The Tug-of-War Between Western Powers and China

[Audie]

There's still the matter of Taiwan of which the US is obligated via the Taiwan Act.

USA is not that good at honouring its treaties

 

[Revoltingest]

Sanctions are an act of war and have never achieved what they are claimed to achieve.

Evidence?

If only we could all engage in trading instead of wars.

Tell that to Putin.

Why is the US viewing China as a threat? Why does the US view any country as a threat?

Big questions beyond the scope of this thread.

It seems odd that the US has so many enemies.

Not odd to me.
It results from bad leadership.

Why the baseless accusations about China invading Taiwan? China has not had a problem with the One China policy so what gives?.

Baseless?
Oh dear...I almost succumbed to the
temptation to make a Kool-Aid jab.

 

[lukethethird]

Evidence+

Tell that to Putin.

Big questions beyond the scope of this thread.

Not odd to me.
It results from bad leadership.

Baseless?
Oh dear...I almost succumbed to the
temptation to make a Kool-Aid jab.

What do sanctions accomplish? How have sanctions helped the people of N Korea?

What is the evidence that China is threatening to attack Taiwan? I have heard the notion parroted a million times but what is the actual evidence for this accusation?
Do you believe US navy ships in the China Seas is a defensive measure or an act of provocation and aggression?

 

[Revoltingest]

What do sanctions accomplish? How have sanctions helped the people of N Korea?

What is the evidence that China is threatening to attack Taiwan? I have heard the notion parroted a million times but what is the actual evidence for this accusation?
Do you believe US navy ships in the China Seas is a defensive measure or an act of provocation and aggression?

Instead of offering the asked for
evidence, you only ask it of me, eh?
This isn't worth continuing.

 

[lukethethird]

Instead of offering the asked for
evidence, you only ask it of me, eh?
This isn't worth continuing.

If sanctions have accomplished something positive, I am asking you what that would be? I don't have any evidence for sanctions accomplishing anything positive? Do you? I can provide negatives, starving masses, leaders gaining a more powerful grip while the population becomes more dependant on their leader, that sort of thing. Maybe that is the goal, to starve the masses, to allow dictators to gain the upper hand.

 

[Revoltingest]

If sanctions have accomplished something positive, I am asking you what that would be? I don't have any evidence for sanctions accomplishing anything positive? Do you? I can provide negatives, starving masses, leaders gaining a more powerful grip while the population becomes more dependant on their leader, that sort of thing. Maybe that is the goal, to starve the masses, to allow dictators to gain the upper hand.

I've nothing to add/

 

[Twilight Hue]

USA is not that good at honouring its treaties

It's an act passed by congress. Violation of an act is illegal far as I know.

 

[Stevicus]

Somewhat related to this topic, I saw this article earlier this morning:

Inside the delicate art of maintaining America's aging nuclear weapons

The U.S. will spend more than $750 billion over the next decade to overhaul nearly every part of its nuclear defenses and replace systems that in some cases are more than 50 years old.

apnews.com

KANSAS CITY NATIONAL SECURITY CAMPUS, Mo. (AP) — In an ultra-sterile room at a secure factory in Kansas City, U.S. government technicians refurbish the nation’s nuclear warheads. The job is exacting: Each warhead has thousands of springs, gears and copper contacts that must work in conjunction to set off a nuclear explosion.

Eight hundred miles (about 1,300 kilometers) away in New Mexico, workers in a steel-walled vault have an equally delicate task. Wearing radiation monitors, safety goggles and seven layers of gloves, they practice shaping new warhead plutonium cores — by hand.

And at nuclear weapons bases across the country, troops as young as 17 keep 50-year-old warheads working until replacements are ready. A hairline scratch on a warhead’s polished black cone could send the bomb off course.

I can't say I like the saber-rattling that's been going on lately, but one thing is certain: If you're going to rattle your saber, best to check and see how sharp it is first.

Those workers are about to get a lot busier. The U.S. will spend more than $750 billion over the next 10 years replacing almost every component of its nuclear defenses, including new stealth bombers, submarines and ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles in the country’s most ambitious nuclear weapons effort since the Manhattan Project.

It’s been almost eight decades since a nuclear weapon has been fired in war. But military leaders warn that such peace may not last. They say the U.S. has entered an uneasy era of global threats that includes a nuclear weapons buildup by China and Russia’s repeat threats to use a nuclear bomb in Ukraine. They say that America’s aged weapons need to be replaced to ensure they work.

“What we want to do is preserve our way of life without fighting major wars,” said Marvin Adams, director of weapons programs for the Department of Energy. “Nothing in our toolbox really works to deter aggressors unless we have that foundation of the nuclear deterrent.”

So, our current nuclear arsenal has gotten too old and needs to be replaced. I've read that other aspects of the U.S. military might need expansion or upgrade. A while back I was reading about the dwindling number of port facilities.

If it comes to a major confrontation, I don't think America could stand alone, though combined with our Allies (not just in Europe, but also Japan, South Korea, Australia/NZ, etc.), we could still exert a formidable force if we needed to. But we'd also have to put ourselves on more of a war footing and devote more resources to weapons production, weapons research, etc.

 

[Revoltingest]

So, our current nuclear arsenal has gotten too old and needs to be replaced.

It doesn't work quite that way. All systems
need maintenance, testing, & periodic upgrades.
But this is a good sign, ie, weapons that aren't
used get old & even obsolete.