We don't need Russia's help against China. Russia's economy is almost the exact same size as South Korea. Just a little bigger than Indonesia and Australia, although Indonesia & Australia will probably pass Russia in the next 20 years.

Japan and India are MUCH bigger players than Russia.

(09-13-2020 04:44 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  We don't need Russia's help against China. Russia's economy is almost the exact same size as South Korea. Just a little bigger than Indonesia and Australia, although Indonesia & Australia will probably pass Russia in the next 20 years.
Japan and India are MUCH bigger players than Russia.

No, we don't. But if China has to defend a fairly long border with Russia (broken up by Mongolia, of course) then that ties up a fairly significant portion of their strength. And if we could use Russia to stage against China, that opens a whole new front for them.

https://zeihan.com/the-end-of-the-last-best-chance/

China will never be free to act against anyone else as long as Putin doesn't want them to. There's a lot of northern and western China where it's mostly just Chinese soldiers and spares locals who hate them. If Russia ever attacks China they will need the United States Navy to allow oil into the country or their reserves will run dry in a month or less.

Of course, it will be a high price to pay for Russia too, but no where near as high.

https://gizmodo.com/trump-administration...1845191981

Quote:Trump Administration Whacks China Again With New Restrictions on Its Biggest Chip Maker

The Trump administration has another Chinese technology company on its radar: the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, the country’s biggest chip maker. And as you all can imagine if you’ve been following the recent news cycle, that is not good for SMIC.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Commerce informed American companies in the chip industry of new restrictions on exports to SMIC, the Financial Times reported. Now, American companies must obtain licenses from the government in order to sell products, such as software and chip-making equipment, to SMIC.

In a letter communicating the new restrictions to U.S. companies, the Commerce Department said that it had taken action because exports to SMIC posed an “unacceptable risk” of potentially being used for military purposes.

According to U.S. government sources quoted by the Times, the Pentagon made the proposal to restrict SMIC because it was worried that the company was enabling the technological advancement of China’s military.

In a statement to Reuters, SMIC said it had not received any official notice of the U.S. restrictions and that it does not have ties to the Chinese military.

This is the official mouthpiece of the CCP. All signs point to an invasion of Taiwan by China in a timeline measured in months not years.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1203981.shtml