Ever hear the term "keeping up with the Jones" ? It's all about saving face which is very big in Chinese/Taiwanese (pretty much all Asian) culture.

China is a huge country with a rapidly growing economy but a military which is sorely lacking, at least compared to the U.S. It's an embarassment to be this giant superpower with a shitty miltary so they build it up. Doesn't neccessarily mean they wil use it. They just want to be able to say they can. Kind of like owning a Hummer. How many people who own them would ever risk a scratch by taking them off road. But they sure look impressive(at least the owners think so) and its nice to know they could go off road if they wanted to but really who will.

As far as Taiwan is concerned, this seems to be an issue that is of more concern to us than most Taiwanese or Chinese. There's a lot of posturing in the name of saving face but its unlikely that either side will do anything. Taiwan companies invest billions of $ in Mainland China each year. Why would they do this if they thought war was a strong possibility within the next few years?

My companies headquarters is in Taiwan, with offices in Shanghai, Beijing, HK, and Chengdu. I speak with these people daily. None of the people in Taiwan that I work with actually support declaring independence. They know it would be suicide. Most are actually very vocal in their disagreement with their current governments posturing. And, while most mainland Chinese that I know will be more than happy to state that Taiwan is actually just another province of China none support any kind of military action to support their claim.

As I've mentioned before, China (and Taiwan) is doing very well right now. They don't want to screw it up. China isn't some rogue state with a psychotic dictator who doesn't care if his country is wiped out. They know that any war with Taiwan or the U.S would be fought on their own ground. Even if nukes weren't used the damages to their infrastructure, cities, and economy, not to mention the loss of life, would be devastating to their own country. It's not like sending a bunch of kids to die in a desert on the other side of the world. It would hit home and the leaders friends, families, and themselves would be in danger. They know it.

Most Americans take a very ethnocentric view of the world. We(myself included) think that the U.S. is the best country in the world. The problem is that too many of us (myself not included) think that everyone else should be just like us. Unfortunately, while they may want some of what we have they certainly don't want everything. Instead of pointing the finger at other countries who don't share all of our views and values we should try to have a bit of empathy and step into their shoes for a minute.

Think about it, how much does the U.S. spend on its military each year? Why is it ok for us to do it but when another country does they must be intent on taking over the world? How many times in the last 50 years has China sent troops into a foriegn country? How many times has the U.S.? We seem pretty intent on spreading democracy to the Middle East. So intent that we've invaded two soveriegn countries within the last 5 years. Once the Middle East becomes one big American miltary base what's to stop us from going further. Is it any wonder that China wants to build it's military?