I'd contend that we've moved into the pre-war stage in relation to China, where the Western public is being 'groomed' for conflict.

Think about it for a second. The US is so threatened by an expanding China that they have to deploy their forces all the way across the vast Pacific Ocean to defend themselves! All the way across the Pacific Ocean!

I think there's something called... manufacturing hysteria. Which, I suppose, is vital in wartime.