Comments on: MC’s Should Know their Limitations

By: Eric Martin

Eric Martin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:19:17 +0000

Also, what would you make of the idea that from a self-interested US perspective, a politically repressive, anti-property-rights, anti-human-rights China bursting onto the world stage ready to take first place, is a case of engagement with a totalitarian regime gone horribly wrong?

I think that engagement with China was preferable to a hostile stance, and the benefits have been myriad. Despite the major power rivalry that is inevitable, there is surprisingly little military tension between the two states. That is a very valuable outcome all things considered.

What is your take on the idea that China and the US are engaged in a bit of a diplomatic dance trying to assert their authority, and that the Obama administration may be talking tough in some cases just for the sake of talking tough.

Certainly a possibility. And with Taiwan, we wouldn’t want to cede that pressure point, or abandon that nation, on a whim. Even if, as you note, when push comes to shove we might just let it go its own way.

By: Matt Delventhal

Matt Delventhal — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:56:08 +0000

An interesting analysis. What is your take on the idea that China and the US are engaged in a bit of a diplomatic dance trying to assert their authority, and that the Obama administration may be talking tough in some cases just for the sake of talking tough. Take US arms sales to Taiwan, for instance– it is clear that Taiwan could never stand up to China militarily if the People’s Republic ever decided to push the issue, and that in the long run Taiwan’s absorption into the mainland is probably inevitable. For the nonce, though, it can be a convenient pressure point against an increasingly assertive rival.

I hope I don’t sound too reactionary with this last question, I am open-minded on the issue, but the idea occurs to me.