2 ms·
All of that being said, I wrongly predicted that Russia wouldn't invade, because I rightly predicted the invasion would be a disaster for Russia. A CCP invasio
by baryphonic 4y ago
All of that being said, I wrongly predicted that Russia wouldn't invade, because I rightly predicted the invasion would be a disaster for Russia.
A CCP invasion of Taiwan would be even more disastrous for the PRC. They would need to conduct an amphibious assault, gain air superiority against "the quad" (no easy task), and would be unlikely to gain control of TSMC.[0]
I think my reason for miscalculating the Russian invasion had to do with reasons unrelated to the actual military campaign: Putin felt that Russia's culture was existentially threatened by the West, its ability to invade was monotonically decreasing, and believed that a largely ineffectual, predictable US administration that appears to follow the mantra "speak loudly and carry a paper straw" wouldn't resort to extreme measures to stop Russia. In other words, invasion made total sense from a certain political-cultural calculus.
I'm much more worried about the CCP, who have become increasingly ultra-nationalist, including concentration camps and racial-superiority indoctrination in schools (including something like a "stabbed in the back" narrative). The political crackdowns have become quite severe, and the Chinese financial is in bad shape, so an attempted invasion of Taiwan may increasingly be the thing the Party sees as bolstering their position domestically.
The invasion would still be a disaster, and I have a feeling that the US & Taiwan already have plans to relocate the personnel from Taiwan's TSMC facilities to the US in order to use their specialized knowledge in order to keep producing superior chips.
[0] https://www.jonstokes.com/p/why-a-chinese-invasion-of-taiwan https://www.jonstokes.com/p/why-a-chinese-invasion-of-taiwan