Amid the global turbulence of the Israel-Palestine conflict and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US on Friday released a report showing that China increased warplane incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone by 79 percent from last year, indicating that Beijing might create unrest in the Asia-Pacific region.
The US Department of Defense’s annual report on China’s military prowess warned that Chinese warplane incursions into Taiwan’s defense zone last year rose to 1,737 from 972 in 2021.
China has for a long time used military and political pressure to pursue its goal of taking over Taiwan. Its hegemonic expansionism has become even more worrying with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in the past two years taking more aggressive action in the Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions against foreign aircraft and vessels as it seeks regional dominance.
The Pentagon on Tuesday last week released a rare report with video clips showing 15 of more than 180 cases of China’s “coercive and risky operational behavior” against US aircraft in the East China and South China seas since 2021, much more in the past two years than in the decade before that.
Its aggressive tactics increase to 300 cases if US allies are included, such as an incident in the South China Sea on Monday last week in which a Chinese fighter jet cut off a Canadian patrol plane and dropped flares in its path, while another Chinese fighter flew within 5m of it.
On Sunday, a Chinese Coast Guard ship and an accompanying vessel rammed a Philippine Coast Guard ship and a military-run supply boat in the South China Sea, which was more risky behavior that contravened international law.
Japanese Ministry of Defense data show that Japanese fighter jets were scrambled 778 times from April last year to March this year, with the majority of the missions having to deal with threats from Chinese aircraft and the rest to counter aggressive activities from Russia.
The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have raised concern that China might use the opportunity to take action against Taiwan.
However, given that China’s aggressive behavior has targeted several countries, concern about its ambitions should be extended.
If the Chinese military causes a major incident — even accidentally — it might spark a military conflict in the region, which has a long history of territorial and sovereignty disputes.
Taiwan has remained alert and calmly monitored the situation to reduce the risk of conflict across the Taiwan Strait. At the same time, it must enhance its surveillance and defense capabilities, as Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) has vowed to do.
Taiwan has also consistently expressed willingness to cooperate with international partners to maintain stability in the region.
Events in Ukraine and the Middle East might embolden China as it oppresses its neighbors and intensifies its international activities. It might hope that the US’ commitments to Israel and Ukraine would leave it unable to support its allies in Asia.
While US President Joe Biden has announced plans to seek US$100 billion in emergency funding, with portions to go to Israel, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific region, and the American Institute in Taiwan has assured that support for Taiwan remained a “priority” for Washington, democratic states in Asia should be cognizant of the escalating Chinese threat and forge stronger ties to deter its provocations. If Asian democracies share responsibility, they can help ensure regional peace.
Trying to force a partnership between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Intel Corp would be a wildly complex ordeal. Already, the reported request from the Trump administration for TSMC to take a controlling stake in Intel’s US factories is facing valid questions about feasibility from all sides. Washington would likely not support a foreign company operating Intel’s domestic factories, Reuters reported — just look at how that is going over in the steel sector. Meanwhile, many in Taiwan are concerned about the company being forced to transfer its bleeding-edge tech capabilities and give up its strategic advantage. This is especially
US President Donald Trump’s second administration has gotten off to a fast start with a blizzard of initiatives focused on domestic commitments made during his campaign. His tariff-based approach to re-ordering global trade in a manner more favorable to the United States appears to be in its infancy, but the significant scale and scope are undeniable. That said, while China looms largest on the list of national security challenges, to date we have heard little from the administration, bar the 10 percent tariffs directed at China, on specific priorities vis-a-vis China. The Congressional hearings for President Trump’s cabinet have, so far,
The US Department of State has removed the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence” in its updated Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, which instead iterates that “we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait.” This shows a tougher stance rejecting China’s false claims of sovereignty over Taiwan. Since switching formal diplomatic recognition from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China in 1979, the US government has continually indicated that it “does not support Taiwan independence.” The phrase was removed in 2022
US President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have each given their thoughts on Russia’s war with Ukraine. There are a few proponents of US skepticism in Taiwan taking advantage of developments to write articles claiming that the US would arbitrarily abandon Ukraine. The reality is that when one understands Trump’s negotiating habits, one sees that he brings up all variables of a situation prior to discussion, using broad negotiations to take charge. As for his ultimate goals and the aces up his sleeve, he wants to keep things vague for
RSS