I don't like the way this is playing out. Putin indicates he's going to invade Ukraine and the rest of the world sits around and watches, macabrely waiting for it to happen, having already announced they won't get involved militarily.

All the while China is watching and thinking 'Great - let's do that with Taiwan!'

If i'm China, I'm thinking to launch an invasion of Taiwan off the back of Ukraine. This is too big a window to ignore.

These have been my thoughts exactly. Xi and Putin had their meeting before the Winter Olympics in which they agreed to each other's claims over Taiwan and Ukraine respectively.

BEIJING (AP) — The leaders of Russia and China pushed back against U.S. pressure on Friday, declaring their opposition to any expansion of NATO and affirming that the island of Taiwan is a part of China, as they met hours before the Winter Olympics kicked off in Beijing. (Published Feb 5)

If this war happens, as you point out, it will open a huge window for China to move on Taiwan. Europe will obviously be too focused on Europe to worry about Asia, as will, I suspect, the US. It will make the likelihood of the US coming to the aid of Taiwan even less likely than it has been. Also, it will give those who speak boldly about defending Taiwan but who privately just wish the whole mess would go away a face saving exit from the Taiwan question.

Meanwhile, the world economy and multiple currencies are all on the brink of collapse, making war even more likely. There was news of another Chinese developer who may default, bringing into question the state of China's economy, one more reason for China to attack Taiwan -- to deflect attention from the mess at home.

There are so many forces at work here, and they're all bad.