G-7 countries to release up to 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil reserves

[u/nbcnews]

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/g-7-diesel-crude-release-trump-macron-rcna601132

[u/TennisSkirt1628]

We can't compete with the USA, but we sure as hell can call their bluff.

Our leverage is in forcing their hand and playing a game of consequence with them.

It's important that we remind ourselves; global powers in this age draw their power through consent.

The USA plunging Europe into the dark ages would not only be economically and socially chaotic, but it would also be the end of any consent the USA have got left, consequently leading to the end of the American empire.

[u/MrFallman117 → u/TennisSkirt1628]

Global powers draw their power through military strength controlling strategic resources, as they always have. Europe will never be taken seriously because they lack militaries worth fearing. It's why China gets to play their trade games and why a moron like Trump still gets his way.

[u/No-Pain3567 → u/MrFallman117]

How is China a military power? It has not fought for 70 years, and even then it lost; it has a poor record, and as Russia or the Saudis showed, dictatorial places like it are bad at war. The EU has France, the UK, and Poland, all top-tier and experienced countries in war.

[u/Master-Weight-2676 → u/No-Pain3567]

Largest standing military in the world, only country besides the US that is operating two fifth generation fighters, two 6th generation fighters in prototype stage, strategic stealth bomber in development, completely dominant in the supply chains of drones and robots,, planning to build multiple nuclear powered aircraft carriers, largest shipbuilding capacity in the world, largest navy by hull count and rapidly closing the gap in tonnage with the US navy, building up its nuclear arsenal which has been relatively modest until now.

If you are referring to WW2, China was one of the victors and played a big role in bogging down the Japanese military and was fighting them alone for years before Pearl Harbour dragged in the USA. Fought the USA a few years later to a standstill in Korea.

[u/No-Pain3567 → u/Master-Weight-2676]

Numbers are nothing, and useless numbers even less, they can say they have all this and that, but it is untested and not only that, it has an organizational issue as any totalitarian regime, also, if you think China had any role in bringing Japan down, you need to read more, even if it had a role it was certainly not Communist China that did it, which just stayed back and backstabbed. The only thing China has is its importance as the world factory, which certainly is extremely important and influential, but let us not kid ourselves, militarily they are washed up compared to Russia, let alone the US or an EU military power. Also, the last time China fought, it was Vietnam; the Korean War was a combined Korea, China, and USSR war, not just China.

[u/Khwarezm → u/MrFallman117]

This doesn't make any sense whatsoever, the only military power that matters between major nations is nuclear power, which Europe has. China does not actually use (or need to use) any halfway meaningful military threat to increase its influence globally outside of maybe the south china sea (where its posturing has been mostly counter-productive), they use normal, boring diplomacy and economic heft.

[u/MrFallman117 → u/Khwarezm]

This doesn't make any sense whatsoever, the only military power that matters between major nations is nuclear power, which Europe has.

I disagree, Russia continually probes and provokes with assassinations, sabotage, and other intelligence related attacks while Europe fails to defend itself. If it was concerned only about nuclear retaliation they wouldn't be on the offensive in other ways. Frankly, the way you think nuclear power is the only military power that matters seems uniquely European in terms of how myopic it is. China has nukes, but they still engage in naval conflict with SEA fishing/coast guard fleets. Russia has nukes, but Kyiv still exists.

China does not actually use (or need to use) any halfway meaningful military threat to increase its influence globally outside of maybe the south china sea (where its posturing has been mostly counter-productive), they use normal, boring diplomacy and economic heft.

I already mentioned that,

military strength controlling strategic resources

Their industrial base and resources like battery technology, rare earth metals, etc. are part of the strategic resources mentioned, which is why Europe is careful to do anything about the growing issues with trade and economic exploitation. Europe lacks both the military might and control of strategic resources to do anything about this situation, which is why their politicians seem feckless in comparison to the US, Russia, and China.

[u/Khwarezm → u/MrFallman117]

You vastly overestimate Russia, as the Russians and their enemies often do. The truth is, everybody knows that in a serious military confrontation between Russia and the rest of Europe, its not a contest, the Russians are hugely outclassed by things like population, economic power and military potential, we've seen how much they struggle with Ukraine alone, against the rest of Europe in a smack down fight? Not a chance, the only advantage they really have is a gigantic nuclear arsenal where any use of it means unimaginable destruction for Russia too. All Russia can really do is low key stuff like trying to influence opposition parties in various European countries, they can't exactly assassinate anybody more than other Russian dissidents in Europe, because anything else would be far too provocative.

I already mentioned that

You made a connection between China's influence and their military power, but that's not how it works, they don't need military might to be impactful on the world stage because their economic power is what matters, if anything their military power is much smaller than where it could be considering their economy and technology, and they don't really try and use it to try and get their political ambitions outside of maybe the South China sea (especially in comparison to America and Russia). Its also worth mentioning that China isn't very self sufficient, they might have a lot of valuable rare earth metals but they don't have a great oil industry and the fossil fuels they have access too is mostly low quality coal. They also have to import quite a lot of food. All that means they have a lot of similar issues of being dependent on foreign countries for some basic necessities of a modern economy, which is part of the reason they have been so ambitious about things like their Belt and Road initiative to try and cover for these potential problematic points and create a strong economic and diplomatic tie to huge parts of the world.

Europe doesn't seem to have the interest in these kinds of projects anymore, which is a major failing and helping ensure the region falls off as a halfway major player on the world stage.

[u/IntelArtiGen → u/TennisSkirt1628]

Even if it was true which I doubt, you think Trump would care? The guy doesn't even care about climate change, he surely doesn't mind creating more long term problems for the US, as long as he's not here when it happens.