7 ms·

Of course it is in the US strategic interests, the problem is having strategic interests doesn't automatically give the US rights to intervene. Contrary to Ukra

Of course it is in the US strategic interests, the problem is having strategic interests doesn't automatically give the US rights to intervene. Contrary to Ukraine (plain violation of the territorial integrity of a sovereign nation) the situation in Taiwan is complicated (for those who doubt it please at least make the effort to read the Wikipedia entry). Now given recent history I don't doubt the US will not let it slip when their strategic interests are at risk, but at least be lucid. Edit: To clear doubts I should add I would obviously prefer Taiwan stay an independent free democratic country. I'm only tempering the argument I sometimes see (maybe wrongly here) "it's in our best interests" = "it's the right thing".

randomopining 4y ago
Taiwan as a piece of land has much more strategic importance than Ukraine. Ukraine's grain and terrain are the two things that are important about it from a utilitarian sense.
- jychang 4y ago
  Ukraine as a piece of land was Russia's only warmwater port.
  - whimsicalism 4y ago
    Russia has plenty of allies it can use as a warm water port and Crimea was already lost.
  - caskstrength 4y ago
    > Ukraine as a piece of land was Russia's only warmwater port. Why is this obviously incorrect statement that can be easily disproved by just checking the map is being repeated again and again on HN? It is only second in popularity to "Russia invaded Ukraine to prevent NATO on its borders" which can also be trivially disproved by finding Estonia or Latvia on the map...
    - CapricornNoble 4y ago
      >>>Why is this obviously incorrect statement that can be easily disproved by just checking the map is being repeated again and again on HN? Can you list the other warm-water ports used by the Russian Navy? Here's a paper on the subject from the Air Force Journal on European, Middle Eastern, and African Affairs: https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/JEMEAA/Journals/Volume-02_Issue-1/Chauhan.pdf https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/JEMEAA/Journals/... >>>It is only second in popularity to "Russia invaded Ukraine to prevent NATO on its borders" which can also be trivially disproved by finding Estonia or Latvia on the map... While technically true, there is a big difference between the Estonian/Latvian border, and the Ukrainian one. I discussed this 7 months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30513745 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30513745
      - caskstrength 4y ago
        > Can you list the other warm-water ports used by the Russian Navy? OP didn't say anything about Russian Navy specifically. However, do you suggest that Russian Navy couldn't use Novorossiysk for military purpose if need be? > While technically true, there is a big difference between the Estonian/Latvian border, and the Ukrainian one. I discussed this 7 months ago Well, Russia is now getting additional 1,340 km border with a new NATO member (real, not imaginary one like Ukraine) and is apparently completely unfazed by it. In fact they continue to move military from that border into Ukraine. Really makes you think whether they were really worried about spooky-scary NATO or pursuing some other goal in Ukraine all along... Regarding other analysis from your comment - this is not WW2, nobody is tank-rushing capital of nuclear superpower via highways lol. EDIT: Also, I've re-read comment you referenced again and for a person with a lot of "defense consultant"-related buzzwords in profile you seem to be awfully poorly informed about European history. "Keep in mind this is a country who's arguably most important holiday commemorates the war where they lost 25+ million lives fighting off an invasion from a hostile alliance on their western border." is either intentional manipulation or pure ignorance because USSR _were_ part of the alliance and were happy to divide Poland and massacre its people at the beginning of WW2. They like literally started the whole thing themselves, but miscalculated with choosing their allies!
  - Paradigma11 4y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novorossiysk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novorossiysk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murmansk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murmansk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladivostok https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladivostok https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaliningrad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaliningrad ......

randomopining 4y ago

Taiwan as a piece of land has much more strategic importance than Ukraine. Ukraine's grain and terrain are the two things that are important about it from a utilitarian sense.

jychang 4y ago
Ukraine as a piece of land was Russia's only warmwater port.
- whimsicalism 4y ago
  Russia has plenty of allies it can use as a warm water port and Crimea was already lost.
- caskstrength 4y ago
  > Ukraine as a piece of land was Russia's only warmwater port. Why is this obviously incorrect statement that can be easily disproved by just checking the map is being repeated again and again on HN? It is only second in popularity to "Russia invaded Ukraine to prevent NATO on its borders" which can also be trivially disproved by finding Estonia or Latvia on the map...
  - CapricornNoble 4y ago
    >>>Why is this obviously incorrect statement that can be easily disproved by just checking the map is being repeated again and again on HN? Can you list the other warm-water ports used by the Russian Navy? Here's a paper on the subject from the Air Force Journal on European, Middle Eastern, and African Affairs: https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/JEMEAA/Journals/Volume-02_Issue-1/Chauhan.pdf https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/JEMEAA/Journals/... >>>It is only second in popularity to "Russia invaded Ukraine to prevent NATO on its borders" which can also be trivially disproved by finding Estonia or Latvia on the map... While technically true, there is a big difference between the Estonian/Latvian border, and the Ukrainian one. I discussed this 7 months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30513745 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30513745
    - caskstrength 4y ago
      > Can you list the other warm-water ports used by the Russian Navy? OP didn't say anything about Russian Navy specifically. However, do you suggest that Russian Navy couldn't use Novorossiysk for military purpose if need be? > While technically true, there is a big difference between the Estonian/Latvian border, and the Ukrainian one. I discussed this 7 months ago Well, Russia is now getting additional 1,340 km border with a new NATO member (real, not imaginary one like Ukraine) and is apparently completely unfazed by it. In fact they continue to move military from that border into Ukraine. Really makes you think whether they were really worried about spooky-scary NATO or pursuing some other goal in Ukraine all along... Regarding other analysis from your comment - this is not WW2, nobody is tank-rushing capital of nuclear superpower via highways lol. EDIT: Also, I've re-read comment you referenced again and for a person with a lot of "defense consultant"-related buzzwords in profile you seem to be awfully poorly informed about European history. "Keep in mind this is a country who's arguably most important holiday commemorates the war where they lost 25+ million lives fighting off an invasion from a hostile alliance on their western border." is either intentional manipulation or pure ignorance because USSR _were_ part of the alliance and were happy to divide Poland and massacre its people at the beginning of WW2. They like literally started the whole thing themselves, but miscalculated with choosing their allies!
- Paradigma11 4y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novorossiysk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novorossiysk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murmansk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murmansk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladivostok https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladivostok https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaliningrad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaliningrad ......