Claims

The Thucydides trap—when a rising power confronts an established power, war results—is presented as a timeless, eternal pattern, exemplified by Athens vs. Sparta, or Wilhelmine Germany vs. Britain, or contemporary China vs. the US. This timelessness reflects a cyclical view of history where particulars don't matter

The U.S. issued the Sumner Welles Declaration in 1940 condemning the Soviet occupation and annexation of the Baltic states and maintained non-recognition of Soviet control throughout the Cold War—a policy that symbolized U.S. solidarity with Lithuanian independence.

A large Lithuanian diaspora in the United States contributed significantly to Lithuania's Cold War independence struggle and continues to reinforce U.S.-Lithuanian relations today.

In the wake of World War II, the Soviet Union seized the Northern Territories (called Kurils by Russia), which are located 810 miles northeast of Hokkaido, Japan. This territorial dispute remains unresolved—Reuters notes that World War II hostilities between Japan and Russia have technically not ended due to differing stances on these islands.

Following World War II, Japan adopted a policy of pacifism and passivism in its foreign policy, purposefully avoiding direct military engagement in regional conflicts. According to Brookings Institution, this approach proved extremely lucrative for Japan economically and allowed it to weather various crises, revolutions, and wars in the Indo-Pacific and East Asia since WWII, coming out practically undamaged in all cases.

The Gulf War of 1991 marked a turning point in Japan's foreign policy evolution, when Japan contributed $13 billion to support coalition forces but refused to dedicate its own military forces. This 'checkbook diplomacy' was criticized internationally, prompting Japan to reconsider its approach to international cooperation.

Muneo Suzuki was the first foreign politician Putin received after becoming Russia's president and served as an unofficial advisor on Russia's policies under Abe, but is now working under a cloud of internal suspicion due to his imprisonment for corruption in the 2000s, with every effort to visit Russia since February 2022 blocked by his own party.

According to The Carnegie Endowment (October 2023), pro-Russia lobbies in Japan, composed of older politicians, were growing quieter since the 2010s when pro-Russia policies were at their peak. The assassination of Shinzo Abe in July 2022 was the trigger for this turnaround.

China seized the Paracel Islands in 1974 after a naval battle with Vietnam and has maintained what it calls indisputable sovereignty over them.

The last major Maritime clash between Vietnam and China occurred in 2014 when China deployed an oil rig near the Paracel Islands, triggering a two-month standoff.