Thread by @MsMelChen

This has got be gaslighting, right?

A history lesson 🧵

Historically, China not only tried to invade Vietnam (as I cite in my latest @TheSpectator piece) but other countries as well. The Chinese tried to invade Burma but were repulsed.

Under the Yuan Dynasty, they attempted to invade Japan but were thwarted by the Divine Wind.

China also sought tributes from outlying kingdoms especially those in the Korean peninsula to acknowledge their suzerainty.

In the modern era, PLA troops invaded South Korea as this is a little known fact. When the North Koreans invaded the South at the outbreak of the war, they captured Seoul and forced the allies to the Busan perimeter.

When the tide was turned, the Allies drove the NKs to the

Chinese border. That was when the PLA joined in the fight and swept South.

The Communist forces crossed the 38th Parallel and captured Seoul again before being forced back to the 38th Parallel.

In the mid-50s, China exerted pressure on Taiwan and there were artillery exchanges between them over 2 offshore islands - Kinmen and Matsu.

There were also dogfights over the Taiwan straits and several Communist MiG fighters were

shot down by air-to-air missiles supplied by the Americans.

Also there was the annexation of Tibet by China, called the "Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" by the Chinese government in the early 1950s.

In 1962, the PLA fought a bloody war with India and seized control of large

areas of disputed territories, echoes of which flared up again early this year.

Then there was the bitter clashes in 1979 with Vietnam. In the new millennium, China has militarised several islands in the South China Sea and has intimidated the Philippines,

clashed with the Vietnamese, harassed the Malaysians and provoked the Indonesians in the South China Sea.

The PRC also established a military base in Djibouti (there are 3 other nations having bases there- the French, US and Italians).

For a country that calls itself 中国 (zhong guo), it has always regarded itself as the “central kingdom” of the world, and indeed for a time in history, it was.

It’s not hard to see that the CCP wants to restore China’s “rightful” place in the world.

Not hegemonic?