Military plane in the sky of Taiwan; Beijing is scary

Record of Chinese military jets in the Taiwan air defense zone in the past ten days, even if it is not the first time that the Beijing Air Force has flexed its muscles over the air. island, from which the Chinese government is urged to end irresponsible provocative actions.

But from Friday to Monday, with a gradual increase in the number of bombers and fighters sighted, to nearly 60 radar tracks appearing in just 24 hours, the raid serves as a warning to the President of Taiwan ahead of the National Day of the island (October 9-11), within a precise framework of military pressure organized by Beijing to discourage the idea of ​​a separatist Taiwan.

On Tuesday, October 5, in an article in Foreign Affairs magazine, President Tsai Ing-wen warned that there would be catastrophic consequences for peace and democracy in Asia if the island fell completely into China’s hands, saying: “This would indicate that in the global context of values, authoritarianism does not have the upper hand over democracy, because if Taiwan did not seek confrontation, in case of aggression the population would do everything to defend itself.”

China’s latest mission to the island’s skies included 34 J-16 fighters and 12 nuclear-capable H-6 bombers which all flew to an area near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands, while four other Chinese fighters were spotted. Monday. to 56 planes in one day. Thus, the main Chinese political body in Taiwan, the Continental Affairs Council (MAC), accused Beijing of seriously undermining the state of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. But with 80,000 troops already on the island, China is really just a show of force.

“We call on the Beijing authorities to immediately stop their provocative, non-peaceful and irresponsible actions,” Mac Chiu Chui-cheng spokesman said in a statement. “China is guilty of causing tensions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Regional security and order, so that Taiwan will never compromise or give in to threats.” In response to this position , Beijing accused Washington of being the provocateurs of the confrontation, warning them against supporting the independence of the island. Xi Jinping Foreign Affairs, “China will take all necessary measures and firmly destroy any conspiracy for Taiwan independence.”

According to China, the United States should therefore stop providing moral support and pledging means to the separatist forces, arguing that Taiwan’s independence would mean the start of a war. But even though the United States has no official connection to the island, it has a federal law that requires it to provide it with the means to defend itself, preventing Beijing from taking definitive action of conquest without suffering. reaction. Currently, Australia has also communicated its support for Taiwan, and the decision to equip itself with a fleet of nuclear submarines has been read by the Chinese as a clear signal of interference in the matter.

In fact, China is increasingly concerned that the Taiwanese government is leading the island towards a formal declaration of independence and wishes to warn President Tsai against any move in this direction. However, Tsai has repeatedly stated that Taiwan is already an independent state, making any formal declaration unnecessary, as the island has its own constitution, its own army, on paper around 300,000 soldiers and democratically elected leaders. China has therefore not ruled out a possible use of force to achieve unification with Taiwan. In reality, from a military point of view, Taiwan has no hope of being able to resist a possible Chinese response, indeed, forces of the army of the People’s Republic are already stationed on the island, which in a few hours could occupy the capital Taipei. .

Those defined as separatists lack radar that can organize air defense or technology that can rival that of Chinese aviation, while the information function is unofficially performed by the Americans.

Independent until 1600, Taiwan was dominated by the Japanese from 1895, and after World War II it returned to Chinese nationalist control. In 1949, the Chinese Communist armies defeated the Nationalist forces in mainland China, forcing the Nationalist government to flee to Taiwan. Since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, China has claimed sovereignty over the island by viewing it as a rebellious region and insisting that nations cannot establish official relations with Taiwan separate from diplomatic relations. with China. But despite Chinese restrictions, the island has become a major economic player in Asia and one of the world’s largest producers of information technology. The UN recognized Taiwan as part of China in 1971, and according to official UN criteria for establishing an independent state, this disputed territory only has five. However, since 1942, the Holy See has recognized Taiwan and the United States maintained recognition until 1979, but then continues to declare its support for the island. In 2019, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands transferred recognition to China. To date, Taipei is considered an independent capital of Beijing by only 14 nations: Haiti, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Belize, Marshall Islands, Honduras, S. Lucia, S. Vincent & Grenadines, Palau, Nauru, Tuvalu, Vatican, S Kitts and Nevis, Swaziland.

Winston Ferguson

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