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I think Taiwan goes beyond normal imperatives actually. In China they are viewed as an unsinkable aircraft carrier for the US. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/
by graeme 9y ago
I think Taiwan goes beyond normal imperatives actually. In China they are viewed as an unsinkable aircraft carrier for the US.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsinkable_aircraft_carrier https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsinkable_aircraft_carrier
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Chain_Strategy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Chain_Strategy
For a paralle, look at how vexed the US was by Cuba's changing sides in the cold war. And in that scenario the US enjoyed regional naval dominance, the inverse of today's situation in the pacific.
Beyond US rivalry, it is better to have such an island under state control for regional naval advantages as well.
And to answer your edit by such imperatives I meant states normally won't give up so much as an inch of territory if they can help it.
- crdoconnor 9y agoIt's different to Cuba. Taiwan shares a culture, history, lineage and language with the mainland. Sun Yat Sen is equally revered it both, for example. And, mainlanders often have a romantic view of it. Cuba doesn't have that kind of relationship with the US - it was basically a client state where Americans partied and owned farms until Batista was overthrown. Interestingly I think Taiwan (which also sees itself it be at heart still part of China) actually lays claim to Tibet too.
- graeme 9y agoI meant ananlogous in the sense that Cuba was a Soviet base, and that it was previously a sphere of influence. Having Soviet missiles off the coast of Florida made the US uncomfortable in the same way that Taiwan as an unsinkable aircraft carrier makes the Chinese uncomfortable. I didn't mean that was the only reason that China is interested in Taiwan. I was trying to contextualize it for American readers.