(Own report) - While the German frigate Bayern is preparing to set off for its Asia-Pacific tour, high-ranking US military officials are intensifying their discussion on the type and time of a possible large-scale war against China. Retired Admiral James Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe and author of a newly published novel on such a war, assumed until recently that the battle could begin in the coming decade and could possibly be triggered by a conflict over Taiwan or islands in the South and East China seas. However, the military balance of power between the USA and China is rapidly shifting in favor of the People's Republic, which in some areas has already caught up, for example in the number of warships or in cyber warfare, Stavridis notes. He warns that "the battle" between Washington and Beijing "may come much sooner. US allies play a central role and the USA is deliberately involving them in "more aggressive" operations, for example, in the South China Sea. Germany is among the allies he mentioned.