Military exercises suggest China is getting ‘ready to launch a war against Taiwan,’ island’s foreign minister tells CNN

[eisfeld]

1 hour ago, tonbridgebrit said:

There are no NATO soldiers in Ukraine, nobody, and that includes you, nobody reckons that it will be a good idea to send NATO/American soldiers to Ukraine. Even if the war in Ukraine is still going on in two years time, it will be the case, of nobody thinking it's a good idea to send soldiers.

Maybe don't tell others what their opinion is. And to say that absolutely nobody thinks that sending NATO soldiers into Ukraine is obviosly false. You can find people who'd support that if you just bother to look.

 

1 hour ago, tonbridgebrit said:

What about combat jets ?  There's a huge difference between sending combat jets with NATO pilots, and selling/giving combat jets to Ukraine.  And with Taiwan, all the American military hardware that they've got was sold to them. None of it given, it's costing US taxpayers zero. This simply smacks of US companies making a profit from the situation.

I am not aware of any plans of western pilots actually manning the jets for Ukraine.

 

1 hour ago, tonbridgebrit said:

It boils down to you, and others, avoiding a basic issue.   ????
The issue being this. America/NATO is not sending soldiers to fight in Ukraine. NATO is not sending combat jets to the sky above Ukraine. Sending NATO jets to fly above Ukraine (and having those jets firing missiles at Russia, or those jets can fired at by Russia) is the same as sending soldiers to Ukraine. That's why it hasn't been done. From this, why on earth send soldiers and combat jets to Taiwan when/if they get invaded, when there's been no soldiers sent to Ukraine

I don't even understand what you are saying here. It is correct that having NATO pilots actually fly jets in Ukraine would be the same as sending soldiers that fight on the ground. But it's not happening. Neither in Ukraine nor Taiwan. No western soldier has done any fighting in Taiwan. So what's the point? Of course NATO tries to not get into a direct military confrontation if it can be avoided. And the same applies to Taiwan.

 

1 hour ago, tonbridgebrit said:

And let's be clear, you're not interested in sending NATO soldiers to Ukraine.  ????

Let's be clearer: what you meant to say is that I *should not* be interested in sending NATO soldiers to Ukraine (at this point). Because things would escalate quickly.

 

54 minutes ago, tonbridgebrit said:

 No country would dare attack NATO ?   You're right.
And Ukraine is not in NATO.  And Republic of China is not in NATO.  So, NATO is not being attacked.

Correct but what's the point? A country not being a NATO member doesn't mean that NATO completely ignores whatever happens to them. All it means is that the Article 5 defense clause dose not automatically trigger. Russia invading Ukraine nonetheless poses a threat to the west. And so would China invading Taiwan pose an issue.

 

54 minutes ago, tonbridgebrit said:

And no country would dare attack China, why ?  Because China, just like Russia, just like NATO, has got nukes.   ????

Even without nukes no country would be speaking about invading Russia or China. There is zero interest in doing so. These two powers are very big. Ukraine and Taiwan are not. They cannot defend themselves as is pretty obvious in Ukraine. They'd be defeated a long time ago without the support from their allies. It can't be a solution to hand everyone nukes and so we arrive at the present situation where big countries have to step in and help the smaller ones that can't defend themselves from aggressors.

Edited August 24, 2023 by eisfeld

[Neeranam]

On 4/12/2023 at 9:42 AM, vandeventer said:

China may move sooner that later against Taiwan with Biden at the helm. They seem to fear Trump as he will show strength and not weakness. Even with all the road blocks that Trump has in his way, the chances  are looking good for 2024 Trump victory.

Sad state of affairs, bring world peace, vote Trump. 

[rabas]

1 hour ago, tonbridgebrit said:

 No country would dare attack NATO ?   You're right.
And Ukraine is not in NATO.  And Republic of China is not in NATO.  So, NATO is not being attacked.

And no country would dare attack Russia, why ?  Because Russia has got nukes. 
NATO has got nukes, that's why NATO (NATO, that includes Britain) will never be attacked. I said Britain should be defended. I'm saying, if Russia attacks/invades Britain, then NATO must nuke Russia, no two ways about it. As soon as Russia does any attack on Britain, yes, America must launch it's nukes (nukes in America, and elsewhere) onto Russia. That's because Britain is in NATO.

And when/if China invades Republic of China, no country would dare attack China, why ?  Because China, just like Russia, just like NATO, has got nukes.   ????

Your logic is faulty. 

 

The MAD principle doesn't say a nuclear power would not shoot at or fight another nuclear power. It says a  nuclear power would not use nukes to destroy another nuclear power because they in turn would be destroyed.

 

Read:  Mutual assured destruction

 

Today's problem is that Putin, and possibly Xi, may wish to return the world the untenable era of territorial and human conquest to satisfy whatever they crave. There is no reason that Russia could not have used the last 20 years to build friendly, strong, and mutually beneficial relationships with Ukraine and the world. Except for Putin's backwards Hitlerish style, which the world including China must reject.