Comment by WhyNotHugo
1 year ago
They might look like "the good guys" by doing that, but they'd also be dragging themselves into an open war Israel (and its allies). I'm not sure that would be a smart move.
I'm also unsure if this move would be seen well domestically. They have enough problems right now, and focusing resources on this doesn't sound like it would be met with high praise.
I think the idea is that they'd genuinely be providing humanitarian aid, with military presence genuinely being there for self-defense.
They would simply be stepping into the role on the world stage the US and other Western countries have fulfilled for the last few decades. Israel probably wouldn't be foolish enough to attack them, and their allies definitely wouldn't aid them.
And in the unlikely event Israel does attack their humanitarian convoy, it would only give China an opportunity to do some live-fire practice and score extra points on the world stage as the innocent defender.
China may not even provide a military presence. First, because providing military presence could invite conflict since Israel would have the ability to claim the Chinese fired first, even if untrue. Second, because Chinese leadership is absolutely willing to treat the people as sacrificial pawns for a geopolitical goal. Trading the lives of couple hundred people on aid ships would be worthwhile in their eyes for an outcome that benefits China as a whole.