CHINA

Let's delve into Chinese history just a bit.   You should always know your foe.  

First, look at it's neighbors.  Keep in mind that the United States has two countries on our borders; Canada and Mexico.  China has the following:  Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and North Korea.  Quite a difference.  Our country is divided into 50 states; China is broken into 23 provinces.  

During World War II, China (as well as Russia) was on the side of the Allies (our side).  The Japanese were especially cruel to the Chinese - of course, China had no modern military.  

China was in a state of civil war before and after WWII.  That civil war ended in 1949.  The winners (known as the CCP or Chinese Communist Party) established the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) and the losers, known as the ROC (Republic of China) retreated to the Chinese island of Formosa (now called Taiwan).  It was then that the civil war ended (for the most part). For each side it was an incomplete war.  

The ROC on Taiwan voted for leadership and chose to elect pro-democracy leaders.  This, of course, was complete antipathy to the Communist government of the mainland.  Both sides agreed that China and Taiwan were the same and one country.  Both sides claimed to be the sole legitimate government of the country.  Stalemate!

A lot has changed since 1949, both have become economic powerhouses in their own right.  Taiwan is but a speck in the ocean compared to the country with 14 other countries on it's border.  The island people have learned to love their freedoms and are willing to fight for them.  The Taiwanese have seen what the PRC has done to the people of Hong Kong.  The leadership of the PRC now seems determined to make itself whole by bringing Taiwan under it's control - by force.  

Controlling Taiwan also means controlling the 100 miles of  waters between the island and the mainland.  The US is determined to protect Taiwan's independence as well as the waters in between.

Think of this if you will:  The island of Puerto Rico is part of the United States.  The waters in between are American waters.  It was a colony of Spain until the Spanish-American War.  Spain gave us Puerto Rico, the Philippine Islands and Guam as a settlement of that war.  

How long will the stalemate continure?