by Trevor » Sat Jun 28, 2025 5:52 am
When it comes to Russia and China being allies, it's important to remember that in the early days of the Second World War, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union collaborated with one another. Until June 22, 1941, the USSR butchered just as many people and according to some estimates, more.
The Soviets helped build the military Hitler turned on them, and I suspect Putin's making the same mistake. China's vulnerable to a blockade and their navy doesn't have the strength to challenge us, let alone adding Japan, South Korea, and others to the mix. Russia's invasion of Ukraine raises a lot of questions as to how impressive Chinese hardware really is. If it was as capable as they claimed, I suspect they'd have already launched their attack.
I fear we're going to make the same mistake as our ancestors. Even in 1939, Britain and France could have stopped Hitler without massive loss of life. When invading Poland, he left their western border almost undefended. His generals thought he'd lost his mind, but Hitler gambled that Britain and France wouldn't do anything substantial to stop him. He was right. Both nations were desperate to avoid another war, leading to far greater loss of life through their inaction. Think about today; after Afghanistan and especially Iraq, there's no attitude for more overseas adventures. Far as most people are concerned, let the world deal with its own problems.
Such an attitude is understandable, but it's shortsighted. We can't ignore the rest of the world, however tempting it might be.
China might want to have all their preparations ready, but no plan survives contact with the enemy. Since Covid, China is no longer seen as a rival: they're an enemy, to both parties. The more complicated the plan, the more that can go wrong, and while time is on their side in certain aspects, they've got massive problems of their own. The days of 10% growth are over, even taking their figures at face value.
Where I disagree with Navigator is my uncertainty about how closely these nations are collaborating. They might have a common goal, but there's a lot of bad blood between them, and their opposition to us is about the only thing they have in common. There's also India, a nation Russia has been close to historically, and China's enemy.
When it comes to Russia and China being allies, it's important to remember that in the early days of the Second World War, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union collaborated with one another. Until June 22, 1941, the USSR butchered just as many people and according to some estimates, more.
The Soviets helped build the military Hitler turned on them, and I suspect Putin's making the same mistake. China's vulnerable to a blockade and their navy doesn't have the strength to challenge us, let alone adding Japan, South Korea, and others to the mix. Russia's invasion of Ukraine raises a lot of questions as to how impressive Chinese hardware really is. If it was as capable as they claimed, I suspect they'd have already launched their attack.
I fear we're going to make the same mistake as our ancestors. Even in 1939, Britain and France could have stopped Hitler without massive loss of life. When invading Poland, he left their western border almost undefended. His generals thought he'd lost his mind, but Hitler gambled that Britain and France wouldn't do anything substantial to stop him. He was right. Both nations were desperate to avoid another war, leading to far greater loss of life through their inaction. Think about today; after Afghanistan and especially Iraq, there's no attitude for more overseas adventures. Far as most people are concerned, let the world deal with its own problems.
Such an attitude is understandable, but it's shortsighted. We can't ignore the rest of the world, however tempting it might be.
China might want to have all their preparations ready, but no plan survives contact with the enemy. Since Covid, China is no longer seen as a rival: they're an enemy, to both parties. The more complicated the plan, the more that can go wrong, and while time is on their side in certain aspects, they've got massive problems of their own. The days of 10% growth are over, even taking their figures at face value.
Where I disagree with Navigator is my uncertainty about how closely these nations are collaborating. They might have a common goal, but there's a lot of bad blood between them, and their opposition to us is about the only thing they have in common. There's also India, a nation Russia has been close to historically, and China's enemy.