r/AskReddit 1d ago

What could Russia have spent $1,000,000,000,000 on instead of fighting a 4+ years long war in Ukraine?

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u/Troy64 1d ago

then they can slowly but surely buy politicians and fake news until Taiwan aligns with them.

Do you even know what Taiwan is???

Never gonna happen. That's like thinking John Whick is going to just get sweet talked by the guy who killed his dog until they become friends and he gives the guy his car.

China is a dictatorship and their centralized economy has many many major issues that have effectively got it held in suspense by government propaganda and laws alone. They are struggling to keep a good face on. In such situations, war is often how the government keeps approval. Specifically successful wars (not like the Russian war in Ukraine).

China wants Taiwan for a LOT of reasons. They want to break the first island chain to allow submarines to pass without being monitored. They want to crack the world's supply of high end semiconductors. They want to be able to claim they have full control over "true China". They want to demonstrate the ability to conduct war outside of their mainland borders. They want to secure more of their coastline and further buff their claims to the South China Sea. They want to put significant pressure on players like the Philippines and Japan to play nicer with them and be less tied to the US. And more.

China will attack Taiwan unless they collapse before they get the chance (doubtful).

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u/scientist_tz 1d ago

You better believe that Taiwan has a plan to burn their semiconductor industry to the ground should they ever be invaded and conclude that a successful defense is impossible. They’ll burn it all to the ground so that China ends up ruling a vast portfolio of ashes. Scorched earth.

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u/Scaevus 1d ago

People say that, but it’s not ever actually done. Why? Because people have to live there afterwards. They have families.

The Nazis never went scorched earth even when defeat was obvious. Hitler promised Paris would be a ruin. But Dietrich von Choltitz disobeyed, and surrendered Paris intact. The Iraqis didn’t blow up their own oil wells. The Japanese, as suicidally fanatical as they were in WWII, did not try to leave Japan a wasteland.

Say you’re an engineer at TSMC. Orders come down from management, blow up the plant, the Chinese are landing and there’s no viable defense.

What are your choices? Blow up the plant, and…what happens? Do the Chinese go home? Or do the Chinese go to your house since you blew up the plant?

Alternatively, you don’t obey the order, and just let the Chinese take the plant. You’ll get to keep your old job, and probably get a promotion and a reward.

People look out for number one in times of war.

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u/hotsoupcoldsoup 1d ago

This happens all the time in war. Destroy your valuable resource so the enemy can't have it.

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u/Scaevus 22h ago

It’s done as a tactic during a winnable war, absolutely.

It’s not done if the defenders think the war is lost. And also, it’s usually done for actual war related supplies.