There are some deep changes Vladimir Putin’s adventure is putting in our world that the media seems to be missing.
China must make a significant reevaluation of its options on Taiwan. When it looks at Ukraine and sees that a small but well-armed and motivated nation can resist a world power that sought to waltz in and take over, it has to reevaluate invading Taiwan which would be a much more serious, formidable opponent for China than Ukraine is for Russia.
Just being an island means that it will need an amphibious landing beyond anything seen in WWII. In addition, it would face a very motivated, extremely well-armed nation of 24 million which has long been prepared for such a possibility. Key for the United States is to understand that the best way to avoid war between China and Taiwan is to arm Taiwan with the latest weapons in our arsenal. Pacifism on this issue is an open invitation to war in the Pacific.
Green energy has been hit heavily, not whether it is needed but rather how/when it should be feathered into national grids.
Germany’s Angela Merkel has been diminished. She was considered a green prophet for shutting down Germany’s fossil fuels, nuclear plants, and making friends with Putin. Russian gas would fill interim needs until green energy kicked in. She is now seen in a far lesser light. Germany’s vulnerability is being compared to that of France which kept a strong nuclear power industry and recently authorized two more nuclear plants. Russia has little energy blackmail capability over France. Renewable energy won’t be buried, but Putin has caused all to reassess how fast they should bring in reliance on wind and solar and shut down base load fossil plants. We should take note.
NATO has been strengthened. It has gone from a Cold War relic to an invigorated necessity to face Putin. Even neutrals like Finland and Sweden have now seen what happens to nations not within NATO when Putin makes his moves.
The U.S. Defense Industry has just gotten a huge new lease on life.
W. F. Trainer is a resident of Washington Crossing.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Russia’s move on Ukraine has several under-the-radar implications
