Tango01 | 01 Jun 2020 9:55 p.m. PST |
…Power? "With communist authorities in China openly and gleefully shredding the post-World War II liberal order, it may be time for the United States and Taiwan to show Beijing the dangers of doing so by allowing Taiwan to become a nuclear weapons power. Chinese President Xi Jinping is on the warpath. He has abrogated the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration which guaranteed Hong Kong's special status more than a quarter-century early. He has precipitated the worst military crisis with India since the 1962 Sino-India War. His repression and incarceration of the Uighur minority is on a scale far greater than what happened during the Balkan wars at the end of the 20th century. China's artificial island-building in the South China Sea and its farcical and ahistorical claims to the "Nine-Dash Line" represent a land grab against the Philippines and the theft of maritime resources against other regional states…" Main page link Amicalement Armand
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jdpintex | 01 Jun 2020 10:55 p.m. PST |
The answer to your question is no However recognition of the ROC and their acceptance within the UN should be on the table |
Skarper | 01 Jun 2020 11:10 p.m. PST |
Non-proliferation should still be the goal. At the same time reducing nuclear arsenals everywhere – somehow. The money needed to build and maintain nuclear arms would be better spent on other things. Some on non-military stuff for sure – but some on actually usable forces. Some countries should just drop out of the arms race altogether. I don't understand what the UK thinks it is playing at – delusions of long lost grandeur is about all I can see. Full denuclearisation is a long way off and may never be practicable. But arguments for more weapons and more members of the club make zero sense. Except for North Korea and Iran. They want them to deter US aggression. I hope Iran can steer a path forward without having to acquire nuclear weapons but I can definitely see why they might feel they have no choice. Ditto North Korea. |
Kevin C | 02 Jun 2020 6:19 a.m. PST |
It probably has already been one for a few years. |
darthfozzywig | 02 Jun 2020 7:57 a.m. PST |
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HMS Exeter | 02 Jun 2020 11:56 a.m. PST |
I dont think that any state can or should assist Taiwan in acquiring nuclear weapons, UNLESS, the Taiwanese are able to buy assistance from Russia. Then let the Chinese stew in their own juices. I think the world community should try to discourage Taiwan from seeking the bomb, as "apple's to apples" we'd be obliged to impose sanctions if they did. That being said, I think the US should make it clear that, inasmuch as non-proliferation has failed on the Korean peninsula, if South Korea or Japan were to request that the US assist them in acquiring nukes, we would be hard pressed to say no. Perhaps the mere prospect of reliable, deliverable nukes in South Korean or Japanese command and control might be enough to FINALLY induce Beijing to get off their butts to reign in or replace Kim. Recognizing Taiwanese sovereignty is a card best kept in reserve. If the Chinese roll tanks into Hong Kong it may well be time to consider expelling all PRC diplomats, including their UN delegation, and inviting Taiwanese reps to the White House. |
Legionarius | 02 Jun 2020 12:30 p.m. PST |
We need to clean up our act at home and put a coherent foreign policy in place before we go around the world running like a chicken with its head cut off. |
darthfozzywig | 02 Jun 2020 2:59 p.m. PST |
We need to clean up our act at home and put a coherent foreign policy in place before we go around the world running like a chicken with its head cut off. Where's the fun in that? |
HMS Exeter | 02 Jun 2020 3:08 p.m. PST |
It is exquisitely difficult to maintain a coherent foreign policy when we change governments every 2-4 years. It's especially difficult when circumstances often change as, or more, frequently. But we try. |
arealdeadone | 02 Jun 2020 3:26 p.m. PST |
I suspect Taiwan starting to acquire nuclear weapons would result in pretty much instant military action by China. Perversely the status quo preserves Taiwan as an independent state far better than any schemes that would simply threaten China. |
Waco Joe | 02 Jun 2020 4:04 p.m. PST |
I think Kevin C has the jist of it. |
John Leahy | 02 Jun 2020 4:15 p.m. PST |
HMS Exeter nailed it. The PRC would be singing a different tune if South Korea or Japan had Nukes. They would reign in Kim. They'd have no choice. thanks. John |
Dn Jackson | 02 Jun 2020 4:59 p.m. PST |
"I think the world community should try to discourage Taiwan from seeking the bomb, as "apple's to apples" we'd be obliged to impose sanctions if they did." Why? Taiwan isn't a threat to world peace, fighting proxy wars, exporting terrorism, or fomenting unrest in other countries. |
arealdeadone | 02 Jun 2020 5:45 p.m. PST |
The PRC would be singing a different tune if South Korea or Japan had Nukes. They would reign in Kim. They'd have no choice. Why? Kim serves as a great distraction for the Chinese. Who cares about some piddly islands or endemic Chinese human rights violations with Little Kim and whatever POTUS is on the throne grandstanding and/or sabre rattling on the international stage. It's not as if South Korea or Japan are going to launch a first strike on North Korea (or China) now is it? And the South Korea and Japan having nukes also creates problems because those two countries aren't allies and are at times hostile towards each other, especially in the last few years under PM Shinzo Abe's government with its historical revisionism bent as well as a territorial dispute over you guessed it, some islands! The South Koreans also have a grand strategy to become a powerful blue water power, something that both China and Japan stand n the way of. In fact I suspect in a poop fight between China and Japan, the South Koreans will be glad to see both powers bloodied and reduced. Also South Korea is very reliant on China economically to the point they didn't by a THAAD anti-ballistic missile system because of threat of Chinese economic sanctions. |
Skarper | 02 Jun 2020 10:10 p.m. PST |
Face it. Smart people in Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan have thought about this and decided against acquiring nuclear weapons. Doing so would not make them more secure. South Korea has more effective things to do with any spare money. I'd suggest professionalising their military would be one way to go. Rather than train up a raggle-taggle batch of conscripts every year they'd be better served by recruiting people who actually want to be in the military and retaining them for 5, 10 or 20 years. Taiwan seems to be going over to an all volunteer force. |
Thresher01 | 03 Jun 2020 6:49 a.m. PST |
"The PRC would be singing a different tune if South Korea or Japan had Nukes. They would reign in Kim. They'd have no choice". I wish that were true, but doubt it. |