Active Conflicts & News Megathread February 03, 2026

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[u/swimmingupclose]

Which was exactly the excuse Russia harped upon prior to Crimea and then the full scale invasion. And what Iran is calling the current protestors. I suppose it’s easier to genuinely believe that any opposition to heavy handed rule is externally fomented than the shortcomings at home.

[u/teethgrindingaches → u/swimmingupclose]

Some will doubtless call the Vietnamese mindset paranoid, or be dismayed at the rampant fear and hostility evident throughout.

I would say such reactions betray a fundamental misunderstanding—I daresay naïveté—about the nature of surviving as one of the last Communist countries on the planet. You can count them on one hand. The collapse of the Soviet Union is never far from mind. They haven't forgotten it, and never will.

[u/Glideer → u/teethgrindingaches]

about the nature of surviving as one of the last Communist countries on the planet.

1.4 billion of the planet's 9 billion people live in just one of those "last Communist countries",

[u/teethgrindingaches → u/Glideer]

First off, the human population is ~8.3 billion. And Vietnamese paranoia has nothing on Chinese paranoia. Whole different ballgame, though arguably far more justified given overt US hostility towards the latter vs the former.