[indeedmug]

I don't think you can say that the West ignored Crimea. There are still sanctions against Russia and they are not going to be lifted anytime soon. The thing about Crimea is that it's in a slatemate where neither side can displace each other without sacrificing huge resources. So it's basically at the same place for years.

https://youtu.be/nR7XAcArAa0

The problem with invading Tawian is that there is a basically a single place where you can land ships on from China. Tawian been preparing for an invasion for years. This means this single point is heavily defended and anyone attacking is on a huge disadvantage. This means there is a huge price to pay to take Tawian and even if you do, there would likely be sanctions from the West.

https://youtu.be/qsjJ5QvNmd8

[jollybean]

The West reaction to Crimea was exactly what I was alluding to: nothing but an effette attempt to face save a little bit.

It was encouraging enough for Putin to try the same thing in the Baltic states, thankfully, NATO reacted ahead of time.

"The problem with invading Tawian "

They're not going to invade with amphibious ships.

They're going to invade by stripping the country of it's economic viability, by fomenting agitators, corrupting politicians, stuffing ballots. And then support the coup at the right time.