I shouldn't need to listen to Chinese media to get a clear explanation of why the #AustralianNavy does things!
I'm not saying I agree with the Chinese side of the story, but usual announcement from Australian government or from the #USA saying "freedom of navigation exercises in international waters" completely obfuscates that point!
This is the first time I've heard it said so clearly why we send warships though the #TaiwanStrait – because #China doesn't consider it international waters, because they see #Taiwan as part of China.
It was said on the last story in this podcast https://open.spotify.com/episode/1xCrM5dMijBO0AkyQ7BWaO?si=xHhigy_xQKOV3BScbzut5A
Whether you agree with their point of view or not, the side doing this military grade trolling exercise have a tendancy to not even mention that Congress disagree, let alone the extent or the significance of the disagreement. Even if they mention a territorial dispute they make it sound like the dispute is about just that little bit of water.
I somewhat support us defending freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, there are multiple countries that we have good reasons to support that all disagree with China, and it's about maritime territory, it's much less likely to start World War Three.
Whereas for Taiwan I start hearing "threat to democracy" in a North American accent and I think we need to get the bloody hell out before the next goddamn Vietnam / Afghanistan / Iraq / festival of war crimes / quagmire that only makes us much less safe and much less free and much less democratic.
I actually feel extremely strongly about actual democracy, but the U.S. military is too democracy what ISIS are for Islam, a deranged violent disaster with a twisted interpretation of the thing they claim to stand for. We need to stop following that undemocratic two party state into every bloody disaster they start.

