Taiwan has issued a warning that China will increase the military pressure it has been putting on the island in recent years as Beijing has sailed a record number of warships close to it.
In the 24 hours before 6 a.m., China had 20 navy ships close to Taiwan. Tuesday, the Taipei Defense Ministry posted on X, the site that replaced Twitter. Data dating back to August of last year show that the figure is the highest.
The Shandong aircraft carrier, which Taiwan had claimed was sailing southeast of the island, is among the ships.
Major General Huang Wen-chi said Tuesday in Taipei during a news conference to unveil a Defense Ministry strategy report that Taiwan might anticipate further actions by the People’s Liberation Army along similar lines.
“The PLA pressure will continue, and we anticipate that it will be greater tomorrow than it is today,” he said. “As of right now, the Chinese Communist Party has shown no goodwill.”
Since President Tsai Ing-wen assumed office in 2016, China has attempted to exert pressure on Taiwan, largely because she rejects its claim over the democracy of 23 million people. This campaign takes many different forms, such as trade disruptions, diplomatic isolation, and military intimidation. China stopped importing Taiwanese mangoes last month, citing the discovery of bugs in shipments.
Beijing had just scheduled navy and air force maneuvers as a “stern warning” to what it called Taiwan independence forces when the suspension was announced. It responded vehemently to Lai Ching-te’s passage through the US and denounced his comments regarding Taiwan’s standing in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek.
Mangoes are primarily grown in Taiwan’s south, where the Democratic Progressive Party is in power and enjoys substantial support ahead of the country’s January 2019 presidential election. Lai, who is running on a platform to uphold many of Tsai’s ideas, is currently ahead in the polls for that race.
One of the key points of contention between China and the US, the island’s principal military ally, is Taiwan’s status. Since Tsai met separately with House Speakers Kevin McCarthy and Nancy Pelosi last year, China has twice conducted significant military exercises near the island.
China has come under fire from the US for conducting maneuvers near the island, calling them “provocative.” President Joe Biden has stated numerous times that the US will defend Taiwan from an assault, but he stated on Sunday during a visit to Vietnam that China’s economic collapse may make Beijing less inclined to invade.
To oppose China’s influence and perhaps aid in any confrontation, the US has been bolstering its relations with countries like India, Australia, and the Philippines. Following covert US enquiries into how the South Asian nation could participate in a war, Bloomberg News reported last week that India is considering various responses to a future Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry cautioned that China’s governing Communist Party may “push forward the process of solving the Taiwan issue” during President Xi Jinping’s third term, which runs through 2027, in a separate report to lawmakers last month that was obtained by Bloomberg News.
China may wish to be prepared for an invasion by that year, but according to General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, its military isn’t currently ready.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry cited the fact that in October of last year, the party inscribed the “one country, two systems” model into the country’s constitution. Beijing says it can apply similar strategy to the island located about 100 miles off the Chinese coast and utilizes it to run Hong Kong.
Additionally, it quoted a speech by Xi from March in which he declared that “reunification” was the desire of the entire nation.
The Taiwan Defense Ministry’s yearly report to parliamentarians included, among other things:
The Central Military Commission, Beijing’s senior military organization, prioritizes individuals with prior experience managing Taiwan-related issues and combat.The “second island chain” is a roughly north-south line in the Pacific that passes through Guam, where the US has military bases, by 2035, and the Chinese air force aims to increase its combat range there.By 2027, the PLA’s rocket force hopes to have established precise attack capabilities in a region that includes the Philippines, Japan, and Taiwan. Xi recently removed without cause the command in charge of the nation’s nuclear weapons.
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