The Growing Tensions in the Taiwan Strait: China’s Military Displays Force Post-Tsai Trip

52

Recently, the Chinese military launched a massive exercise which sent many airplanes and ships towards Taiwan. This was actually done as a response to their President’s recent trip to America.

The Chinese military recently told Taiwan, a small island which China claims it owns, to stay away through their “Joint Sword” combat troops patrolling the area for 3 days. This was done because Beijing is afraid that people in Taiwan will want to become an independent nation if they talk to other countries or leaders outside of China. If Taiwan became an independent country, the Chinese government believes this could lead to war.

In 1949, the mainland and Taiwan split apart after a long fight. The Chinese government says that the island must connect back to them again, even if it takes force. Military experts think that if a war were to start, China could close off air and water routes around Taiwan, making it hard for countries like the US or Japan to send supplies and help protect the island.

President Tsai Ing-wen of China recently tried to strengthen Taiwan’s relationships with other countries in Central America and the U.S. She also had a meeting with Kevin McCarthy, the Speaker of the House of Representatives in America. Afterwards, some people from the US Congress went to Taiwan to meet her, too.

China was unhappy about a meeting between US and Taiwan officials, so they punished those involved by not letting them travel and taking away their money. They also increased their military activity during the weekend.

On Monday morning, the Chinese military said its aircraft carrier called Shandong had started practicing around Taiwan. It also shared a video of a fighter plane flying off the top of the ship on Weibo, which is a popular social media platform.

The news company CCTV reported that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was practicing simulations that “mimic sealing off” Taiwan and launching pretend attacks against important places on the island.

From Sunday morning to Monday morning, 70 planes were spotted near Taiwan Strait. Half of them were on the specially marked line which separates Taiwan from the rest of the world. Some of those that crossed this line included 8 J-16 fighter jets, 4 J-1 fighters, 8 Su-30 fighters and additional reconnaissance planes. On Monday morning, 59 more bombers and multiple fighter jets flew by too.

On Friday and Saturday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry spottings showed that there were 8 ships and 71 planes of China coming close to the island. The ministry stated that they would be careful with this situation and not let it lead to any sort of conflict or arguments. In order to keep track of all the Chinese actions, Taiwan has deployed its ground-based missile systems and also tasked their navy vessels for monitoring.

Recently, China has been sending planes and ships to Taiwan even more often, causing it to get tenser. The Peoples’ Liberation Army from China is also doing much more live fire training in Luoyuan Bay near Taiwan. This news was announced by the local Maritime Authority on the weekend.

To the south in the South China Sea, US Navy’s 7th Fleet sent its missile destroyer, USS Milius. This was done as a part of their freedom of navigation mission. China had made a artificial island on this sea feature to show that they have the right to control it.

China then accused US for going into their waters without asking permission. The statement was released by the Chinese military’s department located in the south command.

Last week, a U.S. representative met with Tsai and said that the threat that China poses to Taiwan needs to be taken seriously. Mike Gallagher – the chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on China – told Big Big News that he’s going to lead his committee towards helping Taiwan increase its protection and he also wants the Congress to speed up providing aid to Taiwan for defense purposes.