You guys talking about war and nukes as a real, immediate, factor are tripping.
way out of touch of the realities. imo

Like Poon says (i think) ^^^ it is deterrence. Posturing and shadow play.
The western navy's sail-thru's are just an acknowledgment that this is all part of "The Great Game" - they are political manoeuvres, not military.
ONLY outside uninformed commentators are seriously talking about anybody going to war any time soon - including over Taiwan no matter what happens there.

Meanwhile, back home - our home countries - China's real plans are well underway.
at least some are now waking up, and starting to address the real front line in meaningful ways.

But we also need to re-engage and re-invest in Free Asia or it is all just pissing in the wind.
Aircraft carriers, war, nukes are all just bathtub toys when you are fighting an economic, cultural and political foe - like China's rising power in the region is right now.

And PS - NObody in SEA is going to sign up to a war in ANYbody's backyard here.
get real

Phnom Poon wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 7:01 pm

Khmer_Risotto wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:56 pm If China did anything close to invading Taiwan the US Navy would setup a blockade of the Malacca strait where 90% of China's oil imports go through. In two weeks they'd be down to fumes, game over.

indeed, which is why they won't
not yet anyway, but maybe by 2049

i imagine the PLAN buildup is to deter western intervention in 'less than war' scenarios
though politics would probably be enough

Indeed, and they're working on it right now, such that by then they won't give a shit about any Malacca Strait oil import blockade.

China plans to raise minimum renewable power purchase to 40% by 2030: government document

China will force regional grid firms to buy at least 40% of power from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030 in order to meet the country’s climate targets, according to a new government document seen by Reuters.

President Xi Jinping pledged last year to make China “carbon neutral” by 2060, and said in December it would boost the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 25% by 2030 from a previous commitment of 20%.

Full: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chin ... SKBN2AA0BA

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 8:07 pm it is deterrence. Posturing and shadow play.

exactly
as analogy, it's all body-builder strutting and boxers eye-ball-to-eye-balling each other
the real game is outside the ring
defund gyms, promote junk food, stigmatize physique, etc

china certainly plan to take taiwan eventually
but their plan is more likely hong kong than normandy

sammycooke wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 9:27 am We just want cheap shit and will never lose that. In the meantime they get more and more ahead living from our stupidity and meaningless platitudes about slave labour and the Uighurs. We can't even get it together to make our own critical supplies.

someone does need to maintain standards, or it all descends to a mudfight
eg guantanamo gave license for the uighur camps

"Hey! I have got a problem with China
she is now a serious contender to my global dominance"

"So i think i will go over the other side of the world to SEA and start a war, split the place into splinters and bomb the fuck out the joint.
Maybe drop a few nukes this time.
(easier than using my brains, remaking allies or getting my economy back in black)"

"That's what SEA if for, idn't it?"

still ??