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I knew I liked Wolfgang Schauble for a reason. He is the only western politician willing to call it as he sees it that I can tell. Yesterday he started a news flurry here in Germany by comparing Putin to Hitler and making the further comparison that the Russian takeover of the Crimea was similar to the German annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938. I am just happy because I am not the only person saying that now.There is also a neat infographic with the story highlighting the force strengths of the countries in the neighborhood. Notice how Russian strength dwarfs that of their neighbors. Of interest, and not said here, is that Russia has spent the past ten years upgraded their military systems. All their frontline tanks are 3rd generation T-80s and the Russians have taken their recent combat experiences to heart in upgrading and changing other systems. They have not neglected the mundane either. Since 2012 Russian troops are now issued socks instead of footwraps. that is actually a pretty big deal as socks are superior to footwraps in a lot of ways.
Let's see what will be the next move. European countries may have to look again at defence budgets since rules of game have changed.If it's not too late already.
The parallel between Russia and Nazi Germany over Crimea and the Sudetenland's annexion makes me think about the other side of the “axis“:China has established an air defence identification zone (ADIZ) over a swathe of the East China Sea, including islands controlled by Japan. China has claimed a U-shaped swathe of the South China Sea – creating multiple overlaps with areas claimed by the neighbouring countries.But Beijing has said its right to the area come from 2,000 years of history where the Paracel and Spratly island chains were regarded as integral parts of the Chinese nation. What were the reactions?
China does seem to be playing aggressor pretty good in Asia don't they? Don't forget the antics of NK, a Chinese satellite. It all adds up to an unsettled world.A Russian-Chinese Axis presents a different set of strategic issues than did Germany-Japan in the 30s & 40s. For one thing Russia and China form a contiguous territorial bloc giving them interior lines in any conflict. For another, both Russia and China are nuclear powers, which makes confronting them with military power more perilous, especially if they start to lose.Interesting times indeed.
