conflict" at all. If the US could have things their way, there would be a formally independent Taiwan and China would not attack. Second best is the current status quo where Taiwan is de facto but not de jure independent, and China also does not attack. The US will try to hang on to the second option as long as physically possible, and then ultimately in the long run (when China inevitably invades Taiwan), try to turn Taiwan into another Battlefield Ukraine where it fights a proxy hot war with China using US-supplied weapons but no US troops, ships or planes. However if China attacks Taiwan RIGHT NOW like some hotheads are stupidly demanding, I'm pretty sure the US is going to be willing to risk actual direct combat with China over Taiwan as it may believe it can still win such a conflict. This window of time is fast closing however and IMO in the next several years the US will ultimately conclude that it can no longer beat China militarily, at least in the Taiwan Strait or SCS. I think at least part of the reason for China building up militarily at such a breakneck pace in recent years is to give the US as little a window of dwindling advantage as possible, so that as the US civilian leadership dallies and wrings their hands over China on what to do wrt Taiwan, China will have already achieved a fait accompli and secured a near-certain military victory if the situation ever came to blows.
