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> Remind me again why China supports Russian aggression in the Ukraine? China is bordering Russia. If you think that somehow doesn't change the type of relatio

> Remind me again why China supports Russian aggression in the Ukraine? China is bordering Russia. If you think that somehow doesn't change the type of relationship both parties are forced to have you don't understand geopolitics. The United States has extremely weak neighbors and huge oceans separating us from threats. Obviously our situation is very different.

augment001 4y ago
> China is bordering Russia. If you think that somehow doesn't change the type of relationship both parties are forced to have you don't understand geopolitics. Can you explain what you are thinking? One implication is that China is supporting Russia because they are afraid of a Russian military actin, but is that what you mean?
- endisneigh 4y ago
  Basically it means you should be friendly to your neighbors. To use a crude analogy - if you're in a apartment complex you would probably be nicer to your neighbor than if they lived in another building, and not literally next to you, right? Russia, China and India are the three neighbors living in a triplex. Meanwhile the United States is in a mansion surrounded by a moat a mile away.
  - augment001 4y ago
    Honestly, that’s not an explanation. If one of your neighbors was beating up and stealing from another of your neighbors, are your really saying you’d cosy up to them? By this logic you’d expect Finland to be Russia’s best friend. I am critical of the Chinese system of government, but I’d never think of them as cowards.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - endisneigh 4y ago
      Is China cozying up to Russia? By what metric, and for reference, using the same metric, how much is the United States, and other countries "cozying" up?
      - augment001 4y ago
        I guess you haven’t been watching the news.
        endisneigh 4y ago
        Please inform me, then. By what metrics is China cozying up with Russia, and what are the same numbers for USA and co?
        augment001 4y ago
        It’s not my job to inform you. If you don’t think China is supporting Russia’s position then you need to do some reading. Also, I guess you can’t explain why Finland isn’t Russia’s best friend despite bordering Russia.
        endisneigh 4y ago
        Don't make claims you can't back up, lol.
        augment001 4y ago
        You first. This whole ‘metrics’ question is a distraction. If you can explain why your argument doesn’t apply to Finland, I’ll point you to a news report showing China’s support for Russia.
      - seanmcdirmid 4y ago
        Xi expressed China's unconditional support for Russia, and then Xi's foreign minister later came back and said that the unconditional support was actually conditional. So they are actually playing the whole conflict from both sides, which is much more of a traditional Chinese position.
    - revolvingocelot 4y ago
      >By this logic you’d expect Finland to be Russia’s best friend "Finlandization is the process by which one powerful country makes a smaller neighboring country refrain from opposing the former's foreign policy rules, while allowing it to keep its nominal independence and its own political system. [...] The Finnish political cartoonist Kari Suomalainen once explained Finlandization as "the art of bowing to the East without mooning the West"." [0] The Soviet Union's collapse allowed Finland to spread its wings a bit more broadly, but it's worth pointing out that yes, Finland was cozying up to the Soviet Union like mad, in order to best survive their physical proximity. The logic does seem to check out, at least while the bogeyman of the USSR still shambled around. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlandization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlandization
no_wizard 4y ago
Yet those "weak" neighbors feel just fine criticizing the US and entering disputes[0][1], to which we don't respond by just invading them, clearly. China can defend itself just fine, is the general assertion they make, so what are they worried about exactly? If Finland can speak out against Russia, why can't China? [0]: https://apnews.com/article/science-technology-business-mexico-canada-3c4d474c2e3dd01b1c93602ff0d014c9 https://apnews.com/article/science-technology-business-mexic... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_softwood_lumber_dispute https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_s...
- endisneigh 4y ago
  https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/202302/t20230224_11030713.html https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/202302/t2023022...
  - no_wizard 4y ago
    This bypasses my central point, which is they're clearly continuing to support Russia and not act in any way to diminish their ability to stop being an aggressor, despite this press release, the reality is clear: they don't care about the Ukraine or applying pressure to Russia to resolve this

augment001 4y ago

> China is bordering Russia. If you think that somehow doesn't change the type of relationship both parties are forced to have you don't understand geopolitics. Can you explain what you are thinking? One implication is that China is supporting Russia because they are afraid of a Russian military actin, but is that what you mean?

endisneigh 4y ago
Basically it means you should be friendly to your neighbors. To use a crude analogy - if you're in a apartment complex you would probably be nicer to your neighbor than if they lived in another building, and not literally next to you, right? Russia, China and India are the three neighbors living in a triplex. Meanwhile the United States is in a mansion surrounded by a moat a mile away.
- augment001 4y ago
  Honestly, that’s not an explanation. If one of your neighbors was beating up and stealing from another of your neighbors, are your really saying you’d cosy up to them? By this logic you’d expect Finland to be Russia’s best friend. I am critical of the Chinese system of government, but I’d never think of them as cowards.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - endisneigh 4y ago
    Is China cozying up to Russia? By what metric, and for reference, using the same metric, how much is the United States, and other countries "cozying" up?
    - augment001 4y ago
      I guess you haven’t been watching the news.
      - endisneigh 4y ago
        Please inform me, then. By what metrics is China cozying up with Russia, and what are the same numbers for USA and co?
        augment001 4y ago
        It’s not my job to inform you. If you don’t think China is supporting Russia’s position then you need to do some reading. Also, I guess you can’t explain why Finland isn’t Russia’s best friend despite bordering Russia.
        endisneigh 4y ago
        Don't make claims you can't back up, lol.
        augment001 4y ago
        You first. This whole ‘metrics’ question is a distraction. If you can explain why your argument doesn’t apply to Finland, I’ll point you to a news report showing China’s support for Russia.
    - seanmcdirmid 4y ago
      Xi expressed China's unconditional support for Russia, and then Xi's foreign minister later came back and said that the unconditional support was actually conditional. So they are actually playing the whole conflict from both sides, which is much more of a traditional Chinese position.
  - revolvingocelot 4y ago
    >By this logic you’d expect Finland to be Russia’s best friend "Finlandization is the process by which one powerful country makes a smaller neighboring country refrain from opposing the former's foreign policy rules, while allowing it to keep its nominal independence and its own political system. [...] The Finnish political cartoonist Kari Suomalainen once explained Finlandization as "the art of bowing to the East without mooning the West"." [0] The Soviet Union's collapse allowed Finland to spread its wings a bit more broadly, but it's worth pointing out that yes, Finland was cozying up to the Soviet Union like mad, in order to best survive their physical proximity. The logic does seem to check out, at least while the bogeyman of the USSR still shambled around. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlandization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlandization

no_wizard 4y ago

Yet those "weak" neighbors feel just fine criticizing the US and entering disputes[0][1], to which we don't respond by just invading them, clearly. China can defend itself just fine, is the general assertion they make, so what are they worried about exactly? If Finland can speak out against Russia, why can't China? [0]: https://apnews.com/article/science-technology-business-mexico-canada-3c4d474c2e3dd01b1c93602ff0d014c9 https://apnews.com/article/science-technology-business-mexic... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_softwood_lumber_dispute https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_s...

endisneigh 4y ago
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/202302/t20230224_11030713.html https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/202302/t2023022...
- no_wizard 4y ago
  This bypasses my central point, which is they're clearly continuing to support Russia and not act in any way to diminish their ability to stop being an aggressor, despite this press release, the reality is clear: they don't care about the Ukraine or applying pressure to Russia to resolve this