- Joined
- Jan 27, 2013
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- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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- Conservative
In general, I would agree with you. But, I think the reason why I would, is on account of longevity. That is to say, In the analogous cases you specify, the borders of the respective nations are long established, and the mutual responsibilities of the people so intertwined that the unravelling of the relationship is not simple. A longstanding entanglement has more legitimacy than one of short duration.
When you look honestly at the history of Crimea, it does seem odd that they ever went with Ukraine in the first place. Trust me, I have no love for Russia or Putin, but his assertions pertaining to Crimea have more than a veneer of legitimacy, to my mind, even if they lack legal legitimacy.
Now, from a strictly strategic standpoint, I think maybe we should make Russia pay as much as we can for their actions, without causing ourselves too much pain. I believe this simply because I do think Russia is horrible, and we have a veneer of legitimacy due to international laws, even if long standing tradition is not on our side.
Yet when I look at the broader picture, it would be nice to be able to side with the Tibetans and Taiwan against China. Surely, China will cite our ardent political defense of Ukraine as precedent for asking our equal support of their claims, should it ever come to it. Oh what a tangled web we weave...
I don't disagree with a lot of what you've said, but if a "province" can simply split off from a "nation", as some have suggested, solely on the vote of the majority of that province based on their heritage and first language and culture, etc., what's to stop such a vote in California, one day soon, to secede from the United States and join with Mexico? It won't be long before latinos of Mexican and other Central and Southern American anchestry are the majority population there. Surely the nation itself should make rules and requirements for such a move and for it to be legitimate those rules must be followed. I have no problem with Crimea "self-determining" that they wish to join with the Russian Federation - I do have a problem with how it's been done and now how it's being enforced.