Both sides are accusing each other of being the intransigent party. One reason for that is that they're both trying to rule the waverers in the region who are torn between these two giants. Many privately want the United States to remain engaged in the region militarily, but they also know that they're stronger economic and trade ties with China. They don't want to be forced to take sides, and they're worried they will be badly hurt in any war. Their fear has been heightened in the past year, not just by the increasingly sharp rhetoric between American and China,. And many draw parallels between Ukraine and Taiwan. A war that people thought improbable or even impossible is all too possible.