General Politics Discussion (XI) [ARCHIVED] World • Page 208

Yeah. Easier said than done though.

 

I am shocked!

He is gonna try so hard to be VP lol

 

He’s obsessed with Trump.

 

Trump called him a fraud not even 48 hours ago lmao. So funny.

 

Blindly kissing Trump’s ass is the only thing that will save him when the fascists take over.

 

Fuck Vivek

what an insane human being

 

Speaking of…I got a call from my kids’ school district tonight letting us know school is closed again tomorrow due to the frigid temperatures. They had today off as well and they’re supposed to have half days Thursday and Friday. The temps aren’t much better by the end of the week so I have a funny feeling this entire week is a wash. Last week was their first week back from the holiday break lol.

 

I swear to god if Covid makes a major comeback this year because of shit like that…

 

I mean we’re already there right now, highest surge since omicron. It’s bad out there

 

A lot of people here never stopped wearing masks. It's part of their style now. Get in an elevator, bus, train, 8/10 people will have a mask. That's why people are only getting sick if they work in schools. Kids are still dumb.

 

Trump getting well under 60k votes in Iowa and winning by huge margins really highlights how dumb the caucuses are

For comparison, 70k people went to see the Bills play today a day after a blizzard. 71k sat in sub zero temperatures to see the Chiefs game.

And its not like Iowa is super small. It has 3 million people living in it. But for some reason the opinion of 2% of them is really important

 

@justin. thoughts?

 

In short - not in favor. There are a few reasons why

1 - I don't think it's needed as the picture is already clear.

Despite the differences that many of the countries have here (Japan/Korea feud), Korea's indifference to Taiwan (although I think Koreans and Taiwanese actual have a lot in common), Vietnam, the general lack of concern for many South East Asians, etc. all of the nations above know what it means if one falls to China and I believe would act accordingly if one was attacked. The importance of keeping these nations sovereign for the benefit of the region out weighs any personal grievances and no declaration like an Indo-Pacific pact is needed. China knows this.

2 - Many of the nations mentioned above are not aggressors (militarily) towards China and don't intend to be.

Japan, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc. are not trying to pick a fight with China. It's not in their interests and all of their recent military build-ups or preparation have been in defense against what they see as Chinese aggression. The countries that border the South China Sea are not imposing themselves close to China's shores, it's China sailing to their shores and spraying their fishermen with water, ramming their ships, etc. It's not Japan that's trying to antagonize China over the Senkaku islands, it's China that's constantly patrolling the area. It's not Taiwan threatening to invade China, it's China threatening to invade Taiwan. It's not Vietnam pushing its boundaries into China, it's China pushing its boundaries into Vietnam. It's not Malaysia promoting a map of it owning Chinese territory, it's China promoting a map of it owning Malaysian territory.

A formal pact would be giving China an excuse or provocation to step up all of the above. None of the countries are interested in that and a pact would be forcing an idea that China can already conclude (reason #1).

3 - No one in Taiwan is looking to make themselves appear as an "enemy" or "threat" to China.

I can only speak for people here, as this has actually been talked about. Most don't have an interest in joining any sort of military pact. No one sees "Chinese" people as the enemy, only the government. We don't want to see Chinese people suffer, we don't want to antagonize them, we don't want to be the image that their government paints us as. We want to see a successful people across the Strait, and we want them to enjoy life without coming into conflict with us. We root for Chinese citizens while denying their government. Taiwan sends disaster relief funds and support to China whenever possible. A future where China respects us as Taiwanese and we can mutually support each other is what we want. We think most in China feel a similar way despite the propaganda.

A military pact will make us appear aggressive and make Chinese people feel like we are prepping ourselves for violence. We actually are not as "pro-American" as some might believe. We appreciate any support we receive in our pursuit of self-determination. Due to China's interference, we believe that the US is one of the few countries capable of sufficiently helping us if, unfortunately, it comes to that. We don't care to see any more Western influence in the region, we just want a conflict to look unfavorable to all parties and aligning ourselves with others who will somewhat support our identity and determination of self-rule is what we'll take. It's all we have. If China would recognize and support us as their neighbors we would gladly cooperate and work with them for the betterment of the region and peaceful existence. Making them feel like we're hiding a knife behind our back won't help. A lot here would be opposed to joining a military pact for that reason, although, some would argue we would benefit the most from one. This isn't just my own personal take, it's what I hear and read.