Earlier this month, U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Doug Wickert summoned nearby civic leaders to Edwards Air Force Base in California to warn them that if China attacks Taiwan in the coming years, they should be prepared for their immediate region to suffer potentially massive disruption from the very start.

In a remarkable briefing shared by the base on social media and promoted in a press release, Wickert - one of America’s most experienced test pilots now commanding the 412th Test Wing - outlined China’s rapid military growth and preparations to fight a major war.

Cutting-edge U.S. aircraft manufactured in California’s nearby “Aerospace Valley”, particularly the B-21 “Raider” now replacing the 1990s B-2 stealth bomber, were key to keeping Beijing deterred, he said. However, if deterrence failed that meant China’s would likely strike the U.S. including nearby Northrop Grumman factories where those planes were built.

  • Amnesigenic@lemmy.ml
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    8 hours ago

    Delusional, China has no reason to go to war. Their current strategy of just existing & improving their infrustructure while the US actively dismantles our own economic and diplomatic control systems & alienates our allies is working beautifully. If there is a war between the US and China it’ll 100% be at our provocation, and if we succeed in provoking such a war we will absolutely get our asses handed to us.

    • x00z@lemmy.world
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      26 minutes ago

      Taiwan is an ally of the US and China has been extremely aggressive towards Taiwan. The US will protect Taiwan if China attacks it. China is trying to get Taiwan to do a single “wrong” thing, like defending themselves against Chinese imperialism. So I don’t see how your comment holds up if the chance of China starting it is far more likely.

      Oh wait you’re from .ml

      • Amnesigenic@lemmy.ml
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        5 minutes ago

        “Extremely aggressive” “chinese imperialism” lol sure thing patriot, let me know when they start bombing and building military bases. China isn’t going to attack Taiwan, they don’t need to. The US will alienate Taiwan the same way we’re alienating all of our other “allies” and China will be there to pick up the pieces with no bloodshed required. And fyi “you’re from place i don’t like” isn’t a particularly strong argument.

    • thedruid@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      Honestly, I’m surprised china has moved yet. Trump and crew would bungle responses badly

      • Carrolade@lemmy.world
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        8 hours ago

        Despite all the fearmongering, it’s so far proved unnecessary. Ji is going to look at it in terms of cost/benefit, and as things sit, the costs are high and the benefit of getting a leveled Taiwan is minimal. The diplomatic costs in particular are fairly prohibitive, with China investing so much recently in trying to be a predictable, stable and peaceful world power that other countries can feel good partnering with.

        It would be vastly preferable for all parties involved to maintain the status quo and continue to work towards peaceful reunification in the future. Assuming Taiwan doesn’t do anything stupid, this patient approach has no real drawbacks. It did work several times in the past, after all.

  • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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    8 hours ago

    Still seems fairly unlikely that China would go to war over Taiwan. It wouldn’t be that easy, and their economy is better for having Taiwan as a major trading partner.

    Taiwan acts as a political firewall too, with lots of Chinese companies having their front facing customer service there.

    • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
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      8 hours ago

      So many of the Taiwanese firms have massive operations in China too. Foxconn, Pegatron to name a couple.

      Given how democracy in capitalism is going around the world, it’s not inconceivable for Taiwan’s public opinion to shift in a decade or two if the current trends stay in place. Perhaps sooner if the US collapses.

    • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      What’s more Taiwan keeping “The Republic of China” as their official name, and allowing the Chinese National party (KMT) to still operate there is kind of asking for trouble.

      If you want to be your own nation they needed to make that clearer about 30 year ago rather than playing these stupid games with names and parties.

      • Skua@kbin.earth
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        8 hours ago

        As I understand it they’re basically just avoiding doing anything that might destabilise the status quo. Changing the country’s name to something else is saying “we are actually a separate country from China” as opposed to being in a frozen war where both sides theoretically claim to be the same country. The ambiguity lets them be de facto independent and lets the PR of China say “it’s de jure ours” without either side actually going to war about it at the moment, so the ambiguity stays

      • cybermass@lemmy.ca
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        8 hours ago

        A large portion of their population still identifies as Chinese, so in a democracy you have to represent that.

        • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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          8 hours ago

          Doesn’t have to be expressed via the KMT though. That was the party that ruled Taiwan as a military dictatorship for 25 years after all.

          At the very least they should change the country’s official name to something that isn’t “The Republic Of China”. Leaving that as the official name just feels like trolling.

          I just don’t think I’d fight for in a “We’re the real China, no, We’re the real China!” based war. If so many Taiwanese identify as Chinese it seems like something The West should stay out of. An extension of their civil war.

          • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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            8 hours ago

            Like imagine if the Confederate States fled to Hawaii and claimed to be the real America… And the world took their side and swore to protect the “Confederate States of America” on Hawaii…

            Shit wouldn’t make sense. You’d be like “WTF world? What’s up with that?”

              • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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                3 hours ago

                Oh, did The Union come close to having a brutal military dictatorship after the civil war like Taiwan had? Why would you put The Union as being closer to Chiang Kai-Shek? Were they the more Capitalistic ones?

                • yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de
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                  2 hours ago

                  No, because the Union utterly demolished the Confederates.

                  We can only guess whether the union would have become and remained a military dictatorship for 25 years if they had lost and fled to Hawai. That’s speculation.

                  After all, the ROC wasn’t a military dictatorship prior to the civil war either.

    • lorty@lemmy.ml
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      7 hours ago

      It’s the US pushing Taiwan for independence, and China will not allow it.