• keki_ya [none/use name]
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    4 years ago

    Maybe one day they can, but China isn't powerful enough to start antagonizing every nation by undertaking aggressive actions. All it would do is drive even more nations into the US's arms for protection. Even the Soviets were like "fuck this" sometimes and they had a much more based foreign policy

    • cracksmoke2020 [none/use name]
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      4 years ago

      China is absolutely powerful enough to do such a thing. It's still bad foreign policy, but they could at the very least sanction their nearby neighbors if they're fucking around.

      China is largely in support of maintaining the status quo of all the countries it does business with.

      • keki_ya [none/use name]
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        4 years ago

        sanctions are immoral and more often than not hurt the people instead of the political elite causing the problems.

        Or you mean other sorts of sanctions?

        • cracksmoke2020 [none/use name]
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          4 years ago

          I mean stoppage of upcoming planned foreign direct investment into the country and suspending certain BRI projects that credit the existing government with a win.

          • keki_ya [none/use name]
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            4 years ago

            I still don't see how this would stop Duterte's government. If China starts going "Stop being a fascist, bro, or we won't give you any more investments" then he's just going to turn to even more US-investment. Either way, the fascist government is going to exist. It's a matter of deciding whether the fascist is going to be western aligned or Chinese-aligned. Nobody likes making deals with fascists, but it's literally the only option, unless you want a Chinese invasion and puppet government.

            Similar to Iran and the whole theocracy thing. Nobody likes theocracies but if you wanna survive on the international stage you have to make tenuous alliances with Bad Guys.

            • cracksmoke2020 [none/use name]
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              4 years ago

              I don't see any solution where China has a greater foothold in the philippines than the US does without supporting rebels there. The only reason to support Duerte is short term concerns that are insignificant compared to what the US has already done there. Theyre already a part of the TPP lol.

              • keki_ya [none/use name]
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                4 years ago

                I don’t see any solution where China has a greater foothold in the philippines than the US does without supporting rebels there.

                I don't know how I would quantify who has more influence over Duterte's government, but as it stands now, China has enough influence to keep Duterte from taking hostile actions towards China. I don't care if the USA holds more overall influence, just that China has enough influence to not have another fascist enemy working against them.

                China has enough resources to fund communist rebel groups in tons of countries, but they don't because if the rebels either get crushed or end up severing ties with China, then they end up not just losing a potential alliance, but facing ramifications from international organizations that they aren't strong enough to contest right now. They are going with the safer option. Soviet funding of successful rebel groups produced some of the best communist governments of the 20th century, but it was also a massive strain on their national budget and incredibly risky. China is choosing to not do that. I understand both foreign policy methods, but in this specific instance I think the Chinese line is better.

    • spectre [he/him]
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      4 years ago

      I agree and I understand the material analysis, but they could do better than what they are doing currently imo.

    • Mardoniush [she/her]
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      4 years ago

      Maybe, but they have taken aggressive stances in the past towards places they should have been supportive to, well beyond simple realpolitik.

      I support China and Xi without hesitation and understand that difficult choices must be made to ensure China's survival, but I think we need to reserve the right to say we think they are making the wrong decision.

      Not because China is going to listen to some idiots on the net but because it can inform our own praxis and approach.

      Being non-interventionist is one thing, supporting Fascists now and attacking communists like they did in the 70s-80s is another. We are allowed to say backing Pol Pot was not a great look.