I'm assuming you haven't read the articles in the Economist because you'd probably also characterize them as war porn. They point out that Taiwan is the bellwether. With Taiwan so goes the security structure that's kept bad actors from war romping around the world. I'm also noting you did not note any of the war material buildup.

I don't think anyone wants to see this as a possibility. No sane, logical, decent person wants a war between the United States and the PRC. I think what the Economist did with this issue is so important because by asking a question they force us to consider the current geopolitical reality that war is a possibility and rising. But we don't stop conflict but refusing to acknowledge it's a possibility. Xi Jinping is not a rational leader. He has ripped up the consensus structure of the party, purged his political opponents, abolished term limits, written himself into the Constitution, and is overseeing the largest single build up of mass incarceration, genocide, and surveillance in human history. Is it possible that someone with little better than a middle school education who routinely misuses Chinese could attack another country? Look at the price the Chinese economy has paid for Galwan. Billions were lost, likely hundreds of billions over the long run due to India's banning of PRC apps and cellphones. India is quickly becoming the largest smartphone market and Xi threw it away for 100 feet of rock and pride.

This isn't war porn, it's reality. No one wants this, but we get no where by sophistry or accusing those who caution, including mind you most leaders of the U.S. government, that Beijing attacking Taiwan isn't a possibility. They are actively flying sorties over Taiwan right now. And Beijing is directing resources against the Philippines, supporting the mass killing of civilians by propping up the regime in Myanmar, has sunk a Vietnamese military vessel in its own territorial waters last year, the list just goes on. In 2010 I never thought this stuff would happen. I didn't learn Mandarin to use it in some sick eventual conflict. But here we are because here is where Xi and his regime has taken us.