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siegecrossbow

siegecrossbow

General
Staff member
Super Moderator
Stierlitz said:
Exports from Taiwan dropped 13.3% year-on-year to USD 35.96 billion in April 2023, cooling from a 19.1% plunge in the previous month and less than market forecasts of an 18.15% fall. Most leading commodities continued to decline, namely parts of electronic products (-8.6%), base metals (-25.2%), machinery (-13%) and plastics & rubbers (-28.6%). On the other hand, shipments for information, communication and audio-video products grew (5.4%). Among major destinations, exports decreased the most to China & Hong Kong (-22%), followed by the USA (-10.3%), ASEAN countries (-7.1%) and Europe (-3.6%); while demand went up from Japan (19.8%). For the first four months of the year, exports were 17.7% lower than the same period last year.

Imports to Taiwan slipped 20.2% year-on-year to USD 29.2 billion in April 2023, edging lower from a 20.1% slump in the previous month and more than market estimates of an 18% fall. It was the largest drop since February 2019 due to lower purchases for all leading commodities, particularly chemicals (-33.2%), base metals (-31.7%) and parts of electronic products (-26%). On trade partners, arrivals declined the most to ASEAN countries (-26.1%), followed by Japan (-25.3%), China & Hong Kong (-23.4%), the Middle East (-17.1%), USA (-12.8%) and Europe (-7.6%). Considering the first four months of the year, imports went down by 16.9% compared to the same period a year earlier.

source: Ministry of Finance, R.O.C.
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It’s dropping because mainland economy is so bad that they don’t have enough money to giveaway to trade with Taiwan and rolled back ECFA as a face saving measure. The SeeSeePee is finished.
 
P

Petrolicious88

Senior Member
Registered Member
manqiangrexue said:
That analysis has at least 2 things wrong with it.

1. If it fails, and draws China's ire, it means that China will be walking all over the Philippines, raming fishing ships, taking/building islands, etc... On the other hand, if they aligned with China, the US would do very little other than talk trash against the Philippines.
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China will always dominate over the Philippines. How much so depends on China's strength and it's degree of dominance in Asia. And of course PH's own strength and allies.
manqiangrexue said:
2. If it succeeds in helping the US suppress China, it is a short-sighted victory for a long term defeat. Filipinos are Asians; maintaining a Western-dominated world in the long term is extremely detrimental to Asians on a global scale as it means that all over the world, Asians will be considered inferior to Westerners and especially Western Caucasians. South Korea and Japan are the kings of Asian people keeping each other down, AKA crabs. If China attains its goal of displacing Western power, all of these Asian countries can orbit Chinese power like Western Europeans orbit American power and the status of all Asians will be elevated. As we see in Europe, just looking like a similar people to the "hegemon" brings points even when your actual country itself isn't worth jack squat. But democracies have very short-term plans; one can't expect everyone to be like China and plan to shape the world decades in advance and that's why China has to deal with goddamn Sebastian and Mr. Krabbs all the time.
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That may be true from China's perspective as the biggest fish in Asia. Not sure how Koreans, and even weaker countries like PH feel about that. And the bigger the power disparity, the bigger the danger for a small/weak country to be trampled on.
manqiangrexue said:
That only works when you pick the right "strong friend." If you pick the wrong one, and you end up supported by a strong friend 10,000 miles away against his very strong enemy at your doorstep, that's setting yourself up to be cannon fodder.
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"The heaven is high and the emperor is far away." Better to have an emperor that is far away than one that is right next to door.
 
Bellum_Romanum

Bellum_Romanum

Brigadier
Registered Member
Petrolicious88 said:
Actually, the most pragmatic, realistic thing for Philippines is to align itself with the US as China's interest is to dominate Asia/SCS.

As everyone's favorite Realist, Mearsheimer, once said, you do not want to be a small, weaker country living under the shadow of a powerful neighbor. You better get strong fast or align yourself with some strong friends.
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Lol that's a western precept and prescription which is being projected unto a region and a country who's never even dared to become the world's sole superpower through invasion on the majority of it's thousand year history.

The fact that U.S. is thousands of kilometers away from the Philippines and China is permanently in place in its geographical place underscores the need for the Philippines and its leadership to smell the coffee and stop sniffing the same shit that has to benefit the island country in a really fundamental way other than through the export of it's nurses, lounge singers, prostitutes for the passport bros, and many other degrading form of living that don't lift up the spirit of the Filipinos.

I personally see China as a country worthy of emulation not in every way but the things that can and must be applied in many countries like the PH.
 
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