The 21-country survey for the influential European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) thinktank also found that under Trump, the US is less feared by its traditional adversaries, while its allies – particularly in Europe – feel ever more distant.
The poll, of nearly 26,000 respondents in 13 European countries, the US, China, India, Russia, Turkey, Brazil, South Africa and South Korea, found majorities in almost every territory surveyed expected China’s global influence to grow over the next decade.
We’ll see how long that soft power thing lasts when they invade Taiwan. In the end global superpowers are nothing but the biggest bullies on this planet.
At this rate, they won’t have to. Taiwan will just surrender and Japan, Korea, Australia will sign broad trade deals with them over the psychotic-on-off US when tramp threatens to annex e.g. Okinawa.
And who is going to care?
Did the EU care about Venezuela? No, only when they threaten Greenland.
Why would they rock the boat for Taiwan?
Maduro was hostile to the EU too. Why would the EU help a Russian ally to stay in power? Taiwan however is a friend.
But actually more important then that is that a lot of other countries dislike China and have territorial conflicts with them. India, Japan and the entire South China Sea conflict come to mind. They are all going to respond no matter what the US does. It is also unlikely to only be a kidnapping, but has to be a full invasion.
They could, to uphold UN rights.
America might once have cared to defend Taiwan, because the whole tech economy is powered by their chips. But the U.S. is so diminished, overextended, and chaotic that China clearly recognizes an opening.
I think Xi makes a move within the next two years.
Furthermore, Xi seeing that you can wreck foreign countries without consequences or accountability, he won’t think twice about international law when he feels to invade Taiwan.
Taiwan is China. It’s not international law that prevents him. Actually, other countries intervening is against international law.
EU doesn’t care that much about Greenland, either.
They have to, or they can’t complain about what Russia did.