Quote:
Originally Posted by Skybird
[...] That allows the question why if Taiwan lets things slide like this, any US sailor or marine or pilot should be worth it to fight their war for them?
Taiwains example reminds me of Germany and its "defence"  policy. [...] |
I somehow agree .. but is there still a policy?
Last i heard was that the artificial rivets (not needed, the hull is welded, just for show) of the Gorch Fock had costed 200,000 Euros, because they all have to be welded on the plates, every each and single one.
There can be no better way than fake rivets on a 100-year-old sailing ship, to impress any adversary..
But then
1. Why does german "freedom" has to be "defended" in the Hindukusch (Afghanistan, or in Taiwan, or near Alpaha Centauri?)
2. What has NATO to do with all of it, by definition of its founding.
Defence against bigger countries from military to hegemonial threats is always a a problem for smaller countries (therefore NATO and EU), and almost all other countries are smaller than China, or Russia.
Of course, what you mean is they should do their share in a bigger context of a military union alright, but other than Germany Taiwan is alone, so the comparison to Germany is not quite right. They can probably never build arms and maintain a military on a level compared to China, alone.
What if Taiwan had own nuclear weapons? (I guess the last US ones were removed in 1972?)