The Soviet Union was already aiding China through what it called a volunteer group. The discussion questions how voluntary such service could be during Stalin's military purges. Japan had also claimed a limited success in the 1938 fighting at Lake Khasan before withdrawing. Experiences of this kind could encourage Japanese leaders to see European powers as containable: outsiders might protest or make limited moves without accepting a wider war. Continued American sales reinforced that dangerous reading by sustaining Japan even as diplomatic friction grew.
Notable Point · 15:40-16:38
Lake Khasan and the lesson of limited escalation
Soviet aid to China and Japan's limited 1938 clash at Lake Khasan fed a belief that outside powers could be tested without provoking a general war.