw a mighty heavy rocket barrage or two at our Pacific territories, but the damage can be repaired in a matter of weeks. Meanwhile our silent service would be free to disrupt enemy naval movement and cut off commercial shipping. The Chinese would be left to either convince their neighbors to join the war and share their now very finite oil reserves or try squeezing oil from their dead comrades' corpses.