Global Courant 2023-05-16 21:06:03
BEIJING — China’s readiness to “resolutely destroy any form of independence from Taiwan,” the military said on Tuesday, while the US reportedly prepares to speed up sales of defensive weapons and other military aid to the self-governing island democracy.
A recent increase in exchanges between the US and Taiwanese militaries is an “extremely wrong and dangerous move,” Defense Department spokesman Colonel Tan Kefei said in a statement and video posted online.
China’s People’s Liberation Army “continues to strengthen military training and preparations and will resolutely destroy any form of Taiwanese independence secession along with attempts at outside interference, and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Tan said, in a statement. reference to Taiwan’s closest ally. , the United States.
China claims the island of 23 million inhabitants as its own territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary.
With the world’s largest navy, next-generation fighter jets and a vast arsenal of ballistic missiles, China has stepped up its threats by sending planes and warships into the waters and airspace around Taiwan. With over 2 million members, the PLA also ranks as the world’s largest standing army, although transporting even part of the force in the event of an invasion is considered a huge logistical challenge.
In addition to daily air and sea raids around Taiwan, Beijing has held military exercises in and around the Taiwan Strait separating the sides, seen in part as a rehearsal for a blockade or invasion that would have massive implications for security and economies worldwide.
Such actions are designed to harass the Taiwanese military and intimidate politicians and voters who will elect a new president and legislature next year.
The moves appear to have had limited effect, with most Taiwanese firmly in favor of preserving their de facto independent status. Politicians and other public figures from Europe and the US also regularly travel to Taipei to show their support, despite their countries’ lack of formal diplomatic ties in deference to Beijing.
Tan’s comments were prompted by a question from an unknown reporter about reports that US President Joe Biden is preparing to approve the sale of $500 million worth of weapons to Taiwan, sending more than 100 military personnel to evaluate training methods and make suggestions. to do for improvement. the defense of the island.
Taiwan enjoys strong support from both the US Democratic and Republican parties, which have called on the Biden administration to proceed with nearly $19 billion in military items approved for sale but not yet delivered to Taiwan.
Administrative officials have attributed the delayed deliveries to production bottlenecks related to problems from the COVID-19 pandemic to limited capacity and increased demand for weapons to help Ukraine. Biden’s move would allow for the export of items from existing US military stockpiles, accelerating the delivery of at least some of the hardware Taiwan needs to deter or repel a Chinese attack.
Items on order include Harpoon anti-ship missiles, F-16 fighter jets, shoulder-fired Javelin and Stinger missiles, and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, a multiple rocket and missile launcher mounted on a truck that is a critical weapon for Ukrainian troops battling Russian invasion forces.
Tan’s comments were in line with Beijing’s standard tone of what it calls the “core of China’s core interests”. The two sides parted ways at the end of a civil war in 1949, and Beijing sees bringing Taiwan under its control as key to asserting its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Attempts to “seek independence by relying on the United States” and “seek independence through military might” are a “dead end,” Tan said.
With China-US relations at an all-time low and the Taiwanese not receptive to Beijing’s demands for political concessions on unification, concerns are mounting over the likelihood of open conflict between all three parties and possibly allies of the US, such as Japan.
China’s diplomatic and economic support for Russia after its invasion of Ukraine has also heightened tensions with Washington. Beijing is believed to be closely studying Moscow’s military failures in the conflict, while the Western will to support Kiev is seen by some as a test of its determination to side with Taiwan in the event of a conflict with China.
(TagsToTranslate)War and Unrest
