{"id":4310,"date":"2021-10-13T06:01:20","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T00:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/55nda.com\/blogs\/anil-khosla\/?p=4310"},"modified":"2024-12-27T16:19:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-27T10:49:39","slug":"china-vs-taiwan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/55nda.com\/blogs\/anil-khosla\/2021\/10\/13\/china-vs-taiwan\/","title":{"rendered":"207: China vs Taiwan"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Pic: courtesy internet (foreign affairs)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Recently Beijing sent more than 150 military planes towards Taiwan over four consecutive days amid celebrations of the founding of the People\u2019s Republic of China. These jets (including J-16 fighter jets and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers) entered into Taiwan\u2019s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), forcing the Taiwanese air force to scramble its jets in response. This was China\u2019s largest-ever incursion into Taiwan\u2019s air defence zone. Taiwan scrambled its jets and deployed AD missile systems against the Chinese \u2018air incursion\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The ADIZ is not the same as Taiwan\u2019s territorial airspace, but includes a far greater area that overlaps with part of China\u2019s air defence identification zone and even includes some of mainland China.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Taiwan<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Known formally as the Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan is a self-ruled island that lies about 161 kilometres (100 miles) off the coast of mainland China. It is a democracy with a separate government and a military. But despite its de facto independence, most countries do not consider Taiwan a separate state due to China\u2019s claims over the territory.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Taiwan: History<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Taiwan was at one time a backwater of Imperial China. It was colonised by the Japanese during the World Wars. In 1949, the Chinese nationalists fled there after losing a bloody civil war to the communists who established the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC) with its government in Beijing. In Taipei, the nationalists\u2019 ROC government continued to claim to represent all of China and even held a seat on the United Nations Security Council. But from 1971 onwards, most countries, including the US, began dropping diplomatic recognition of the ROC in Taipei in favour of the PRC in Beijing.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Chinese Claim<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Beijing claims the self-ruled island of 23 million as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its goal of unifying it with China. While Beijing has repeatedly threatened to use force if Taiwan ever formally declares independence, the sabre-rattling has increased under Xi, who sees reuniting Taiwan with mainland China as an issue of legacy. The historical dispute is at the crux of Beijing\u2019s much hyped \u201cOne China\u201d principle. Beijing has ramped up pressure on Taipei since 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Taiwan\u2019s Concern<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Taiwan feels a threat to its independence, its democracy and its way of life. Taiwan is concerned that China is going to launch a war against Taiwan at some point. Taiwan is resolved to do whatever it takes to defend itself. \u00a0Taiwan needs to \u201cstrengthen itself\u201d and Taiwan President has made modernising the armed forces a priority, enhancing its capacity for asymmetric warfare, so as to make any Chinese attack difficult and costly. Taiwan is looking at smart mines, portable missiles and enhancement of its Air Force capabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fear of an all-out conflict is growing higher. Some defence analysts predict that Beijing could have the ability to mount a full-scale invasion of \u00a0\u00a0Taiwan by 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Taiwan Internal Political Dynamics<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Taiwan has the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which supports the vision of a Taiwan distinct from China. It also has the more China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT). The KMT is known for fostering closer economic ties with China and is supported by big business interests in Taiwan. The KMT\u2019s more conservative factions, however, continue to call for unification even though that view is now at odds with mainstream Taiwanese society.<\/span><\/p>\n

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US \u2013 Taiwan<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The United States condemned the Chinese military activity near Taiwan describing it as \u201cprovocative\u201d and \u201cdestabilising\u201d. US asked China to cease its \u201cmilitary, diplomatic, and economic pressure and coercion against Taiwan\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

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While the United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with the island, but is bound by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. The legislation mandates the US to \u201cpreserve and promote extensive, close and friendly commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people of the United States and the people of Taiwan\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The United States does not even have a formal defence treaty, but the legislation further obliges the US to make \u201cavailable to Taiwan such defence articles and defence services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self- defence capacity\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

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US is Taipei\u2019s biggest source of military and political support. The US has committed to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region. It has promised to \u201ccontinue to assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defence capability\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

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China \u2013 US \u2013 Taiwan<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Relationship involving China, Taiwan and the US is a complex diplomatic dance of its kind.<\/span><\/p>\n

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One China Policy<\/u>.\u00a0 This policy means different things to Beijing and Washington. For the former there is only \u2018One China\u2019 and that is governed by Beijing (it is the pretext for its claims that Taiwan is simply a province of the mainland and not an independent state). For the US, however, \u2018One China\u2019 is more ambiguous.<\/span><\/p>\n

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China\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday criticised the US over its ties with Taipei, saying that selling weapons to Taiwan, as well as US ships navigating the Taiwan Strait, was \u201cprovocative action that harmed US-China relations.<\/span><\/p>\n

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China has blamed the US for the increased tensions, with the two economic giants at odds over not only Taiwan but other issues including trade, Hong Kong, the situation in China\u2019s far-western region of Xinjiang and the coronavirus.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Analysis<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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