Trump has incentivized Japan and South Korea to go Nuclear.....

[ChloeTzang]

As expected - Trump's destruction of America's traditional alliances is leadig Japan and South Korea to seriously consider going nuclear as part of a "Plan B", giving the unreiability of America as an ally.

The nuclear proliferation genie is now well and truly out of the bottle - expect Japan, South Korean and Taiwan to all go nuke.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

You always take these things with a grain of salt, but allegedly Japan has been 90 days from a nuke for 30 years.
What's the downside to Japan and Korea having them? I've got more faith in Japan being a responsible member of the club than several other countries that have them.
I won't comment on Korea simply because I am not familiar enough with their government to comment.

 

[ChloeTzang]

You always take these things with a grain of salt, but allegedly Japan has been 90 days from a nuke for 30 years.
What's the downside to Japan and Korea having them? I've got more faith in Japan being a responsible member of the club than several other countries that have them.
I won't comment on Korea simply because I am not familiar enough with their government to comment.

Agreed. There's no downside to them going nuke

And all three countries have the capability to do it quickly. Taiwan was apparantly closely involved with South Africa when South Africa built nukes, but stepped away. I'm sure that Taiwan can do it quicklyif they choose, too. Probably oay them to. Mini-nuke sea minds in the Strait would certainly put a stop to any sea-borne invasion, and a nuke into the Three Gorges dam would disrupt China a little.

 

[Rightguide]

As expected - Trump's destruction of America's traditional alliances is leadig Japan and South Korea to seriously consider going nuclear as part of a "Plan B", giving the unreiability of America as an ally.

The nuclear proliferation genie is now well and truly out of the bottle - expect Japan, South Korean and Taiwan to all go nuke.

So, North Korea had nothing to do with it, eh?

 

[ChloeTzang]

So, North Korea had nothing to do with it, eh?

As lomg as they were confident of the US nuclear umbrella, no, but Trump has removed the confidence in that.

His attitude to Ukraine and his tariff wars are having a lot of spinoffs

 

[ChloeTzang]

$15 Billion Gone: China Just Canceled Every U.S. Chip Order​

China just canceled every single U.S. chip order — and $15 billion disappeared overnight. Beijing has banned American-made semiconductors from its tech sector, targeting giants like Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm. The decision not only humiliates Trump’s latest export plan, but also exposes how fragile U.S. influence over global tech really is. This video breaks down the strategy behind China’s shocking chip ban, why it caught Washington completely off guard, and how it could reshape the future of the tech industry.

From collapsing revenue forecasts to mounting pressure on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the fallout is just beginning. If you thought the chip war was cooling down — think again. Watch the full report to understand why this moment could be a turning point in the U.S.–China tech rivalry.

 

[Rightguide]

As lomg as they were confident of the US nuclear umbrella, no, but Trump has removed the confidence in that.

His attitude to Ukraine and his tariff wars are having a lot of spinoffs

America’s nuclear umbrella sounds ironclad on paper, but deterrence only works if the adversary truly believes Washington is willing to trade Los Angeles for Seoul or San Francisco for Tokyo. China and North Korea both gamble on the assumption that U.S. leaders, faced with the prospect of nuclear retaliation at home, may hesitate to pull the trigger in defense of allies abroad. Add to that the growing range and accuracy of Chinese and North Korean missiles, which put American cities directly in the crosshairs, and the credibility of America’s nuclear guarantee begins to look less like a shield and more like a bluff. That sliver of doubt alone could be enough to tempt aggression, because in the nuclear game, hesitation is weakness.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

As lomg as they were confident of the US nuclear umbrella, no, but Trump has removed the confidence in that.

His attitude to Ukraine and his tariff wars are having a lot of spinoffs

Countries taking more responsibility for their own defence is a good thing in my book.

 

[Rebel5soul]

As expected - Trump's destruction of America's traditional alliances is leadig Japan and South Korea to seriously consider going nuclear as part of a "Plan B", giving the unreiability of America as an ally.

The nuclear proliferation genie is now well and truly out of the bottle - expect Japan, South Korean and Taiwan to all go nuke.

This is FAR from new Chloe. Japan threatened to go nuclear back in the 1960's, that was forestalled by us promising them a 'nuclear umbrella.' Starting in the 1990's going nuclear was once more becoming a subject of discussion in Japan all having to do with N. Korea. It was a subject that always came up in conversation when I traveled there on business.

From a technical standpoint Japan is maybe 6 months away from having a nuke. They have the largest stockpile of Plutonium of any nation on Earth, granted it's reactor grade but we, the US, did some tests in the late 1960's and the stuff will indeed go "boom." They have the launch capabilities as well, they've been putting satellites into orbit for years now. And they most certainly have the physicists to put it all together. The only thing they need is the political will to execute.

So as I said, this is not new.