2014-01-21, 03:41 | Link #544 |
Gamilas Falls
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Republic of California
Age: 47
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There are a few smaller companies that make firearms, but most were specialized in making shotguns, sporting/hunting rifles, or other non-military use weaponry. Or were craftsmen that made unique firearms for lots of money.
Also there were a few that (as far as I could tell) only made weapons for their own national military and did not take orders to sell arms to other countries. A lot of the French companies seem like that, while the British, German, and certainly the Americans, sold to many people. Also many companies would simply make licensed versions of other companies guns. sometimes with minor changes or improvements if possible. Though usually they just made them cheaper.
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2014-02-11, 03:09 | Link #545 |
I don't give a damn, dude
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: In Despair
Age: 38
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Okay, so here's something interesting. I'm not sure whether this is the right thread for this and all, but I figured it was close enough.
So, I've found myself in an online political game set in the 2020s, and I'm playing the role of China. Specifically, I'm playing a restored Republic of China, led by a Kuomintang returned from exile in Taiwan (yeah, realism isn't exactly emphasised here). Taiwan itself on the other hand has been taken over by a militant Pan-Green faction, and has joined with Japan, Philippines and California to form a polity of its own; we'll call it 'Pacific'. Pacific has also for 'certain reasons' taken over the Fujian province. Game has just started, and Pacific has agreed to cede Fujian back to my ROC. In return, I'm planning not to make an issue of Taiwan. However, now we've moved on to the issue of Scarborough Shoal/Spratly Islands/Senkaku Islands. I must confess I've never followed those disputes all that closely, so I'm a little unsure of the respective arguments used by RL China to support its sovereignty over those territories. If someone can point me to a short and sweet summary, and/or suggest negotiation strategies, it would be much appreciated. Thanks! |
2014-02-11, 03:27 | Link #546 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
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2014-02-11, 04:18 | Link #547 |
Gamilas Falls
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Republic of California
Age: 47
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Save that the actual treaty (San Francisco) kept said islands as administered from Okinawa, then under American occupation. When Okinawa was returned to Japan by the United States after 25 years, the islands sort of went with it. The Treaty of Taipei doesn't change matters all that much (as the treaty is with Taiwan) and was more or less made moot when Japan opened relations with the mainland in the 1970s. The peace between Japan and the PRC says nothing about islands or even anything about World War II, as that was 1978.
If the ROC is not going to make an issue over Taiwan, what sense is there in making an issue over those islands? Especially if Taiwan and Japan are in the same country (or is that just an alliance?) If Pacific has manage to gain a foothold on Mainland China, the ROC has no foot to stand on for extra territorial claims in the South China Sea.
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Last edited by Ithekro; 2014-02-11 at 05:41. |
2014-02-11, 23:24 | Link #549 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
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No, historical arguments are used to buttress practical ones, in this case protecting the Chinese LOC in order to protect the offshore EEZ. Giving up the Diaoyu Islands in this instance would allow Pacific to control Mainland Chinese maritime traffic for all intents and purposes, which is why you don't want to concede those islands in the first place. Spratlys is more a resource issue in comparison, so it's up to you to determine if you want to compromise or not. Think like a Victoria 2 player to get the gist of the geopolitical maneuvering involved.
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2014-02-12, 00:39 | Link #550 |
I don't give a damn, dude
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: In Despair
Age: 38
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Alright, so I really don't want to give up Diaoyu. Assuming I've made Pacific agree to give Fujian back, and the question of Taiwan is up in the air, as I haven't yet mentioned my stand on it. Also, Pacific is a nation in its own right (encompassing both Japan and Taiwan), and they're basically waiting to see what my stance on Diaoyu, Spratlys and Scarborough is.
I can forego Taiwan, I want to keep Diaoyu, and I can use Spratlys and Scarborough as bargaining chips. What would be the ideal strategy for me to employ, here? Before I forget, this is also keeping in mind that my ROC is looking into signing a political and economic alliance with Pacific, as well. So, I want to keep them happy enough to still want me as an ally, while not compromising my own interests too much. |
2014-02-12, 01:00 | Link #551 |
Le fou, c'est moi
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Age: 35
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Mm...joint oil and gas exploration? Promises not to develop military installations or garrisons in the sea zones? You cede some exclusive economic benefits and complete sovereignty while retaining the crucial sea transit rights.
But you'll have to convince the Pacific player in the first place why you're willing to give up on Taiwan but not the Diaoyu, without stating outright your rationale -- that you don't trust them to always keep shipping lanes open in cases of diplomatic conflict. Would s(he) accept RP arguments like placating domestic jingoism? Alternatively, or, well, in addition to that, you can possibly propose a mutually binding free shipping agreement (+ negotiations over fishing quotas and enforcement mechanisms) for both parties, either for the entire national seas -- which Pacific will probably not accept given their much larger sea zones that they're giving up exclusive rights on -- or overlapping areas/the China Seas. It might be the first step for a free trade agreement and an eventual alliance. I don't know what kind of background the game world has, but if the Pacific component regions retain anything like the real industries of Japan, Taiwan, and California, the Chinese market would be most welcome. The game's setting sounds very strange though. Why are they holding Fujian and -- though gameplay-wise very understandable given that the a player with the full might of the USA would just kick everybody's butt -- why is California independent and in league with Japan and Taiwan. |
2014-02-12, 01:02 | Link #552 |
Gamilas Falls
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Republic of California
Age: 47
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For what reasons did the mainland ROC not have Fujian and how did they get it back?
If ROC didn't have Fujian, they didn't have the LOC to protect in that area around Taiwan and Japan, as that was entirely controled by "Pacific". This isn't even US-Philippines-Taiwan-South Korea-Japan alliance type sea zone denial, this is one country that controls the waters from Japan to the Philippines. Those islands are a moot point in the East China Sea, because they have both Taiwan and Japan to project their EEZ. If the ROC was having issues maintaining their own coastline, they have no method of establishing control over the South China Sea verses Pacific in the Philippines. Who holds the lands know presently as Vietnam and Indonesia? They are the other disputed parties in that sea other than Pacific and China. We use to do stuff like that but mostly relating to naval construction and had naval focus. But those were in the age of battleships from the 1890s to the 1940s. In one version we had Chile (of all places) lay a claim on the Spratlys due to having a sailor die while they were in the area and buried him there. It was an excuse, but it was 1926.
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2014-02-12, 01:55 | Link #553 | ||||
I don't give a damn, dude
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: In Despair
Age: 38
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Same global depression also broke up the United States, thus California with Pacific and the rest of the former US divided into Union vs Confederate yet again. Like I said, realism isn't highly prioritised here. This game is supposed to be based in an alternate XCOM: Enemy Unknown setting, which means ALIENS sooner or later. But it's just started, so right now we're doing 'normal' diplomacy and all that jazz. Quote:
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alternate history, discussion, fiction, history |
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