Words have meanings, and the word you're looking for is authoritarian, but that doesn't mean it was a dictatorship.
They were a one party system, that had regularly transitioned power at scheduled intervals for decades. Which means they were not a dictatorship, until Xi stopped those transitions of power.
The modern context of Japanese and Chinese expansionism in this particular area is similar in some ways, but very different in other ways.
Regardless, I agree that China doesn't have the legal right to seize territory, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't understand their perspective.
It also doesn't make the idiotic reductionist take that this is all "capitalism", any less idiotic.
All that said, I also understand that great powers tend to only talk about international law when they are applying it to countries they view as beneath them, or inferior.
In this case, China is coming into its own as a regional hegemon, assuming their relatively new status as an outright dictatorship doesn't fuck that up. To do that, it has to push out American naval power, there's no alternative for them.
So, if Xi's one man politburo figures out how to walk and chew gum, while also driving a successful regional expansion, I don't think yours, or my, quibbles about international law will make much difference.
Luckily, whether he's capable of juggling all that successfully, is still an open question with a lot of doubt.
That statement is so incredibly wrong in this particular context that it's actually impressive.
Well, maybe not impressive, but it does show off your ability to speak authoritatively on a topic that you know absolutely nothing about, except of course for your firm conviction that capitalism is clearly the only thing motivating it all.
Are you saying that national security strategies, and war in general, didn't appear in this world until capitalism emerged?
It's about expanding their ability to project naval power in general, but more specifically, trying to to build effective defensive counters against potential future naval blockades and maritime containment e.g. Island Chain Strategy
That's oversimplified, and there are other aspects to it, including domestic political cultural ones, but naval power and national security is the most significant.
I am not taking any position on justification, legal standing, or strategic prudence for this strategy.
There are any number of white papers, from both Chinese and American security organizations/think-tanks, that will cover the subject in much greater depth if you're interested.
I'm aware...but it's still not the reason they are attempting to expand their territorial waters...
Right, and I was trying to subtly tell you that you were wrong and that your inaccurate description borders on disinformation, as many of the rebranded white box Android TVs cost more than popular Play Certified Android TV devices, and include better hardware specs.
I didn't say they're the cheapest, just that the boxes I'm personally aware of with this problem are white box rebranded ATVs.
But I haven't looked through the entire list, so it's entirely possible that some other more well-known and "respectable" device brands are also compromised. If you have an Android TV box, you should probably search the list to find out.
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