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Culture War Roundup for the week of April 7, 2025

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It strikes me as painfully naive of you to assume that the US would not eventually see itself drawn into a Sino Taiwanese-Japanese-Indian-Phillipineo war.

With foreign policy hypotheticals I don't necessarily make realistic assumptions about what the entity whose policy is being considered would do.

Like, I don't think the US is very likely to declare in no uncertain terms that they will not defend Taiwan! But if a cabal of people who thought that we should avoid war with China controlled the US government indefinitely I think that they could also avoid getting drawn into the war you mention. I think that Japan (and likely South Korea) would grab nuclear weapons, India already has them, as hydroacetylene points out Taiwan would probably roll over, and the Philippines (assuming the US did not colonize them again) would get bullied and pushed around by China the same way they already have been. That means that China would be at least somewhat restricted in its ability to use coercive diplomacy to blob acquire additional territory.

(Incidentally why hasn't Trump put the Philippines on the to-grab list next to Greenland?)

I don't model China as being set on global domination through territorial conquest any more than the US is. Perhaps I am wrong. But regardless of whether or not they try to militarily acquire portions of India, Japan, or the Philippines, if the US was controlled by a cabal of people who thought that we should avoid war with China, I do not think China would attack us randomly. As far as I know China does not claim any US possessions, nor do I think they would be likely to go to war with the US over our Pacific possessions. Simply refusing to get involved in a land sea war in Asia is actually a valid option. (As I point out, a valid option with major costs to the United States!)

My point here is not that this is realistic or probable or even good. My point is that if you made me SUPREME DICTATOR OF THE UNITED STATES and my imperative goal was to avoid war with China, I would remove Taiwan as a potential flashpoint.