Kerry, nowhere in the article am I suggesting that the US should be at war with China.

What I am saying, however, is that the US foreign policy apparatus cannot countenance any other power - China or otherwise - having the freedom to roam across the world, planting military bases and sending bluewater navies as it sees fit. Obviously, diplomacy and engagement would be a much more preferable way to do this than outright conflict - which no right-thinking individual would want.

I remember reading the relationship between the US and China as one of "co-opetition" as one where the two powers mostly compete but cooperate when their interests align. That would certainly make sense.