[lenaitch]

And exercising freedom navigation through what most, except China and probably some fellow travellers, recognize and international waters. If you avoid it because of their claim of territorial waters, you implicitly acknowledge their claim.

 

[123GTA123]

China engaged in a live fire exercise in the Tasman Sea off Australia recently without giving advance notice. Commercial air traffic had to be diverted, and the Austalian government learned this from a commercial pilot.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/australia/china-live-fire-drills-australia-new-zealand-intl-hnk-ml

That's an old article, but if you're trying to point out to the User complaining about Canada and Australia sailing through the Taiwan straight, I think you picked a great article lol.

 

[gabe]

The Federal Conservatives coming out this morning in favour of scrapping the entire Temporary Foreign Worker program, excepting agriculture.

I actually think think there ought to be some wiggle room for very high-value employees............(high pay, high skill) .....

That said, I think this will prove to be a very popular plank, and the Libs would do well to steal it from the Conservatives with all due haste.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/poilievre-wants-temporary-foreign-worker-program-scrapped-1.7623864

Even the BC NDP leader is now calling for the end of the TFW program.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-premier-wants-temporary-foreign-worker-program-to-be-cancelled-or-reformed-1.7625804

B.C. premier wants temporary foreign worker program cancelled or reformed​

In a surprise statement, Premier David Eby called for the end of Canada's temporary foreign worker (TFW) program — blaming Ottawa's flawed immigration policies for filling up homeless shelters and food banks.

"The temporary foreign worker program is not working. It should be cancelled or significantly reformed," Eby said during an unrelated announcement in Surrey, B.C., Thursday.

"We can't have an immigration system that fills up our homeless shelters and our food banks. We can't have an immigration system that outpaces our ability to build schools and housing. And we can't have an immigration program that results in high youth unemployment."

It's a rare show of unity between Eby, of the B.C. NDP, and federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who on Wednesday called for the program to be scrapped. At a press conference in Missisauga, Ont., he blamed temporary foreign workers for "shutting our own youth out of jobs."

 

[afransen]

That's an old article, but if you're trying to point out to the User complaining about Canada and Australia sailing through the Taiwan straight, I think you picked a great article lol.

It's from 6 months ago. It's not irrelevant to current dynamics.

 

[EBT]

It's called standing on the side of freedom and democracy. It's pretty simple.

It's called working against the interests of Canada. Our farmers and fishermen rely on exports to China to survive. China is the largest economy in the world. At a time when Trump has pledged to annex Canada as well as destroy our economy (which he is making good progress on), it is the ultimate act of stupidity for Canada to be antagonizing China by sailing through the Taiwan Straits. What is that supposed to accomplish? Do the geniuses in Ottawa making this decision realize that China has hypersonic anti-ship missiles that could take that boat out in seconds?

I didn't think it was possible, but I think Carney is quite possibly as dumb as Trudeau despite his Harvard and Oxford degrees. He has not made any progress with Trump in getting tariffs removed, and he is not likely to have any success, so under these circumstances, wouldn't the smart thing to do be to pick up the phone and call Xi Jinping and offer to remove 100% tariffs on EVs if Xi removes tariffs on our farmers and fishermen? Instead, he is antagonizing Xi with this stupid stunt while throwing $360 million at affected farmers as a band-aid solution.

This is what I mean about Canada not being a serious country. You say we are standing "on the side of freedom and democracy". Do you think the United States is a free and democratic country? At least China doesn't act like a menacing predator that invades and bombs countries to oblivion. China spends billions on building infrastructure in third-world countries. The United States spends billions bombing them.

 

[EBT]

It's from 6 months ago. It's not irrelevant to current dynamics.

The article doesn't explain why Canada would be antagonizing China with this stupid stunt at a time when we should be mending relations with China, just as India has done. The only explanation for Canada and Australia engaging in this antagonistic action is that they are both acting like good little obedient vassals of the United States, even though it is completely contrary to the best interests of their respective countries. Australia's leaders are actually even bigger idiots than ours! Trump slapped tariffs on Australia despite the US having a trade SURPLUS with Australia. China is Australia's biggest export market - $195 billion vs $27 billion exports to the US, and yet Australia thinks it needs to act like Washington's poodle in Asia?

 

[zang]

I didn't think it was possible, but I think Carney is quite possibly as dumb as Trudeau despite his Harvard and Oxford degrees. He has not made any progress with Trump in getting tariffs removed, and he is not likely to have any success, so under these circumstances, wouldn't the smart thing to do be to pick up the phone and call Xi Jinping and offer to remove 100% tariffs on EVs if Xi removes tariffs on our farmers and fishermen? Instead, he is antagonizing Xi with this stupid stunt while throwing $360 million at affected farmers as a band-aid solution.

So I guess we're tossing the Canadian car industry entirely then?

This is what I mean about Canada not being a serious country. You say we are standing "on the side of freedom and democracy". Do you think the United States is a free and democratic country? At least China doesn't act like a menacing predator that invades and bombs countries to oblivion. China spends billions on building infrastructure in third-world countries. The United States spends billions bombing them.

Do you work for the Chinese department of propaganda?

The article doesn't explain why Canada would be antagonizing China with this stupid stunt at a time when we should be mending relations with China, just as India has done. The only explanation for Canada and Australia engaging in this antagonistic action is that they are both acting like good little obedient vassals of the United States, even though it is completely contrary to the best interests of their respective countries. Australia's leaders are actually even bigger idiots than ours! Trump slapped tariffs on Australia despite the US having a trade SURPLUS with Australia. China is Australia's biggest export market - $195 billion vs $27 billion exports to the US, and yet Australia thinks it needs to act like Washington's poodle in Asia

How exactly is traveling in international waters acting like "Washington's poodle"? Australia has far more vested interest in this area than the US does.

The fact that China doesn't believe one patch of the ocean doesn't count as international waters simply because they believe they still "own" what's on the opposite side of it isn't anyone's issue to deal with but China's. Taiwan takes no issue with it. It's one country's opinion over what the rest of the world recognizes. Or, should we also be referring to "The Gulf of America" these days as well?

 

[Mihairokov]

Do you work for the Chinese department of propaganda?

Which countries have China bombed or invaded?

I understand people reacting trepidatiously towards China but the US is the major world power currently supporting Israel in bombing all of its neighbours, along with doing its own bombing and curren plans for invading Venezuela (along with its own cities).

The Chinese did the same Tasman Sea tests in February and March earlier this year, as well. I think it makes sense that if other countries are acting out-of-pocket internationally that other world powers are going to react accordingly by testing their systems. Do you think China has a military to invade other countries or do you think China has a military to reflect US influence in the Far East, a place where the US still has active military bases sprinkled throughout?

 

[zang]

Which countries have China bombed or invaded?

It was more the overall lack of critical thinking in regard to their comments.

Just because China hasn't bombed anyone else in about 40 years, doesn't mean they aren't a threat to neighbouring countries (see; Taiwan) or its own people (see: Uyghurs). They have regularly claimed other parts of South Asia as being occupied Chinese land, and act aggressively towards those areas, often using unannounced live fire drills, etc. In addition, Chinese troops have made incursions into India and Bhutan.

China is not the model of diplomatic restraint that EBT seemed to be making them out to be.

The Chinese did the same Tasman Sea tests in February and March earlier this year, as well. I think it makes sense that if other countries are acting out-of-pocket internationally that other world powers are going to react accordingly by testing their systems. Do you think China has a military to invade other countries or do you think China has a military to reflect US influence in the Far East, a place where the US still has active military bases sprinkled throughout?

The proliferation of US bases worldwide is indeed a problem that should've been rectified decades ago. That said, the issue EBT brought up has to do with Australia and Canada traversing the Strait of Taiwan. It had nothing to do with the U.S. other than EBT implying that the manoeuvres were somehow orchestrated by or at the behest of the US.

 

[Mihairokov]

Just because China hasn't bombed anyone else in about 40 years, doesn't mean they aren't a threat to neighbouring countries (see; Taiwan) or its own people (see: Uyghurs).

This sort of sentiment could be used towards our own government wrt our indigenous populations and our past and current treatment of them. I don't think China thinks about Taiwan as much as people in the West think they do. What does China gain from militarily controlling Taiwan that they don't currently get from dominating them on trade and economics?

They have regularly claimed other parts of South Asia as being occupied Chinese land, and act aggressively towards those areas, often using unannounced live fire drills, etc. In addition, Chinese troops have made incursions into India and Bhutan.

Outside of India, which parts? India and China have notoriously had areas that they have both claimed for decades. Many countries have territorial claims throughout Southeast Asia.

The proliferation of US bases worldwide is indeed a problem that should've been rectified decades ago. That said, the issue EBT brought up has to do with Australia and Canada traversing the Strait of Taiwan. It had nothing to do with the U.S. other than EBT implying that the manoeuvres were somehow orchestrated by or at the behest of the US.

So, why are we floating ships around Asia? We don't have territorial claims over the South China or Tasman Seas, do we? This would be akin to China floating ships around Havana because the US views Cuba as state sponsors of terrorism. Generally China views these sorts of AUKUS/AUKNZ agreements as unnecessary hangovers from the Cold War.

 

[zang]

This sort of sentiment could be used towards our own government wrt our indigenous populations and our past and current treatment of them. I don't think China thinks about Taiwan as much as people in the West think they do. What does China gain from militarily controlling Taiwan that they don't currently get from dominating them on trade and economics?

National grudge? Additional security? Removing US military from a place less than 150km from their shore? Controlling TSMC?

Outside of India, which parts? India and China have notoriously had areas that they have both claimed for decades. Many countries have territorial claims throughout Southeast Asia.

Territorial disputes of the People's Republic of China - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So, why are we floating ships around Asia? We don't have territorial claims over the South China or Tasman Seas, do we? This would be akin to China floating ships around Havana because the US views Cuba as state sponsors of terrorism. Generally China views these sorts of AUKUS/AUKNZ agreements as unnecessary hangovers from the Cold War.

Because we cross-train with other militaries? Should our training with Brazil be seen as a plan to antagonize Argentina or Venezuela?

 

[lenaitch]

I don't think China thinks about Taiwan as much as people in the West think they do.

Except when they are conducting large-scale amphibious exercises and have launched a fleet of large 'invasion' barges, you're right; they probably give Taiwan hardly a second thought.

 

[afransen]

Do you think China has a military to invade other countries

100%. China's military doctrine is to be capable of invading, and holding Taiwan in the next few years.

 

[afransen]

I don't think China thinks about Taiwan as much as people in the West think they do. What does China gain from militarily controlling Taiwan that they don't currently get from dominating them on trade and economics?

You can't be serious?

 

[kEiThZ]

100%. China's military doctrine is to be capable of invading, and holding Taiwan in the next few years.

And actively working towards that goal developing the exact capabilities needed. If all China cared about was defence and challenging American dominance of the Western Pacific, they wouldn't be so intent on building a large landing force.

You can't be serious?

He's not. This is what consuming a stream of propaganda that tells you "America is root of all evil" does to your brain. Can't wait to hear how Putin is a saint next.

China has armed clashes or outright war with practically every single one of its neighbours over the last half century. But apparently, they are "peaceful" because of those evil Americans. The algorithm is fantastic at brainwashing the people that can't even be bothered to read history on Wikipedia.