Thoughts?
Is this imperialism by China, a country which is supposed to be left-wing? Leftists are normally anti-imperialism. Wouldn’t it be better to let Taiwan democratically decide whether they want to be part of China or not?
Thoughts?
Is this imperialism by China, a country which is supposed to be left-wing? Leftists are normally anti-imperialism. Wouldn’t it be better to let Taiwan democratically decide whether they want to be part of China or not?
Taiwan is too strategically important to the United States and Taiwan two difficult an invasion target for this to happen.
It’s just political posturing.
Is the US really a dependable ally?
In this case, yes. The fabs there are far too important to let them slip control. Now, if we could just build some fabs in Ukraine.
From what I’ve read, generally-speaking, the US expectation is that the US would win a conflict with China over Taiwan, but that the US would take serious naval losses in doing so.
I suppose that China could have a different view of the matter, though.
I think that a more-compelling argument is that if you, in fact, intend to invade Taiwan at any point in the remotely near future, you’re probably better off just invading it, not loudly announcing that you will do so at some unspecified point in the future and then sitting around while the potential invadee fortifies itself.
💯
I can see these announcements as placating domestic audiences and the military drills as discouraging the US from a potential intervention by signalling higher difficulty and losses.
West Taiwan sabre rattling.
Posturing plus demonstrating they can blockade Taiwan in case the US decides to send the cavalry stationed close by.
E: BTW the US and TSMC are continually working to diminish Taiwan’s stratrgic importance to the US by building fab capacity in the US.
The long game of Beijing politics is to just be nice to Taiwan while Americans grow increasingly unhinged.
Yup. The trends of rising standard of living in China plus the stagnation and self-destruction of the US are both pointing to closer ties between Taiwan and China over the long term - over the coming decades. Even today the majority in Taiwan prefers status quo and not independence. There’s pro-idependence and pro-unification minorities. Besides, I don’t think the Chinese want to deal with a separatist population and all the instability that causes, which would imevitaby follow if they annex by force.