It is unclear if China really intends to respond militarily to Japanese or other planes flying through the zone, but the chance of miscalculation or error grows as the dispute escalates.
That is why it will be hard for Mr. Trump to fulfill his vow to "solve this problem". And every day, there is the chance of miscalculation, or an accident.
But the chances of miscalculation are already quite high and getting higher.
To lessen the chances of miscalculation or accident, he should at least remove from alert status some of the hundreds of nuclear weapons that are poised to launch within minutes.
Technical changes and national strategies are magnifying the chances for fatal miscalculations.
That there's no chance of a political miscalculation, and if there is such a chance, that they can perfectly predict the outcome of the ensuing chaos?
They also raise the chance of potentially catastrophic miscalculation by both sides -- an issue we must urgently deal with through positive engagement with the Chinese Navy.
Beyond that, he said, "there is the possibility of a grave miscalculation" -- the chance that someone, somewhere, may watch the United States struggling to define new policies and try something that Washington cannot tolerate.
JPMorgan Chase in a report last weekend cited geopolitical risks, including the trade war with China, North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations and the chance of "a major miscalculation from sanctions" against Iran, that could push the price of oil toward $90 a barrel.
But the more entrenched Iran's allies become, the greater the pressure Israeli leaders could face to launch a strike — and the greater the chances that a miscalculation or mistake by either side could provoke new hostilities.
At the same time, Moon's advisers fear that a Trump visit to the DMZ could increase the chances of a miscalculation that could provoke a military confrontation or have other unintended consequences, such as harming Asian financial markets or disrupting planning for the Winter Olympics, which will be held in February in PyeongChang, South Korea.
