the utter futility of invading an island

An amphibious and paratrooper assault in this day and age, as well as the inevitable international sledgehammer of sanctions, makes it look to me like the expense and risk outweighs the potential benefits.

There is a balance of peace and trade in the region. Who in their right mind would overturn this balance? There has to be an unholy alliance of sense of power-tripping entitlement plus a strong self-loathing inferiority complex. But goddamn it, we’ve seen too many hollow, noisy, vulgar, aggrieved billionaires and orange millionaires in the past decade or so, haven’t we?

They want to secure the whole first island chain. That would basically mean China has complete control of South Pacific sea trade and creates a huge amount of military security to the mainland. If China wants to fully control its region and block the US or Japan, they have to take Taiwan. I would prefer they don’t, but I see the strategic purpose of they they might try.