Comments on: Beijing does not wait to be attacked

By: Gavin Longmuir

Gavin Longmuir — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 14:55:52 +0000

VXXD: “they [China] can’t build smaller chips.”

Just like the US, then? Hey! Common ground. Maybe China and the US could work on this jointly?

By: Harry Jones

Harry Jones — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 14:07:14 +0000

Success provokes malignant narcissists. It’s a mistake to have a better looking business card than China.

When the powerful feel threatened, the Mandate of Heaven is in play.

By: vxxc

vxxc — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 03:15:05 +0000

The Truth is America, like England before it, is a master at provoking commercial rivals — like Germany, like Japan — into wars they are unlikely to win.

This is simply competing by alliances and wars when you cannot beat them commercially.

In China’s case this is foolish; they rose and still are dependent on our tech, our debt fueled buying, our chips — and Taiwan’s chips.

They can’t build jet engines; they can’t build smaller chips. They have been trying for years and failed.

If Xi does take Taiwan, it is for chips, and it is folly.

By: VXXC

VXXC — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 03:11:39 +0000

I would follow Edward Luttwak on China.

https://twitter.com/ELuttwak?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

I would not follow The Atlantic, anywhere. And following Hive_Mind™ orders, The Atlantic is stirring Chinese War Fever.

We can add “China did not overthrow the Constitution in January,” and “those weren’t Chinese troops.”

By: Gavin Longmuir

Gavin Longmuir — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 16:21:51 +0000

The dog barks and the caravan moves on. There are other ways in which modern China could choose to “shoot first”.

Today’s Chinese people have experienced decades of rising living standards and comfort. They may be less willing to participate in the kind of desperate suicide attacks Chinese leaders used in Korea. Note that, even by 1979, the Chinese military struggled to match Vietnam.

More likely today would be for China to “shoot first” commercially rather than militarily. China has already bought off much of the West’s political and business leadership, and the West is critically dependent on imports from China. That gives China’s leaders great leverage without having to resort to military attacks.

By: Michael Towns

Michael Towns — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 14:17:14 +0000

“Unhistorical”? He literally cited historical events of the past sixty years. And the idea that the US is the aggressor if China attacks Taiwan is beyond absurd.

By: Bob Sykes

Bob Sykes — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 13:26:22 +0000

Unhistorical and out of context. Xi’s China is not Mao’s China. It’s not even Deng’s China.

However, Xi and the CPC, like their predecessors have repeatedly given ample warning (like right now) that they will go to war to prevent Taiwan’s independence. By provoking Tsai Ing-wen and the DPP to declare independence, the US has raised the probability of such a war to a high level.

If war comes to Taiwan, the US started it.