undefined | Better HN

0 pointsjcranmer3y ago0 comments

> There is a more simple explanation - if China wants a boat to travel from anywhere to Guangzhou, Tianjin or Shanghai then at the moment the boat has to pass close by an island that is a US ally. If China controlled Taiwan, that would no longer be true and they'd have easy access to the Pacific.

No, it would still be true. Just beyond Taiwan on the north side are the furthest islands in the Japanese island chain, and if you instead head south, you see Philippine islands instead. Head through the South China Sea and you end up either having to run past Singapore through the Straits of Malacca (already a critical, congested chokepoint), or travel through the internal waters of Indonesia or the Philippines (admittedly, I'm not sure you could call Singapore, Malaysia, or Indonesia US allies, given the general ASEAN propensity for neutrality).

0 comments

saiya-jin3y ago

They may be neutral, but China doesn't care much. I've personally seen in cca 2014 in Philippine's Palawan islands (near El Nido, great diving place btw) big modern military ship plus few smaller that were there stationed semi-permanently. When I checked online back then there were already some provocations from Chinese side happening so this was the response.

rswail3y ago

Singapore is aligned with the West, trains with/by Australia who are aligned with the US and NZ.

kridsdale23y ago

This is true, but they fell VERY quickly when the Japanese showed up. Maybe they'll do it again.

abi3y ago

You do realize the Singapore of today is very different from the Singapore of the 40s (which was still a British colony)?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse