China & Russia

[Thumpalumpacus]

The reason why we perceive China as the aggressor is because we believe it is right and proper for us to be able to assert to China what is right and proper for something 100 miles from China and 6000 miles from the U.S, and it is not right and proper for China to tell us to go fuck ourselves.

It should be noted that China has pissed off both Vietnam and the Philippines with their assertion of illegal sovereign waters around the Spratleys and other South China Sea archipelagoes. Building an island and then claiming sovereign dominance is aggressive, especially in a space where much of the world's trade sails.

If the Chinese don't understand how that might sit in foreign halls, then they should perhaps give that some consideration. If they do understand how that affects other nations and choose to go forward anyway, then it is meet for those smaller and weaker countries to ask for assistance. And assuring free lines of trade benefits all nations.

In a globally-interconnected market, appealing to 100 vs 6000 miles is pretty much an irrelevancy, because all nations benefit from the Malacca Straits not being dominated by one power. This idea that only America is sore about China's actions in the SCS is misleading.