[qiqing]

Why is it moral for the U.S. and U.K. to build bases on random little islands in Asia, but not China and other Asian countries?

Edit: Clarification, since so many of the smaller uninhabited islands have been claimed by the UK, US, and other Western nations, how is it wrong to build some uninhabited islands of your own?

[noir_lord]

Because in recent times building a base isn't used to justify ownership of all the surrounding sea's (and where that is done it's because we/they previously owned that island, like the Falklands).

Creating an island out of thin air and then claiming the territory around it is 1 step short of Sealand.

That said no we aren't perfect and we did stuff like this as well but two wrongs in this case don't make a right, this is nothing but a very destabilising move.

[qiqing]

That actually seems like a pretty good strategy, TBH. Not saying this in an inflammatory way, as this seems applicable to a lot of other areas.

Execute massive land grab first to get strategic high ground, and then bitflip your previous moves to be wrong for anyone else to do. That makes sure that anyone else trying to catch up to you is unable to do so. Boom. Barriers to entry. Done.

[noir_lord]

The British empire built itself on the backs of foreigners (everything up to and including slavery) and in many way shaped the world the way it is now.

However the world has moved on, that it moved on at a time when the West was dominant (for now) wasn't planned it was just how it was.

[cheapsteak]

> the world has moved on

If your definition of "the world" excludes the words largest country by territory and the largest country by population.

It would seem more fitting to instead say "the West has moved on".

[tellthetruth]

Yeah we aren't perfect. But after we did it no one else should (except our allies) and we are gonna keep it.

[noir_lord]

In fairness how far back do we apply this, should the Italians be censored for what the Romans did in the North of England, or the Mongols for what they did to most of Europe or the Spanish for what they did in South America or what we (the British) did to...well basically everybody.

If you hold that no past behaviour is considered expired then pretty much every country on the planet or the people who live there before it was that country is responsible for something.

African tribes have warred for millenia, European tribes have warred for millenia, South America, Middle East, Far East pretty much everyone has at some point beaten up their neighbours and not so near neighbours.

[qiqing]

Yeah, we could at least give Guam residents the right to vote. Them not having that right has a lot to do with racist legislators in a previous era feeling like votes by "alien races" (e.g., Asians) would be detrimental.

[mabbo]

Building bases is one thing- claiming territory and the right to block others from entering it is another entirely.

[tellthetruth]

I wonder how they got those little islands everywhere.