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Xi warned Biden during summit that Beijing will reunify Taiwan with China

Posted by HackedLuck@reddit | collapse | View on Reddit | 121 comments

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121 Comments

ILearnedTheHardaway@reddit

Used to think it’d never happen but it’s certainly going to. I also don’t see how the US wins tbh. Americans are not gonna throw their lives away for Taiwan and a draft is a non starter there would be so many desertions.
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Plenty_Lettuce5418@reddit

im mad that the red flags indicating a world war incoming are going largely unnoticed by all these narcissistic self important americans. it's pathetic how spoiled most of this country is, so pathetically complacent. we have some hard truths to endure very soon.
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CultivatingMagic@reddit

“All these narcissistic self important Americans” The average American is, themselves, struggling to avoid homelessness. People have more pressing shit going on in their internal lives, hard to care about possible WW3 when you’re one missed paycheck away from asset seizure or homelessness. Who woulda thunk there’s nuance to these things?
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Plenty_Lettuce5418@reddit

who would of thunk theres nuance to my statement where it didn't at all deny that americans are struggling living paycheck to paycheck, but what you see in the mainstream is an advanced hedonism. imagine that ur not the only one with a nuanced opinion crazy.
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CultivatingMagic@reddit

I ain’t reading all that shit unless you put a single paragraph in it.
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Sotap@reddit

This thread has massive Chinese psyops going on. Seriously 🤣
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Plenty_Lettuce5418@reddit

should probably be more careful about your allegations if you want people to take them seriously.
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-peas-@reddit

Honestly, do most people even care? I certainly don't give a single fuck if China takes Taiwan and I think the only people who do are terminally online all-day news consumers care. How does the US even get enough internal support for this? Are they betting on decades of US internal sinophobia propaganda?
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imminentjogger5@reddit

the mainstream media has been demonizing China for decades
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mastermind_loco@reddit

China is not going to invade Taiwan and the U.S. will always keep its One China Policy. Pretty much everything you hear in the media about China is alarmist and propaganda driven. The U.S. and Chinese economy are so intertwined; uncoupling both would unravel the economies of both countries. Also, I know that people think this is 'prime' time for China to invade Taiwan, but I would offer a few facts to those who think that: * U.S. has 2 carrier strike groups in the middle east due to Israel-Hamas War, that is only out of 11 total; * U.S. again just approved a trillion dollar budget for the military, and funding for Ukraine is already being phased out; * The U.S. likely only sent a fraction of a percentage of its weapons stockpiles to Ukraine and whatever was sent is probably old; * The U.S. has 12 major military bases all within a couple hours flight of Taiwan and likely the U.S. would have air superiority in a conflict; * Washington's plans and preparations for defending Taiwan in the case of an invasion are probably extremely extensive. It's extremely hard to imagine a direct conflict between the U.S. and China. People also forget that we have been in this strategic/political posture with China for half a century. It has been the policy of the U.S. for a long time to not recognize the sovereignty of Taiwan. The US official policy also states that we do not support Taiwanese independence.
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linaustin5@reddit

Name a foreign war the US has won aside from world war lol
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XAlphaWarriorX@reddit

Sure! In no particular order: 2 barbary wars All of the wars agaisnt the natives ( guerrilia wins) War of Independance (winning against one of the world's major powers) Second opium war (defeating china ) Mexican american war (Near peer at the time ) The civil war (civil war) Spanish-American war Philipine-american war Invasion of Grenada Invasion of Panama Gulf war Successfully beating the serbs in Yugoslavia Iraq war. A bunch of shit in lybia too i guess Also, contributing to entante and allied victory in the world wars is a perfectly respectable achievement, no real reason discredit it.
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linaustin5@reddit

The world war was the only war US was the clear winner
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XAlphaWarriorX@reddit

I didn't and wont, if i wanted to say that i woud have Also, dunno about you but except for the civil war all the wars listed there were foreign, unless you have a wrong definition of foreign in mind Also, americans went there for oil and they got the oil, sounds like a Win to me, Unless you belive politicians (in general, but specifically ) about the reason the war happened, which woud reflect poorly on your intelligence. Also, again, mexican american war, they went to war, defeated their army, occupied the capital and annexed a big chunk of the country Similar deal with the spanish american war, except for the occupation of the capital.
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linaustin5@reddit

I don’t consider independence war against Britain a foreign war since the war was fought as home personally. I guess it could count as foreign war but I meant foreign more like we attacking on other ppls home turf
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XAlphaWarriorX@reddit

First of all, americans did raid the British home isles, ever heard of Jonh Paul Jones raid on Whitehaven? But even then, even then, Any other complaints.
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linaustin5@reddit

Okay a tiny little raid doesn’t change the fact most of the independence war was fought on home turf lol
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XAlphaWarriorX@reddit

I was being pedantic for the sake of being pedantic. Anything else?
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linaustin5@reddit

Your comment was written in English 😂
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XAlphaWarriorX@reddit

Yea, i know. So was yours. Anything else, Sherlock?
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Grand-Leg-1130@reddit

People said the same thing about Putin before Ukraine, how he was a rational actor and that he would be satisfied with Crimea and the Donbass, but we all saw how that turned out. China sees that our support for Ukraine is flagging and may reasonably believe US doesn't have the will for a direct military confrontation especially considering we have a significant number of congresscritters trying to burn everything down. Xi may believe the next few years may be the last chance to act before China's various internal problems (aging demographics, toxic real estate market, etc) fully catches up to it. Considering how Xi thinks he's the next Mao, I'm not confident that something will not break out especially if Taiwan elects the anti-China candidate in the next election.
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mastermind_loco@reddit

I have to disagree that Ukraine is a good comparison. Putin's invasion of Ukraine was one event in several decades of Ukraine-Russian and Ukraine-NATO relations. Russia continued to propose terms concerning NATO neutrality in Ukraine only two weeks before they invaded Ukraine. President Zelenskyy, when he was elected president, while being egged on by Boris Johnson, made a dramatic shift in policy stating that Ukraine's goal was to join NATO. Russia said for many years that NATO expansion would be viewed as an existential threat and would be unacceptable. So a military response to NATO expansion was always likely. China and the U.S. with regard to Taiwan, in contrast, have remarkably stable foreign relations, as I described above. It is the official policy of both parties to support the One China Policy. Even though there is always a lot of saber rattling in the news, U.S. and China policy really hasn't changed much in 80 years.
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squailtaint@reddit

Until it does. I think you underestimate a dictator and ego. I think, the most likely scenario will be a “testing of the waters”…it will start slow to gauge if the US is actually serious about defending Taiwan. All I know is that we should all be concerned if China goes all in for it, and believes at the onset that the US will get involved. That would tell me they understand the risks, and still believe they can come out on top for a net benefit. They aren’t dumb, they have war gamed this scenario. They know exactly what is predicted…so, I mean, if they go for it, it means they believe they have a card up their sleeve that US/NATO haven’t analyzed in their scenarios.
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Grand-Leg-1130@reddit

The Chinese government also knows they have a ticking time bomb with their various internal issues, the next few years may actually be their last chance at taking Taiwan. A tempting proposition for Xi looking to leave a legacy one way or the other.
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WhiteNinjaN8@reddit

Yes, they are facing huge economic and demographic problems.
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PolyDipsoManiac@reddit

Losing millions of young men in war is famously great for demographics!
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WhiteNinjaN8@reddit

Great point! Though China’s male to female imbalance might see a significant correction. Seriously though, governments notoriously do not care about their populations when balanced against their need or desire to retain power. What’s a couple million male lives compared to gaining AGI first? Especially when they have such an excess.
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PolyDipsoManiac@reddit

Yikes, I didn’t even consider the fact that losing millions of your poorest young men might actually stabilize their society
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WhiteNinjaN8@reddit

Yeah, it’s a cynical take. It’s the Thanos plan. Not enough resources to go around? Throw some of your population into the meat grinder. It’s a very narrow viewpoint that doesn’t take many other factors into consideration.
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235711@reddit

Why do people say they have a demographic problem vs the US? They are actually very similar: https://www.indexmundi.com/factbook/compare/united-states.china/demographics#:~:text=Demographics%20%20%20%20%20%20%20United,0.26%25%20%282021%20est.%29%20%2019%20more%20rows%20
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Grand-Leg-1130@reddit

And that is why I don’t think China is going to be satisfied with the status quo for much longer, if they stick with the status quo beyond the next few years they’ll lose any chance they have at resolving Taiwan in their favor.
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WhiteNinjaN8@reddit

In practice though the US sells arms to Taiwan. The US has partnered with TSMC and they are building a plant in Arizona to blunt the destruction of their facility in Taiwan if China does invade. The importance of TSMC to the development of AGI cannot be overstated. How does one balance the scales between economic stability of the US and China trade, and development of AGI? AGI is the ultimate win. Whoever gets it first will have a huge advantage. Sacrificing global economic stability would be a small price to pay to gain that advantage. In my view this is a battle for AGI, and all other considerations are thrown out the window.
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Tearakan@reddit

We aren't even close to AGI. Don't fall for the tech bro hype. We just got lying large language models. Their usefulness isn't great and they do not understood what they spout.
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-peas-@reddit

AGI was thrown into the mix to get people to buy more of their stocks and crypto. It's not happening any time soon.
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KingRamesesII@reddit

Precisely. The meta narrative here ultimately is AGI/ASI and its very real implications for supremacy.
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PolyDipsoManiac@reddit

Russian talking points, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has *nothing* to do with NATO. If it did, why is Russia pulling troops from the Finnish border to send them to Ukraine? You’d think they’d be a little more wary of NATO if they were actually afraid of NATO. Putin is a mad dictator, once his dictator buddy was deposed only his death or NATO membership would have averted this invasion.
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Sotap@reddit

China can't risk another 100 years of humiliation. Which is what they'd get.
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DirkRockwell@reddit

If China actually invaded Taiwan it would be nothing like Ukraine. The US is only supplying Ukraine with weapons and intel, there are no actual IS fighting forces involved. And even that is enough to severely damage the Russian forces. China invading Taiwan would necessitate an actual military response from the US against the nation-state of China, something that hasn’t been seen since WWII. The full military power of the US against the full military power of China is not even a contest, and any full-scale Military campaign would destroy Taiwan to the point where it isn’t useable by either country, so it’s simply not worth it. Chinese leaders will *always* claim the island because that is culturally expected of them, but saying it’s theirs and actually taking it are two completely different things.
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Tearakan@reddit

Also China and Taiwan are super economically connected. And invading a country like taiwan over water would require more boats than DDay. The military build up would be visible from space. No hiding it. Like DDay wasn't hidden either, it wasn't possible. They just tricked the Germans about where they would land and when.
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Arcturus_Labelle@reddit

This is the correct answer. The doomer porn people in this sub want to think it will happen, but both China and the US have far too much to lose. Such a war would without doubt cause a global recession, to say nothing of the massive amounts of lives and equipment lost. It would make Ukraine look like a walk in the park. Ukraine, as horrible and historic as it is, is not two major powers directly fighting. Taiwan would be.
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Suspicious-Bad4703@reddit

If things don't get less heated soon internationally, there's obviously a major war about to take place. The US is getting stretched thin as hell, our debt is obviously a problem in funding multiple regional proxy wars globally. List of wars and potential conflicts I've read about recently that the US is involved in: Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Guyana, Israel, Ukraine, Yemen, Afghanistan (still), Iraq (still), Taiwan... How is this sustainable? I guess with an over one trillion dollar defense budget it could be.
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_rihter@reddit

The US doesn't have enough oil in its reserves to fight a major war outside its borders, let alone multiple wars.
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BillazeitfaGates@reddit

That will become everyone else's problem before it becomes our imo
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nerdywithchildren@reddit

Exactly. People seem to have forgotten the shape the USA was in pre-WW2
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SomeGuyWithARedBeard@reddit

We had a very different financial situation back then though, we could fund an unlimited total war and now we’re in deep debt and would struggle to keep the economy afloat this time around.
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justadiode@reddit

>now we’re in deep debt The majority of debt is to US citizens, which in case of a war is really not a problem. Said citizens are also, despite everything, still quite wealthy, seeing how ordinary people are supporting everything from Wikipedia to OnlyFans. The moment the US starts issuing War Bonds, it's military budget will grow tenfold
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SomeGuyWithARedBeard@reddit

More Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and inflation has already baked in, do you think Americans will give up groceries to buy war bonds to increase the most bloated military budget in the world by 10x? All so we can fight two or three wars on other country's borders? And for how long will we keep this up? China and Russia have all the natural resources in the world to fight a total war unlike Germany and Japan who had to fight multiple fronts just to capture their resources from the enemy. This is fantastical thinking. It's like saying Vietnam wasn't enough fun, let's have 3 at the same time.
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justadiode@reddit

>More Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and inflation has already baked in, do you think Americans will give up groceries to buy war bonds to increase the most bloated military budget in the world by 10x? All so we can fight two or three wars on other country's borders? They may not give up groceries, but they may hold off on supporting their favorite creator / podcast / whatever and support their country (which is very proficient in propaganda, so they can be quite persuasive). Look, not _all_ Americans live paycheck to paycheck. >China and Russia have all the natural resources in the world to fight a total war unlike Germany and Japan who had to fight multiple fronts just to capture their resources from the enemy. This is fantastical thinking. It's like saying Vietnam wasn't enough fun, let's have 3 at the same time. Thanks for making my point for me. The US is much more like China and Russia in this example and less like Japan and Germany. Hell, US has both of the latter under their thumb and can squeeze them for money, tech and manpower. >I dunno, when the military itself says it can't operate like it is now in 20 years due to resource scarcity and climate change and we're facing collapse everywhere and at home, maybe we should use the diplomacy card for once. The military's job is to bicker to get more resources. They also said before the Ukraine war that the Russian military has become an existential threat and that they need more funds. Well, that aged like milk, didn't it. Also, I'm not supporting US starting wars everywhere, I'm all for the diplomacy card. It's just that isn't what's going to happen.
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SomeGuyWithARedBeard@reddit

After 20 years of the war on terror I doubt Americans are going to jump on board for world war 3. Unlike World War 2 we are not coming out of a depression we are entering a recession and going backwards in standards of living. The military will always ask for more money but the questions are: 1) what are the goals it can realistically achieve? 2) how can it achieve those goals? 3) how can it sustain those goals? A bloated budget spent on the best most precise weapons that are not scalable for a total war over the course of 10+ years of effective use is not a wise approach and bankrupting the country to increase a bloated budget is not wise either.
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CoweringCowboy@reddit

This is incorrect. We are the world’s largest oil producer, with plenty of proven reserves & plenty of unconventional unproven reserves. Why do you think we don’t have enough oil to fight a major war?
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_rihter@reddit

You would need to look at how much oil and petroleum products the US imports and exports besides stuff it has in SPR and other reserves. You can count on the oil trade being disrupted immediately if there's a major war. The price would shoot up and there would be shortages.
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B4SSF4C3@reddit

Correct. But, unlike others, have our own reserves, along with extraction AND refining infrastructure.
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AnyJamesBookerFans@reddit

I’ve read that most of our refineries are designed for a crude that is sourced elsewhere. Granted, there is a lot of crude outside the US but near us (Mexico and Venezuela). And we could certainly build new refineries that can process our domestic crude, but that would take years to get those built and online.
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cwood92@reddit

Sort of. Our refineries were designed to process "heavy" crude oil, largely from the Middle East, which is difficult to refine. Most US oil production is "light and sweet," meaning it is easy to refine, which is why we export it to countries with less sophisticated refining capabilities. We could pretty easily pivot our existing refineries to refining US-produced crude.
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B4SSF4C3@reddit

You’re right, I was def oversimplifying and it’s actually way more complicated. Oil cracking is a fascinating thing, lots of possibilities, not all refineries set up for every type of fuel, etc…
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CoweringCowboy@reddit

The SPR is just a stockpile - an economic tool to blunt some of the price swings in the oil industry. Proven reserves in the ground is a completely different thing. There would definitely be massive disruptions - price increases & scarcity - in the oil market with a major war, but that does not imply that we don’t have enough oil for a major war. The truth of the matter is that we are one of very few nations on earth that can actually supply its own war machine.
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emeraldcitynoob@reddit

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/19/business/us-production-oil-reserves-crude/index.html
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Hyphen_Nation@reddit

Have you seen oil production? We are producing more oil right now than any other country in history...seems kinda like a significant metric for this community...definitely curious to watch the stocks of the military industrial complex...
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roasty_mcshitposty@reddit

I mean the US is producing waaaaay more oil than we used to. China is in a larger debt crisis than America. Their real estate industry is plummeting. The artificial inflation of their GDP with building infrastructure is pretty much at an end. Oh, and their aging population as well as their population decline. Chins doesn't have much time left to be able to even sustain an invasion force. How far will Russian oil carry them realistically? It'll take YEARS to construct the infrastructure to be able to efficiently keep ahead of their burn rate. The next few years will be tense, but I really think Chins is gonna have major troubles keeping their own government afloat by 2030.
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Somebody37721@reddit

Israel has one of the largest remaining shale oil deposits in the world. US is already securing its energy base in anticipation of future conflicts. It will give Israel whatever it asks to cement foothold there.
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Emotional-Catch-2883@reddit

It's more than just budget. Try getting another generation of Americans to throw their lives away halfway across the world. We didn't want to die for Ukraine, I don't see many of us wanting to die for Taiwan either.
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thefiction24@reddit

there is still Selective Service for men 18-25 in USA, which is compulsory.
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PremiumUsername69420@reddit

I wonder what percentage of that population are either overweight or habitual drug users.
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NA_DeltaWarDog@reddit

Holy hell guys we are talking about conscription here. Trust me if you are fat they are going to lock you in a warehouse and abuse you until you are not fat anymore. If you pretend to be useless they are going to put you in bait units like Russia does to prisoners it doesn't trust. I don't think people understand that even Western liberal democracies go full-authoritarianism when war comes around. Anyone in their twenties who thinks they are getting out of conscription based on anything except a criminal record or a physical deformity (or, of course, being well-off and connected) is deluding themselves. >US gubberment don't care bout your diabetes Cletus just git yer fat ass into the trenches. Some of you may die.
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imminentjogger5@reddit

are they going to lock people in a warehouse and abuse them until they become mentally stable again too?
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NA_DeltaWarDog@reddit

No they will just put those people on the front lines. There are lots of names on The Wall in Washington DC that got rewarded with a war after a traumatic childhood.
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imminentjogger5@reddit

what if they end up friendly firing everyone?
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neroisstillbanned@reddit

Historically, the tactic used in these situations was to shoot them in the back if they failed to advance in a timely fashion.
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imminentjogger5@reddit

definitely a morale booster
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dgradius@reddit

I suppose fixing the obesity epidemic is the silver lining, though upcoming crop failures will contribute also
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rhm1989@reddit

People will dodge the draft.
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IzK_3@reddit

Although not *ideal* those that cannot avoid the draft are better off enlisting as something far from combat jobs. Like admin or cyber.
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rhm1989@reddit

They're still complicit in the war machine.
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IzK_3@reddit

Right, so what’s better? Being forcefully shoved into infantry and possibly dying or being a paper pusher? Like I said “those that cannot avoid the draft”.
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rhm1989@reddit

Avoid it by shooting the people enforcing the draft.
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NeJin@reddit

> Avoid it by shooting the people enforcing the draft. But these people shoot back, and that's the exact scenario we want to avoid.
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D_Ethan_Bones@reddit

They'll turn to the draft when the current system stops giving them the endless legions of poor people in need of an immediate living after high school. A guy in my hometown got a leg blown off by an IED, George Dubya came to shake his hand and cry over him. More developed towns around me had people's portraits put up on things like traffic lights and bridges, guessing they came back with flags over them.
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NA_DeltaWarDog@reddit

Where do people think "draft dodgers" are going to run? Think Canada is going to be happy with them hanging out there in the middle of World War III? Like it's Vietnam or something? I am very scared for Gen Z right now. Western media has not been conditioning it's citizens for how close the world actually is to this war.
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neroisstillbanned@reddit

If they don't manage to run, they will just frag their officers like they did in Vietnam.
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NA_DeltaWarDog@reddit

Yes and after that happens a few times, thirty years later you will start to hear rumors about mass executions of problematic conscipts by special forces as those men grapple with PTSD on their deathbeds.
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Twisted_Cabbage@reddit

A good portion of draft eligible age men are severely overweight, or addicted to drugs, or have severe mental health issues. A draft will not work out like they think it will.
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dgradius@reddit

I thought this too but turns out these days 90% of military jobs are noncombat support roles. So they’ll fill the fighting ranks with the best qualified and then the dregs will get the shitkicker jobs.
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Plenty_Lettuce5418@reddit

they know this, which is fueling into the in-the-family vibe the military has now. people joining military most likely have veterans in the family, or members of family still actively serving. nepotism is only one facet of this phenomena. luckily tho most young men around the world are sedentary and have similar physique issues from sitting around too much and not playing sports or whatever.
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Twisted_Cabbage@reddit

I mean politicians when i say "they." The generals know how weak we are in a war of attrition. And i agree with the military being a family affair these days.
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apr0t@reddit

I'll serve crack before I serve this country
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Low_Ad_3139@reddit

I’m so glad my son is too old for this right now. He tried to enlist 15 years ago but couldn’t get in due to some health issues. If it were to get bad enough will they send people with health problems?
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areyouseriousdotard@reddit

We aren't sending troops to Ukraine....tho.
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TTTyrant@reddit

"Officially".
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TTTyrant@reddit

"Officially".
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nommabelle@reddit

Wow, thats crazy. Had no idea the US was involved in so many wars. It makes sense they'd have their hands in most countries' politics even in some shadow way, but .... that's a lot of wars... Also it's crazy to think of a draft happening in 2000's... it seems so "old fashioned", but then again Russia and Ukraine...
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ccasey@reddit

I don’t think you’ll ever see significant troops deployed to these regions. The US can fuck other countries up quite a bit before they need to point an actual gun at them.
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dgradius@reddit

You forgot Myanmar, the U.S. has a few fingers in that pie also.
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footjam@reddit

China's economy is struggling and while war is seen as a distraction, Xi is hoping to get US investment back in China before to advert the war. The issue is China is still not a safe or friendly place to do business. If they dont attack Taiwan soon, they may not get a chance with their economy in near free fall and unemployment over 20%
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Just-a-Leprechaun@reddit

You are wasting too much time reading Gordon Chang
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footjam@reddit

who? this is like basic level understanding of the Chinese economy, the lack of investment, the high unemployment and the need to keep the people "happy" This is a mainstream belief in a sub for fringe ideas...
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cassowary_245@reddit

Xi knows it’s tenuous if the US can even handle the current Middle East conflict after depleting itself over Ukraine. Add in the South China Sea conflict and the US is more likely to fail now than ever before.
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Myth_of_Progress@reddit

Around two years ago, I produced some fairly lengthy analysis and historical context explaining why Taiwan and its eventually re-integration is a non-negotiable item for the People's Republic of China, or any number of its leaders who will run the nation. To quote: >***Has China Won? The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy, Kishore Mahbubani:*** > >The one exceptional trigger for a war involving China is Taiwan. Most of the time, the Chinese leaders have a lot of policy flexibility. There are no strong domestic lobbies to worry about. But the one issue where the Chinese leaders cannot bend and compromise is Taiwan. Any Chinese leader, including Xi Jinping (despite all his power), could be removed if he is perceived to be weak on Taiwan. Why is Taiwan so fundamental to China? There is a very simple explanation. Every Chinese knows the century of humiliation that China suffered from the Opium War to 1949. Nearly all the historical vestiges of this century of humiliation have been removed or resolved, including Hong Kong and Macau. If you're interested in more, check these comments and threads I've made in the past: (1) [Historical Context re: The Taiwanese Question - More Excerpts from *Has China Won? The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy*](https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/q168ze/comment/hfd782g/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) (2) [Contemporary Analysis re: "The US must avoid war with China over Taiwan at all costs" - Lt Col Daniel L Davis (ret); The Guardian](https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/q2qr9u/comment/hfmxj3q/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) *\[In-depth\]*
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PNWSocialistSoldier@reddit

Yeah westerners don’t understand that this is non negotiable. It always has been. Let alone for modern industrial reasons look at the historical. Taiwan is part of China, and it always has been. More so then Hawaii to the United States lol.
View on Reddit #16288308

Myth_of_Progress@reddit

I won't be putting forward my particular political stance on the matter, but as Asian-Pacific geopolitics only recently became a "mainstream" affair in the ongoing Second Cold War ... I always find discussions on the People's Republic of China and Taiwan (the Republic of China) lacking in historical context, detail, and nuance. I would invite our community here to take a look at some of my previous research on this particular topic, if only to understand what paths might lie ahead for the PRC, for Taiwan, for surrounding East Asian nations, and even for the ever-exceptional United States of America.
View on Reddit #16290701

neroisstillbanned@reddit

Technically, Taiwan hasn't always been a part of China, but the Qing did first acquire it about a century before the US was founded. The other reason Taiwan is non-negotiable is because the current government there is Han Chinese and is a legacy of some unfinished civil war business.
View on Reddit #16295036

Myth_of_Progress@reddit

Not contesting what you're stating, but this is why I keep asking everyone here to read some of my previous posts on the matter ... >***Has China Won? The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy, Kishore Mahbubani:*** > >It was Chinese territory until China was forced to hand it to Japan after the humiliating defeat in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. The Chinese have been disappointed by the Western powers several times on Taiwan. At the end of World War I, when China thought it had worked with the Western powers, it initially received assurance from America and the British that Taiwan would be returned to China at the Versailles Peace Conference. > >As Rana Mitter reports: “*Under the treaty \[of Versailles\], Germany had to give up its territories on Chinese soil, along with all its other colonies around the world. The Chinese assumed that the territories would be restored to the young republic, as a reward for the efforts of the nearly 100,000 Chinese workers who had been sent to the Western Front in Europe to assist the British and French. But the territories were awarded instead to Japan. The Western Allies turned out to have made simultaneous secret agreements with both China and Japan in order to bring them both in on the Allied side.*” > >China felt enormously deceived by the West at this conference. The failure to return Shandong triggered the massive protests that broke out on May 4, 1919. The May Fourth Movement holds a special place in Chinese memories. > >This history has taught the Chinese not to accept Western assurances. Any move by America or any other Western power to support, directly or indirectly, the secession of Taiwan from China brings back this historical memory. It provokes a strong, powerful, and virulent national reaction, which boxes in any Chinese leader who may be trying to look for room to maneuver. > >America cannot claim that it doesn’t understand the significance of Taiwan. It was clearly the hottest issue to resolve when Nixon and Kissinger began the process of reconciliation with China. \[...\]
View on Reddit #16296028

Sotap@reddit

Ehhh, Taiwan is the original Chinese government anyway, Japan, Australia, USA... They will have to island hop, and look terrible internationally. They should probably just remove xi ;)
View on Reddit #16295084

collapse-ModTeam@reddit

Hi, HackedLuck. Thanks for contributing. However, your [submission](https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/18n1rhy/-/) was removed from /r/collapse for: > Rule 3: Posts must be on-topic, focusing on collapse. > Posts must be focused on collapse. If the subject matter of your post has less focus on collapse than it does on issues such as prepping, politics, or economics, then it probably belongs in another subreddit. Your post is better suited for /r/worldnews, please share it there. > ----- Every single leader of the PRC from Mao onwards has said this many times. Please refer to our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/about/rules/) for more information. You can [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/collapse) if you feel this was in error, please include a link to the comment or post in question.
View on Reddit #16292664

HackedLuck@reddit (OP)

Collapse statement: I thought this was significant enough to warrant a post here. Global tensions are at a all time high, and a conflict with Taiwan could be the keg to set it all ablaze. Xi issued a strongly worded statement that Taiwan *will* be reunified, and has little intention to respect the wishes of the upcoming election. Why does the US care so much and why does this invite the possibility of such bloodshed? With the US being a tech behemoth, it relies heavily on Taiwan for it's supply of semi-conductors. Losing such would be considered a national security risk. The issue with Taiwan is non-negotiable for both nations and a conflict would further cement what little time humanity has.
View on Reddit #16276391

deepdivisions@reddit

The plan is to Ukraine the Philippines down to the last Filipino in case anyone in the USA is concerned about how the USA is going to go about this.
View on Reddit #16279925

DastardlyMime@reddit

By which you mean outfit them with tech and arms?
View on Reddit #16291645

PolyDipsoManiac@reddit

This has been China’s stance for a long time and they have repeatedly asserted it…which is actually a pretty good indication they’re not gonna do shit. [China’s final warning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China's_final_warning)
View on Reddit #16285619

Grand-Leg-1130@reddit

China also territorial ambitions beyond Taiwan, just look at their ocean based claims, considering we’re about to throw Ukraine to the wolves this is probably a good a time as any to enforce their territorial claims as they may rightfully believe the world is just going the appeasement route rather than risk nuclear confrontation. I would also watch for the likes of Ethiopia, they really really want that coastline in Eritrea.
View on Reddit #16277087

Grand-Leg-1130@reddit

Who can blame him for taking this chance as this is as good as it’s going to get, we’re about to throw Ukraine under the bus because conservatives in Congress are compromised.
View on Reddit #16276053

-peas-@reddit

Did Americans really care about Ukraine more than a few weeks other than the most terminally online liberals?
View on Reddit #16291469

SomeGuyWithARedBeard@reddit

It’s a nonpartisan viewpoint that the Ukraine project isn’t going to succeed in pushing Russia out and that the current regime in Kiev is unstable. As such the west needs an off ramp to an endless war that drags western economies and military spending down such that they then can’t respond as easily to a major war elsewhere. The republicans aren’t driving this ship, they just think Biden is going to eat defeat and so taking a political stance is beneficial to their goals for 2024. The reality is if Ukraine had a chance to win the neocons would be getting both parties in lock-step to more war easily.
View on Reddit #16282860

Arcturus_Labelle@reddit

>an endless war that drags western economies and military spending down If Ukraine were sufficiently funded with the type of long-range arms they've been asking for for so long, the war wouldn't have dragged on. The above comment is parroting Russian/Republican talking points.
View on Reddit #16287619

SomeGuyWithARedBeard@reddit

They received plenty of long range arms for striking the Russian military inside Ukraine (many of which were used up or shot down, no weapon has a 100% success rate and Russia's air defense integration is top notch globally). What they didn't receive were weapons sufficient for striking Russia itself which would be a huge escalation that Russia would respond to. That is the nature of the conflict that Russia forced - one in which there would be barriers to further escalation by NATO and the west.
View on Reddit #16289874

HackedLuck@reddit (OP)

Not to mention we're at the start of a AI arms race, a technological advantage now plays an important role in the hierarchy later. The US has made efforts to dampen China in this realm, it's looks like that kindness may be returned.
View on Reddit #16276850

Plenty_Lettuce5418@reddit

the third trumpet. time to get a doctors note so u don't get drafted.
View on Reddit #16289398

futurefirestorm@reddit

Xi is not worried- all he has to do is look at the Red Sea. We don’t attack the middle launch sites, we just shoot down the missiles… we, the U.S. isn’t scary anymore.
View on Reddit #16284442

Eatpineapplenow@reddit

This is absolutely going to happen
View on Reddit #16279937

Bitter-Platypus-1234@reddit

> New images of China’s fourth Type 075 Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) amphibious assault carriers nearing completion at the shipyard warrant examining their role in a Taiwan operation. > While China is militarily larger than Taiwan and has openly advocated taking a military recourse if needed, it still has certain areas left to be addressed to be prepared for all eventualities. > Experts say the Type 075 can undertake highly complex operations like amphibious landings. With the complete fleet yet to be ready, they suggest it still has some distance left to go before it is assessed to be “fully prepared” for a cross-strait war. https://www.eurasiantimes.com/chinas-4th-type-75-amphibious-assault-carriers-nears/?amp
View on Reddit #16279188

pjay900@reddit

I really hope they go to war being young and have to live with climate doom and bleak economy can be too much.
View on Reddit #16278664

StatementBot@reddit

The following submission statement was provided by /u/HackedLuck: --- Collapse statement: I thought this was significant enough to warrant a post here. Global tensions are at a all time high, and a conflict with Taiwan could be the keg to set it all ablaze. Xi issued a strongly worded statement that Taiwan *will* be reunified, and has little intention to respect the wishes of the upcoming election. Why does the US care so much and why does this invite the possibility of such bloodshed? With the US being a tech behemoth, it relies heavily on Taiwan for it's supply of semi-conductors. Losing such would be considered a national security risk. For China, Taiwan is viewed significant cultural/political loss, as well as a foundation against it's global adversary. The issue with Taiwan is non-negotiable for both nations and a conflict would further cement what little time humanity has. --- Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/18n1rhy/xi_warned_biden_during_summit_that_beijing_will/ke7rjel/
View on Reddit #16278054

_rihter@reddit

My opinion: The US won't allow Taiwan to surrender without a fight (1 country 2 systems) even if they want to agree to such a deal with China.
View on Reddit #16277055