[rodonn]

I don't understand how you think that building up defensive capabilities is provoking war. Making the cost of invading higher makes it less likely the PRC will try to invade. The US's long standing goal has been to preserve peace in the Taiwan strait by making the cost of attempting to invade sufficiently high to deter PRC from making the attempt at invading https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/35...

[corethree]

Russia did the same thing to Cuba. Just like one or two missiles.

Did you see how the US reacted to that?

Honestly what do you think the Chinese are thinking? We whine at even one missile in Cuba while China and every other country has to accept the fact that the US has military weapons and outposts around the world. Seriously this is a hugely provocative move.

Also as a Taiwanese person I agree with the US about how the lives of Taiwanese people are more important then those in Gaza (sarcasm). Weaponize Taiwan but let Israel slaughter its enemies. In reality the US could give a shit about either people. This is a story about patriotism and power.

China is becoming an economic and technological peer to the US and in order to stop it the US needs to stop china from controlling the Pacific and tsmc. This is what's going on. Not some preservation of peace, that's garbage.

The attitude of the American public largely echoes your point of view. Basically at the back of your mind you know it's a power play coming out of jealousy and fear, but we lie to ourselves and pretend it's some sort of move to defend the innocent people of Taiwan. Well as I stated earlier that's a lie we Americans tell ourselves. I have a realistic view of this because my heritage straddles both worlds and I can tell you the US side is the delusional one. To clarify the US is making logical and rational military maneuvers in terms of power projection at the greatest threat but their justification for such maneuvers is delusional. Your post is one example of the delusion.

The hypocrisy of what's going on in the middleeast and Ukraine is proof of that. Unless you actually believe that the lives of Taiwanese people are worth more than those in Ukraine and the middleeast. Think about why military intervention is justified for Taiwan and not Ukraine.

[arp242]

Unless I am misremembering the history, the missiles on Cuba were nuclear missiles. These are purely offensive weapons that have very little defensive capabilities.

Based on that alone I'd say the situations are pretty different. I'd be strongly opposed to arming Taiwan with nuclear capabilities, and feel China would indeed be justified in that case. But that's academic talk because no such thing is happening.

As for the rest: sometimes geopolitics and morality aligns. This is one of those cases, IMHO.

[somewhereoutth]

The US is not attempting to base nuclear weapons on Taiwan, so the comparison with Cuba does not stand up.

US moves can be both logical and rational in terms of power projection, and defend the innocent people of Taiwan. As a trading power, wanting to trade fairly and securely around the world with independent nations (ok so that is a bit of a stretch), it should be no surprise, and indeed quite gratifying that those two aims coincide.

US foriegn policy is not to create an empire, but to prevent others from doing so (USSR, and now China). Don't try to create empires, don't get the foot!

[jauntywundrkind]

> Honestly what do you think the Chinese are thinking? We whine at even one missile in Cuba

To my knowledge we have not equipped Taiwan with nuclear missiles, which is what the Cuban Missile Crisis was about. Big difference.

> while China and every other country has to accept the fact that the US has military weapons and outposts around the world. Seriously this is a hugely provocative move.

provocative seems like a questionable choice of words, given that the US military has time and time again been used to resist militarists & authoritarians exploiting populations. We have enormous military capability that we don't use, that is not for making war, but defending the world against warlike powers.

> China is becoming an economic and technological peer to the US and in order to stop it the US needs to stop china from controlling the Pacific and tsmc. This is what's going on.

Can't it become an economic and technological power without pushing around & pushing out so many neighbors? Here's to Chinas rise, I hope it does great, but it keeps acting so zero sum, keeps creating conflict, and it gives everyone great unease to see such military buildup from a country that keeps acting hard & ardent to those around it.

> The attitude of the American public largely echoes your point of view. Basically at the back of your mind you know it's a power play coming out of jealousy and fear,

Absolutely on fear. We are scared of an authoritarian country so ready to go to war with it's neighbors, so willing to push people around. We have projected power so far for so long, but so rarely begun conflict, in hopes of preventing destabilization in the world, in hopes of preventing authoritarian overreach.

As for the whataboutism of other situations, the US has greatly helped Ukraine & our direct involvement would make it World War scale, so let's not if we can. We have both given Israel Patriot and Iron Dome missile-defense systems, while trying to get neighbors & Israel moving towards peaceful resolution. We are trying. Although you lambast us in these situations, we seem to be doing all we can in both situations to re-stabilize the world & in spite of your sharp words it's unclear what we could be doing better.