• SeventyTwoTrillion [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    7 months ago

    Why doesn’t China annex Mongolia, Korea, and large parts of Southeast Asia? They also have historical claims to those regions, and they can use their resources to further their aims.

    I don't think any country "should" annex any country unless a) it's necessary to stop atrocities and/or prevent future ones (e.g. the Soviets annexing/taking control/whatever you want to call it Eastern Europe up to Berlin), or b) the people there actually want to be part of the country that is doing the annexing (e.g. Crimea, Donbass). But I can't personally assign anything other than a moral claim on the word "should", in the same way that you "should" help a stranger if you have the ability to do so (with various qualifications about your own safety etc). It's all just authority and violence and military power at the end of the day.

    Cuba "should" be able to get Guantánamo Bay back by force - but they obviously cannot, or the US would destroy them. If a large majority of people in the Essequibo want to join Venezuela - keeping in mind that relatively few people actually live there compared to eastern Guyana - then sure, I guess, Venezuela "should" be able to annex it. But unless Maduro is confident about his abilities to withstand US pressure and potential military bombardments, I don't think it's a war we have to worry about actually happening.

    "Should" countries be able to attack Western-aligned countries? I don't know, maybe. If China started raining down missiles on Japan tomorrow, or the DPRK attacked South Korea tomorrow, or Cuba attacked Guantánamo Bay tomorrow, or, indeed, if Venezuela attacked Guyana tomorrow, would my reaction be "Oh no! Those poor places being invaded! This is strongly against international law, and we must condemn this attempts at annexation!" It probably wouldn't, I would support China/DPRK/Cuba/Venezuela, because I don't give a shit about international law if it benefits imperialists. People who jerk off about how important international law is (like most Western politicians) have the exact same perspective as me but in reverse - they don't give a shit about it if it benefits countries/areas being exploited (comparing their reactions to Ukraine being invaded and the Gaza Genocide is a good case in point for this). I just don't pretend to support international law, while those people do pretend to.