- 23 Sep 2017 06:13
#14845828
The thing about Democracies is that their policies are not written in stone. Governments change. So the question about what America might fear is not really well thought out. Policy is not necessarily representative of America.
Neither the present Chinese or US governments would have much of a design on the other's territory, except where Taiwan is concerned, and as for "China taking it back," it was never Chinese in the first place. It has been claimed, but that's different subject. In the first half of the 19th century Formosa was not part of the Chinese empire. And if my memory serves me, the island had different languages to the mainland.
So hostilities are possible if China decided to invade and the US government thought the defense worth the effort. But I don't think either would risk an all out intercontinental war. Both have a lot to lose. China's claim comes from a time when the radical Communist government saw Taiwan as a Imperialist base for invasion and their overthrow. That fear is hard to justify today. The US lost the Vietnam War, and Iraq and Afghanistan are complete military failures, using successful invasion as a benchmark. Public opinion is not going to see much value in Taiwan if it were to cut off consumer supply.
Neither the present Chinese or US governments would have much of a design on the other's territory, except where Taiwan is concerned, and as for "China taking it back," it was never Chinese in the first place. It has been claimed, but that's different subject. In the first half of the 19th century Formosa was not part of the Chinese empire. And if my memory serves me, the island had different languages to the mainland.
So hostilities are possible if China decided to invade and the US government thought the defense worth the effort. But I don't think either would risk an all out intercontinental war. Both have a lot to lose. China's claim comes from a time when the radical Communist government saw Taiwan as a Imperialist base for invasion and their overthrow. That fear is hard to justify today. The US lost the Vietnam War, and Iraq and Afghanistan are complete military failures, using successful invasion as a benchmark. Public opinion is not going to see much value in Taiwan if it were to cut off consumer supply.
Cue sanctimonious do-gooders, stage left!