Four new American bases in the northern Philippines means they are very close by and the number hulls in the water is like the number of T72s on the battlefield, it's not the hulls but what is in them in terms of technology and people that counts. The largest air force in the world is the USAF and the second largest is the USN. Putin's disastrous fiasco in Ukraine has given Xi pause and his advisors must be dancing on his desk about the opportunities in Asia with a declining Russian empire. The path of least resistance is to the east in Asia, an invasion of Taiwan would be disaster, everybody's advanced microprocessors are made there, and America, Asian allies and the EU won't let that happen without a fight.