Comments by "LancesArmorStriking" (@LancesArmorStriking) on "Why Sanctions Don't Work Against North Korea" video.

You do realize that Taiwan is the only real roadblock to oceanic trade though, right? That's why the media has suddenly started picking up State Department language- '1st island chain' to 'keep China boxed in'. It's all about controlling other countries, not freedom and democracy. If China takes Taiwan, it will be too late. Senkaku won't be enough to hold the Chinese Navy, and it will have unblockable access to the Pacific. There are no other staging grounds beyond Taiwan that the US can ally with or take over.
38
@agapp11able That doesn't matter too much. First I think they won't have enough time to destroy all of their factories, and Taiwan is important more because of their location. The US wants to control China by keeping it locked in to the 1st island chain. If China takes Taiwan (and possibly Senkaku) then it will be on equal standing with the US, unblockable access to the World Ocean. Then the US will know what it is like to have to deal with the US: An aggressive power bent on controlling the world (which the US already does, now it might flip).
9
I doubt this would have dissuaded Russia from continuing. If the sanctions were actually fuller in scope in 2014, then Russia would have cut Europe off (Germany especially, if they switched on their commitment to keep Russia in contact with Europe) from natural gas. At the time, oil was selling for ~$100/barrel, and US LNG capabilities were not as developed. Russia might have gone into a recession, but it would drag Europe down with it, and Europe has much more to lose.
5
@China_Secret_Police I think he is referring to the fact that most international institutions today were founded by, or came to by led by, the US following the Bretton Woods system in the 1950s. The UN was preceded by the League of Nations, founded by the US. The IMF and World Bank are centered around the US and Europe (all following US foreign policy). The SWIFT system is being used as a threat against Russia- if it isn't controlled solely by US and Europe, then how is it being used as a threat by them alone? The world's institutions (which the rest of the world had to adopt, since the US came out of WWII unscathed) were made to benefit the US. Even free trade heavily favors the US, since (aside from China) most trade deficits are in its favor. More developed countries have advantage when negotiating trade deals, only possible through the US-guaranteed free trade system. The game is rigged.
4