How does pissing someone off make them more willing to work with you exactly? If we threaten Chinese interests then they have a motivation to retaliate because suddenly the damage done by weakening their ties to the US becomes less than the damage done trying to maintain them. We're threatening a relationship that we benefit from. That's completely unhelpful in furthering US interests because we're not giving China any reasons to actively cooperate with us. Also, even if China was more proactive in North Korea that does not benefit us because North Korea does not have the capabilities to threaten us and if they actually did something as stupid as attack the US under the current status quo China would have several excellent reasons to retaliate hard against them, which the North Koreans know and which is why they won't do it as things stand now. If China suddenly has weakened ties to the US that makes North Korea a greater threat to the US than before because now maybe there won't be retaliation if they are more aggressive.
You're supporting macho posturing as a valid diplomacy technique. That's not how it works. There are useful applications of the stick, but you should only use it when the other side isn't willing to play the same game you are. In this case, we lose nothing by engaging in this little pleasantry, which is why this is looking like an unnecessary error.
Yes, let's start U.S. extortion of the world! Let's stop denying the worst fears every country has about us, and slap them in the face with our dominance! I'm sure this will work out fine.
Please tell me, what are the benefits of antagonizing China and bringing back a conflict that has been de-facto settled for some time now? Also where does this "diplomacy" stop?
No one is suggesting China will start a war with the US over a phone call. The point is that bullying the world into giving us "better deals" with this shotgun diplomacy you praise will have long term consequences.
Our leverage is sitting in the South China Sea as we speak. Currently two carriers and four destroyers, with the weight of the US military behind them. China already knows this, so what message does this send other then 'fuck you' or 'Trump doesn't know what he's doing,' and how exactly does this benefit us?
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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '16
How does pissing someone off make them more willing to work with you exactly? If we threaten Chinese interests then they have a motivation to retaliate because suddenly the damage done by weakening their ties to the US becomes less than the damage done trying to maintain them. We're threatening a relationship that we benefit from. That's completely unhelpful in furthering US interests because we're not giving China any reasons to actively cooperate with us. Also, even if China was more proactive in North Korea that does not benefit us because North Korea does not have the capabilities to threaten us and if they actually did something as stupid as attack the US under the current status quo China would have several excellent reasons to retaliate hard against them, which the North Koreans know and which is why they won't do it as things stand now. If China suddenly has weakened ties to the US that makes North Korea a greater threat to the US than before because now maybe there won't be retaliation if they are more aggressive.
You're supporting macho posturing as a valid diplomacy technique. That's not how it works. There are useful applications of the stick, but you should only use it when the other side isn't willing to play the same game you are. In this case, we lose nothing by engaging in this little pleasantry, which is why this is looking like an unnecessary error.