They Don't Have That Capability

As everyone looked at the world map, Japan was like a shield in front of a rooster. Further down was the extended Treasure Island, and below Treasure Island were the ten East Asian countries, plus Australia.

It was foreseeable that without East University needing to act, aliens would directly kick US influence out of the Asia-Pacific, and the first, second, and third island chains would cease to exist!

At that time, these small countries would only have the Eastern Big Brother to rely on. After the US retreated, they would immediately kneel before East University.

"The setback suffered by the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group this time will cause a serious shock within the United States. The myth of the US military will be shattered, and society will accelerate its division. However, the US government will also use this opportunity to shift the conflict outwards, reduce internal pressure, and blame us for the failure."

Everyone present was familiar with smearing like this; it wasn't the first time. But was it useful just like this?

"NATO is composed of 30 countries. Without sufficient industry, Western countries as a whole bloc are financialized, service-oriented, and de-industrialized. Their annual shell production is only 240,000 rounds!"

"The hollowed-out industrial base and de-industrialization in the United States will severely weaken their military-industrial complex. Even if they try to fix it now, it won't be something that can be done in a short time. Production lines have been dismantled, industrial workers are from a different generation, and technical personnel are missing. The cost is too high, and the most crucial factor is government dysfunction!"

Effective government, the most important political divide among countries, lies not in their form of government but in the effectiveness of their government. National capacity is the ability to mobilize human, material, and financial resources to realize national will and accomplish national tasks.

These are things that Western countries do not possess, or rather, are losing.

"Fukuyama pointed out that to successfully achieve a modern liberal democracy, it is necessary to stably balance the three systems of state, rule of law, and accountability. In 'State-Building: Governance and World Order in the 21st Century,' he indicated that national capacity is the strength with which national functions are realized, including efficient, clean, and transparent policy-making and policy execution capabilities, as well as law enforcement capabilities.

I don't see any of these things in the United States. With the gradual loss of existing fighter jets and warships, I am doubtful about their ability to withstand future alien civilization attacks." The Professor's face showed a serious expression; he still couldn't forget Francis Fukuyama, whom he had "killed" three times during debates.

War with alien civilization cannot be won quickly, especially when there is no decisive technological advantage. It is entirely a war of attrition, a competition of population, technology, industry, economy, and most importantly, will – the determination to fight to the end.

Both quick victory and quick defeat are undesirable. This is a "Protracted War." Fortunately, humanity is fighting on home turf, which gives them a certain advantage.

"The aliens cutting off the Pacific is equivalent to cutting off our maritime trade with the United States. Heh heh, they've directly decoupled us from the US."

"In 2024, our trade volume with the United States was $688.28 billion, of which exports to the US were $524.656 billion and imports were $163.624 billion, resulting in a US trade deficit of $361.032 billion."

In this situation, East University and the United States were constantly bickering at the UN, shouting about trade decoupling every day. Yet, the US trade deficit was still over $360 billion, which showed how much the US relied on East University's cheap industrial goods.

Now, before the US could truly decouple, the appearance of aliens had directly imposed a hard decoupling. Whoever suffers, knows it.

"Geopolitically, the US is an isolated island overseas. Without the transfusion from the Eurasian continent, living costs will skyrocket. Internal capital interest groups will not care about the lives of ordinary people; the increased costs will be transferred to the populace. Bread for 50 cents will soon reappear. Under external pressure, internal collapse is only a matter of time."

"As a maritime power, being blockaded at sea is fatal. To avoid internal collapse, the US will definitely gamble its national destiny! They desperately need a victory, especially an external military victory. Even if there are clear-headed individuals, they will be swept up by politicians and public opinion and will definitely engage in military adventurism.

By pooling their existing naval and air forces, this is their advantage. The possibility of using nuclear weapons cannot be ruled out.

If the United States succeeds, it will remain the 'beacon of humanity' for a while, provided it wins against alien civilization."

[What if they fail?]

The Fudan Professor remained silent for more than ten seconds:

"If the United States collapses internally, countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East that were colonized by neo-colonialism will seize the opportunity to break free from American control and retaliate against American capital, achieving strategic autonomy. However, a collapsed United States will also impact the world, making humanity doubt its ability to fight alien civilization, and some countries will develop other ideas."

"Perhaps they don't need to fail. Some capital groups are already transferring capital, and the safest place in this world is here, just as some people say, the direction of human flow is the direction of civilization."

At this moment, the door suddenly opened, and a civil servant quickly walked up to the speaker and said something, then turned and left in a hurry.

[It seems the Professor is quite right. The ten ASEAN countries are already applying to visit China, and Japan hopes our Eastern Theater Command will go over. The major players in the Middle East have also drawn up visit plans. They are very sensitive.]

One cannot help but praise these leaders with sensitive political instincts. They can always identify crises, while those with dull or no instincts often meet a miserable end. For example, a certain monkey that jumps around all day probably doesn't know what will happen after the Pacific is cut off by aliens! Does he still think the current United States is the same as the United States in the 1990s?

After the person on stage finished speaking, their gaze turned towards the [Ryukyu Islands], staring at them for a long time.

The Professor finished speaking, and finally, an official from the Ministry of Industry came onto the stage. Like the Ministry of Technology, they were also a pillar of resistance against alien civilization invasion.

[Can we currently withstand a large-scale alien civilization invasion?]

"According to what the Professor said earlier, due to geopolitical reasons, we will not directly face the threat of alien civilization. However, if alien civilization begins a full-scale invasion of countries around the Pacific Rim, we must mobilize our industrial and military production capacity to the fullest to support the frontline countries and prevent them from falling. We have the confidence and the determination!"

Next, the Ministry of Industry detailed last year's industrial capacity.

"In 2024, pig iron production was 852 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 2.3%; steel production was 1.4 billion tons. After improving the 6-Second Steelmaking Method, steel production will significantly increase."

Listening to the Ministry of Industry's report, the data presented was astonishing. This was the confidence of the world's number one industrial nation. With the support of the Northern Russia, the world's largest resource supplier, an incredibly powerful production capacity would erupt. This was East University's confidence in facing alien civilization.