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Originally Posted by Edward64
You're right that "ironclad" has not been defined yet. I interpret that as "if I'm attacked, you come and help including boots on the ground".
I doubt China will agree to an ironclad security guarantee. They'll willingly step into the vacuum and sell their military weapons and continue their silk road projects in trade for a steady supply of oil, but don't see China sending boots on the ground to defend SA if there is war with Iran or if Yemen makes inroads.
IMO for the long term, developing closer ties with India > Saudi Arabia. India is the natural (and willing) counter weight to China.
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That would be the requirement for the U.S.. If I am China, that guarantee is based on the influence I believe I have on Iran and Yemen. If China has that influence then the only way Chinese boots are on the ground is if the West has boots on the ground in an aggressive posture.
Now whether it is wise for China to believe that they would ever have that sort of influence is another discussion entirely. They are taking their turn at trying to bring peace to the Middle East. They have the benefit of being seen as a neutral party by most of the parties involved and has been willing to invest (bribe?) in the region without outwardly interfering in regional affairs.
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"The blind soldier fought for me in this war. The least I can do now is fight for him. I have eyes. He hasn’t. I have a voice on the radio, he hasn’t. I was born a white man. And until a colored man is a full citizen, like me, I haven’t the leisure to enjoy the freedom that colored man risked his life to maintain for me. I don’t own what I have until he owns an equal share of it. Until somebody beats me and blinds me, I am in his debt."- Orson Welles August 11, 1946
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