China has become the laughingstock of the international community.
For years, its leaders showcased their powerful HQ-9B missiles as the best air defense system. But they were lying. In less than a year, their system has failed catastrophically in Pakistan, in Venezuela and now in Iran.
The U.S. remains by far the most modern and feared military power in the world, and President Trump has proven it. In one day, U.S. and Israeli forces wiped out Iran’s military leadership, along with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In one day, U.S. forces entered Venezuela and extracted Nicolás Maduro without a single U.S. fatality.
Recall that it took President George H.W. Bush several days to capture General Manuel Noriega in Panama; the tracking and elimination of Osama Bin Laden took almost 10 years. Here is a historical fact for which no is crediting the current administration: Operations Absolute Resolve and Epic Fury have set a new standard.
Returning to China, the HQ-9B missiles and JY-27A radars were always impressive at military parades, but they have performed poorly in actual combat. They are blind, deaf, and mute.
The HQ-9B, also known as Red Flag 9, is a cheap copy of the powerful U.S. Patriot missiles and the Russian S-300. In theory, they have built-in radar systems to track and engage multiple targets simultaneously. In practice, they have demonstrated the opposite.
Since May of last year, serious concerns have been raised about the HQ-9B’s inadequacy. In India’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, the Chinese missiles were soundly defeated for four consecutive days. They were unable to defend, destroy or track anything.
China’s JY-27 radar is a system capable of identifying and scanning targets between 280 and 390 kilometers away. It specializes in the early detection of fast, supersonic F-22 and F-35 fighter jets. But in real combat, when Maduro was captured in Venezuela, the Chinese radars became a point of national humiliation and shame, failing to detect even one of the 150 aircraft that penetrated Venezuelan airspace.
Operation Absolute Resolve also humiliated Russia. Venezuela had invested more than $2 billion in S-300 missiles. Despite their power, they were rendered immobile by powerful American fighters, bombers and electronic warfare aircraft.
During Operation Epic Fury in Iran, the Chinese HQ-9B missile defense system was once again defeated with deadly strikes on Khamenei and some 49 high-ranking military officers. Chinese power failed miserably. The U.S. has demonstrated technological capability and extraordinary military expertise.
China’s propaganda is effective, but its military technology is not. A few years ago, countries like Egypt, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Iran spent billions on Chinese air defense systems; today, they regret it.
Events in Pakistan, Venezuela and Iran also give hope to Taiwan. China has lost credibility, and its arms race is no longer as formidable. Although Beijing is still a nuclear power, its combat technology and radars have already proven unreliable, vulnerable and of low quality when compared to those of the U.S.
The war in Iran has achieved the unthinkable: bringing together many European and Arab countries against the terrorist threat posed by Iran. This is only happening thanks to strong and decisive U.S. leadership.
China remains an economic power, but the U.S. has military, economic and political power. It is using all these elements to reshape the world. This is not a jazz improvisation — it is a harmonious melody that is helping to attain peace through strength.
Arturo McFields is an exiled journalist, former Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States, and a former member of the Norwegian Peace Corps. He is an alumnus of the National Defense University’s Security and Defense Seminar and the Harvard Leadership course.
