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> 1. Germany was preparing for outright war throughout the 1930s. Conscription was introduced in 1935.Is China seriously planning to militarily annex Taiwan? Le

by yumraj 7y ago

> 1. Germany was preparing for outright war throughout the 1930s. Conscription was introduced in 1935.Is China seriously planning to militarily annex Taiwan? Leaving aside propaganda etc. China is one of those rare countries in today's world which has border conflicts with each and every of its neighbors and is openly ignoring international norms. On top of that I don't think that it is investing heavily in military just for show.

spats1990 7y ago
South Korea has a... border conflict with its northern neighour, a territorial conflict with Japan, and a massive and well armed military given its size. >openly ignoring international norms. Could you explain a bit more about what this means exactly? If you are talking about international law, plenty of world powers ignore it when it suits them.
- yumraj 7y ago
  For example the arbitrary nine-dash line and China's claim over other countries's territories. China's even lost the case against Philippines [0], but has chosen to ignore it. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines_v._China https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines_v._China
DiogenesKynikos 7y ago
> China is one of those rare countries in today's world which has border conflicts with each and every of its neighbors Many countries have territorial disputes. India has territorial disputes with China and Pakistan. Japan has territorial disputes with Russia, South Korea and China (and Taiwan, if you count them as a country). Basically every country bordering the South China Sea has territorial disputes with every other country bordering the sea. Yet China hasn't fought a war since 1979, which is something that gets lost in all these discussions. It doesn't fit with the China = expansionist Nazi Germany narrative, I guess. > is openly ignoring international norms There's a very good case to be made that China respects international norms much more than the United States does. The US has repeatedly violated the most important post-WWII international norm - the ban on aggressive war. For citizens of the country that invaded Iraq without provocation and caused the deaths of a million people there, it's a bit rich to go on and on about China not respecting international norms. > I don't think that it is investing heavily in military just for show. Definitely not for show. They're afraid of the United States military, which is funded to the tune of $700 billion/year. China spends a tiny fraction of that on its military. Even as a fraction of GDP, China's military spending is small compared to that of the US.

by yumraj 7y ago

spats1990 7y ago

South Korea has a... border conflict with its northern neighour, a territorial conflict with Japan, and a massive and well armed military given its size. >openly ignoring international norms. Could you explain a bit more about what this means exactly? If you are talking about international law, plenty of world powers ignore it when it suits them.

yumraj 7y ago
For example the arbitrary nine-dash line and China's claim over other countries's territories. China's even lost the case against Philippines [0], but has chosen to ignore it. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines_v._China https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines_v._China

DiogenesKynikos 7y ago

> China is one of those rare countries in today's world which has border conflicts with each and every of its neighbors Many countries have territorial disputes. India has territorial disputes with China and Pakistan. Japan has territorial disputes with Russia, South Korea and China (and Taiwan, if you count them as a country). Basically every country bordering the South China Sea has territorial disputes with every other country bordering the sea. Yet China hasn't fought a war since 1979, which is something that gets lost in all these discussions. It doesn't fit with the China = expansionist Nazi Germany narrative, I guess. > is openly ignoring international norms There's a very good case to be made that China respects international norms much more than the United States does. The US has repeatedly violated the most important post-WWII international norm - the ban on aggressive war. For citizens of the country that invaded Iraq without provocation and caused the deaths of a million people there, it's a bit rich to go on and on about China not respecting international norms. > I don't think that it is investing heavily in military just for show. Definitely not for show. They're afraid of the United States military, which is funded to the tune of $700 billion/year. China spends a tiny fraction of that on its military. Even as a fraction of GDP, China's military spending is small compared to that of the US.