How a country surrounded by great powers in history can remain an independent country.The Kingdom of Thailand was not colonized.
2022-03-24
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Kingdom of Thailand remained an independent country
Speaking of how a country sandwiched between two major powers manages itself, there is the Kingdom of Thailand, which maintained its independence during the Asian colonial era. The white Asian colonies were ruled by the United Kingdom, which centered on India, France, which centered on Vietnam and Cambodia, and the Netherlands, which centered on Indonesia, so that they were not adjacent to each other.
Due to its geographical condition of being sandwiched between British and French colonial areas, Thailand takes advantage of the fact that Britain and France dislike being adjacent to each other, and does not lean towards either side, but acts as a buffer zone and transit point for both. Traded as land and profited from it.
Sino-Japanese/Russo-Japanese War
On the Korean Peninsula, the Treaty of Tianjin was signed after the Kashin Coup, and the Japanese and Qing forces withdrew from the peninsula. This has the same meaning as the neutralization that Russia is seeking from Ukraine, which was confirmed in a treaty between Japan and Qing. However, due to the rebellion of the Donghak Party, Queen Min upset the balance and the Sino-Japanese War broke out. Empress Min thought that she could not control the civil war that had broken out in her country, so she requested reinforcements from the Qing Dynasty.
After the Sino-Japanese War, the Korean Peninsula became an independent country and established the Korean Empire, but it was devoted to Russia and tried to keep Japan and Qing in check. The Russo-Japanese War was the result of Russia's advance southward. In this case, too, it was a war between Japan and Russia.
The Korean Peninsula continued to defect to major powers
The Korean Peninsula has no interest in the benefits of being a buffer zone, and has constantly implemented policies that disrupt the balance. As a result, the Korean government, believing that it would be unable to prevent the expansion of Russian interests, signed the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty. Japan and Korea are not at war here. What is different from the Ukraine issue is that the Korean Peninsula was not subject to military invasion, and the issue was resolved between the major powers involved (Japan-Qing, Japan-Russia).
Ukraine has been shaken
In Ukraine, a pro-Russian president and a pro-Western president have alternated every election. The eastern part has many residents who benefit from the economy with Russia, while the western part does business with Europe. With regard to domestic economic issues, if a pro-Western president is inaugurated, economic policies will be focused on Western areas, and if a pro-Russian president is inaugurated, economic policies will be focused on eastern areas. It will be done.
Although it may appear to be a security issue, economics has a lot to do with national elections. And while the current Zelensky administration is pro-Western, it has also taken an anti-Russian line. As a result, the security balance in Europe was seriously disrupted by the NATO membership issue.
POINT In any case, times are different now. Russia has faced much criticism from the international community for its military invasion of these issues.
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Japan, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and the EU announced sanctions against Russia.The content is limited, not enough to corner Russia.
Sanctions include (1) suspension of visa issuance and freezing of property for two "Republic" , (2) prohibition of import and export of two "Republics", and (3) prohibition of the issuance and distribution of new sovereign bonds in Japan.
Before that Japan's Foreign Minister Hayashi announced Japan will do sanctions in line with the G7, but the sanctions are not very strong.
German Chancellor Helmut Scholtz said on Wednesday he would suspend the approval process for a new gas pipeline (Nordstream 2) in Germany and Russia.Nordstream 2 is a pipeline that imports natural gas from Russia in the future without going through Ukraine, but will be suspended.However, it is doubtful how effective the sanctions will be because the current pipeline is exported to European countries via Ukraine.
The sanctions announced by the U.S. government are very limited.Pro-Russian-controlled areas are prohibited from doing economic transactions with the U.S. It was not sanctions against Russia.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has imposed sanctions on five banks and three Russian billionaires, saying they will be banned from traveling to Britain.
The EU said it agreed to target 27 individuals and organizations that "play a role in weakening or threatening Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence."
In any case, it is not a comprehensive plan to corner Russia's economy, but a partial, limited, and future solution.
Russia was subject to economic sanctions over the Crimean Peninsula last time, and based on its experience and current economic relations between the U.S. and Europe, it predicted the size of the sanctions and decided to send troops to Donetsk and Lugansk.Territorial disputes will benefit the region permanently after its conquest.Crimea ,Donetsk and Lugansk have 3,796,000 people, and after all Russia will occupy their economy.
Economic sanctions against territorial aggression cannot be used as a countermeasure from the beginning.Unless Russia returns it, losses from economic sanctions will be recovered from the region.
Daily cost of invasion of Ukraine is 2.4 trillion yen - Compared with the cost of fighting terrorism.
It is estimated that Russia's daily war expenses due to the invasion of Ukraine will exceed 2 trillion yen. This seems to be based on an analysis by Britain, but it is said that Russia's economic sanctions will come into effect and the war will not be able to continue.
In September 2021, a research team at the University of Brown compiled a report that the cost of a series of wars on terrorism would amount to $ 8 trillion (about 880 trillion yen) in the 20 years after the 9/11 attacks in the United States. .. The breakdown is $ 2.3 trillion (about 250 trillion yen) in Afghanistan and Pakistan, $ 2.1 trillion (about 230 trillion yen) in Iraq and Syria, and $ 2.2 trillion in medical treatment for veterans. It is (about 240 trillion yen). Estimating at 480 trillion yen excluding medical expenses for veterans, it will be 65.7 billion yen per day. If the cost of 230 trillion yen in Iraq and Syria is 8 years and 9 months, it will be about 720 yen per day. It looks like some digits are different.
Of course, if the number of soldiers put in, the fighters used, missiles, the price of ammunition, etc. differ greatly, the war cost will change significantly, but what is the difference in this war cost when those factors are excluded? It also seems to be effective in the sense that it shakes Russian public opinion. If the domestic economy is exhausted due to economic sanctions while spending a huge amount of war expenses per day, it is natural that criticism of the expenses caused by the war will arise. In any case, various information warfare is currently taking place.
Ukraine crisis as seen from Cuban crisis. Cuba protected but Ukraine isolated.
After Castro's successful Cuban Revolution in 1959, Cuba decided to pursue a socialist path and joined the socialist camp, and American capital was expelled.In 1961, President Eisenhauer broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba.Kennedy, the next president, failed in his attempt to overthrow Castro's revolutionary government by organizing Cubans who had defected to the United States to invade Cuba.In response, Castro stepped up his anti-U.S. stance and approached the Soviet Union, while Khrushchev deployed nuclear missiles in Cuba to gain an advantage over the U.S. by deploying nuclear weapons.
In October 1962, a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane discovered that a Soviet missile base was under construction.The range covered the entire United States and made it easier to attack the U.S. mainland with nuclear weapons.In a televised address on TV, President Kennedy declared that he would block the waters and airspace around Cuba to prevent the Soviet Union from bringing in weapons and ammunition and supplies used to make nuclear weapons.The Soviet Union was already in the process of sending ships loaded with goods and weapons to Cuba.Breaking through the U.S. blockade of the sea would have resulted in direct clashes, and the nuclear war crisis was imminent.The two leaders negotiated behind the scenes, and Khrushchev told Kennedy that the U.S. would remove its missile base in exchange for not invading Cuba. The agreement was reached on Oct. 27 to avoid a nuclear war crisis.
What is the difference between the Ukraine crisis and the Cuban crisis?The U.S. and Russia are in the opposite position.Castro approached the Soviet Union with the aim of building a socialist country and Zelensky approached NATO as a democratic country.This is also the opposite.And the same is true of the crisis, but why?The biggest difference was that Kennedy and Khrushchev had a conversation to avoid war and were avoided at the last minute.The United States has taken the position that it is not the party concerned this time.
The Cuban crisis was averted by dialogue between the United States and Russia.The U.S. has no intention of negotiating the Ukraine issue, only Ukraine was left behind
Continued invasion of Ukraine - The Iraq War lasted for 8 years and 9 months with the participation of more than 40 countries.
There is a view that Russia is not as strong as expected as it was revealed in this invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine has a population of about 44 million and the regular army has a population of about 210,000. Russia has a population of 140 million and the Russian army has a population of 900,000. Ukraine's GDP is 55th in the world, lower than Iraq. And in terms of location, it can be said that the Russian army is most likely to invade because it is a neighboring country. Belarus and Russia can also invade the capital Kyiv. Even so, even one month after the start of the war, it has not been suppressed. It is attracting attention in the sense that it is possible to fight so far just by providing weapons from developed countries.
The Iraq War lasted eight years and nine months. An airstrike on Baghdad by the US military was carried out on March 20, 2003, and Saddam Hussein was captured on December 13, 2003. More than 40 countries, including the United States and other developed countries, allies, and friendly countries, have made military intervention in Iraq. Still, it took eight years and nine months to conquer the whole of Iraq. What is different from Ukraine is that Iraq and its neighbors Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have not participated in the operation, and the countries that have conducted military intervention are dispatched to distant places.
After the capture of Hussein, destabilization in Iraq and guerrilla warfare continued. Even if we count the capture of Hussein, it will be about 9 months. Without nuclear weapons, it would take so much time to conquer a country even with modern weapons. And the common keyword is "national defense". In this sense, the Ukrainian war is likely to be prolonged if the goal is to control the whole country. On the other hand, Russia has said from the beginning that it is not thinking of controlling the whole of Ukraine. At what stage will the ceasefire agreement be reached? It presupposes that Russia's original goals will be achieved to some extent. There are many difficulties in the current negotiations as to how much Ukraine can accept Russia's demands.
Four Ukrainian regions apply to be annexed to Russia - An area three times the size of Kyushu will be annexed to Russia.
Four Ukrainian regions apply for annexation to Russia
A huge area will be annexed
How do we measure the war situation
The former Soviet Union had the highest number of war deaths in the world
What will be the target value at the end of the war?
Referendums were held in four Ukrainian oblasts, and on the 28th, pro-Russian factions in the four oblasts officially applied to Russian President Vladimir Putin for annexation, claiming that the majority of votes were in favor of annexation to Russia. Mr. Putin is scheduled to declare the country's annexation to Russia on the 30th. It is reported that Russia is at a disadvantage in the war, and a partial mobilization order for 300,000 people has been issued, sparking much criticism at home and abroad.
The four oblasts scheduled to be annexed to Russia are Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts. The total area was 108,840 km2. This area is approximately three times the size of Kyushu, Japan. South Korea has an area of 100,200 km2, so it's probably close in area. All of this will be annexed to Russia.
Opinions on whether the war situation is superior or inferior differ depending on the scale. Should we think in terms of the number of soldiers killed or in terms of territory? As an example, in World War II, the former Soviet Union drove back the advancing Nazis and ultimately led the Allies to victory.
The former Soviet Union had the highest number of deaths in World War II, estimated at 21.8 million to 28 million people. For Germany, it's between 7 million and 9 million people. The number of Japanese war dead is said to be between 2.62 million and 3.12 million. Still, Russia is a victorious country. As a result, the Nazis retreated, Hitler committed suicide, and the war ended because of the many sacrifices made by the former Soviet Union, but in other words, the outcome of the war cannot be said to be determined by the number of deaths. .
What will be interesting to watch in the future is whether Ukraine will attempt to take back these four regions. If future ceasefire negotiations include the return of these four states, the ceasefire will likely become hopeless. If that happens, it will also include the return of Crimea. In other words, there seems to be no other way than to get it back through combat. The Russian constitution stipulates that the president may not sign treaties that would result in the surrender of national territory.
