You seem to have been in remote areas where your communication with locals has been limited, but in the maybe rare conversations you do have with people about the state of the world, what are they saying about the topic of American decline and China rising?
They're surprised to hear the US has become a shithole, and can hardly believe, for example, videos of Philadelphia's Kensington or LA's Skidrow. Laos know that China and even Vietnam have a huge influence on what's going on here, and they're resigned to that.
When I was in Phonsavan in January of 2020, I met a Lao colonel who said about 100 Russian troops were training in the area. I was startled by his fact, but Russia and China are prepared for every contingency in Asia.
About five years ago, I sat next to a Singaporean colonel on a plane. "Should war between the US and China break out, will Singaporeans still side with the US?" I asked him. "Of course," he said.
I don't believe him. Singaporeans are mostly Chinese, after all.
2 comments:
You seem to have been in remote areas where your communication with locals has been limited, but in the maybe rare conversations you do have with people about the state of the world, what are they saying about the topic of American decline and China rising?
Hi WayWay,
They're surprised to hear the US has become a shithole, and can hardly believe, for example, videos of Philadelphia's Kensington or LA's Skidrow. Laos know that China and even Vietnam have a huge influence on what's going on here, and they're resigned to that.
When I was in Phonsavan in January of 2020, I met a Lao colonel who said about 100 Russian troops were training in the area. I was startled by his fact, but Russia and China are prepared for every contingency in Asia.
About five years ago, I sat next to a Singaporean colonel on a plane. "Should war between the US and China break out, will Singaporeans still side with the US?" I asked him. "Of course," he said.
I don't believe him. Singaporeans are mostly Chinese, after all.
Linh
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