Carpet bombing scares the crap out of everybody, even the Chinese

The US has very publicly sided with Japan in their dispute with China over territory Japan calls the Senkaku islands in the east China sea, by flying two B-52's over what China calls it's "air defense identification zone". 

I don't really care about these islands, but what I do care about is if we can afford an arms race with China, which things are shaping up to be. China has already prepared it's first air craft carrier for sea-worthiness trials in a couple of years. They've build allegedly advanced fighter aircraft, and their standing army is huge with relatively modern weaponry. I would't want to tangle with them over some remote island in the west Pacific. We'll tangle with them over Taiwan for sure. 

China clearly does not want any military engagement, no matter how limited, with the US. They own too much of our debt and erasing that would surely be part of our strategy. But a weakened and beholden US could entice China into attempting to reclaim Taiwan or these islands or other disputed territories. We'd have to react if our allies in the region asked us to. 

Still, not much causes men to quake in their boots like the prospect of being on the business end of a carpet-bombing run of 500lb ordinance.