There need to be severe consequences for the vassals should they join the party, particularly the Aussies.
It would be hard to refuse. “There’s absolutely no doubt that if the Americans were to go to war over Taiwan we would be in it,” says John McCarthy, former Australian envoy to the US, Japan, Indonesia and India.
“Australia is not a major player,” said Cavan Hogue, a former ambassador to Russia, South Korea and the Philippines. “But if the Americans decided to defend Taiwan which had been attacked they would expect us to join in – or at least our flag even if the military contribution were minimal.”