China Flexes Military Muscle to Biden With Incursions Near Taiwan

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China Flexes Military Muscle to Biden With Incursions Near Taiwan
By: Radio Free Asia - 01-25-21
Also by: Hsia Hsiao-hwa for RFA's Mandarin Service & Raymond Chung Cantonese Service
Re: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/chi...021110137.html

China flies a complex array of aircraft in a record number of sorties, sending both a political and a military message.

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) flew multiple aircraft into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) at the weekend, in a move analysts said was flexing military muscle at the start of the Biden administration.

The democratic island's defense ministry said 13 Chinese warplanes—including a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, eight Xian H-6K bombers capable of carrying anti-ship cruise missiles and four Shenyang J-16 fighter jets—made incursions into the southwestern part of Taiwan's ADIZ on Saturday alone, the largest number observed in a single day.

Unlike previous incursions, Saturday's operation included bombers and fast-moving fighter jets usually used for offensive purposes, linking it to the reported presence of a U.S. aircraft carrier group in the vicinity, the island's Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

The U.S. State Department hit out at "the pattern of ongoing ... attempts [by China] to intimidate its neighbors, including Taiwan."

"We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan’s democratically elected representatives," the department said in a statement.

It said the Biden administration would support a resolution of tension with China that was "consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people on Taiwan."

"We will continue to assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defense capability," it said. "Our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid."

You Si-kun, president of Taiwan's democratically elected parliament, the Legislative Yuan, said the timing was clearly linked to the new administration in the U.S.

"The Biden administration is very concerned that [China] is stepping up its provocative activities," You told RFA. "It's fairly clear that they are testing the U.S.' attitude."

"I thank the United States for its response, and ... think they should take further action to prevent this kind of provocation from China in future," he said.

'Testing the waters'

Taiwan defense spokesman Shih Shun-wen said the island's forces had handled the situation well.

"The national army carried out close reconnaissance and surveillance between the joint services, and handled its state of combat readiness appropriately," Shih told RFA. "[Taiwan's] national security was protected."

Taiwanese military analyst Cheng Chi-wen said the incursions carried both political and military significance.

"It shows that [Beijing is taking] a hard line ... meaning that a military response can't be ruled out, if the U.S. doesn't act in China's interests on Taiwan," Cheng told RFA.

He said Saturday's operation was far more complex than previous incursions, with the number of sorties far exceeding previous levels.

Former Taiwanese fighter pilot Chang Yen-ting said he expects more of the same in the year to come.

"They are testing the waters, and finding out which way the wind lies," Chang told RFA. "They want to see how the new president and Secretary of State react on issues like ... Taiwan."

"Basically, the CCP will step up the pressure on Taiwan through the use of military force," he said.

China's state-run Global Times newspaper said the incursions were a "routine military exercise."

Chieh Chung, a research fellow at the National Policy Foundation on the democratic island of Taiwan, said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is clearly trying to draw attention to its actions.

"They have stepped up the intensity and crossed into the southwestern ADIZ, which sends a message, without excessively raising tensions with the Biden administration," Chung told RFA.

He said the operation had been carefully planned to shore up Beijing's negotiating position with the new administration in Washington.

He said the operation could be a precursor to a large-scale sea-air joint exercise in future.

"The imaginary enemy of these [recent] exercises I think is the United States Navy," he said.

No more appeasement

In 2018, the Pentagon warned that the PLA is gradually preparing for a possible invasion of Taiwan, as the CCP "continued to develop and deploy increasingly advanced military capabilities intended to coerce Taiwan, signal Chinese resolve, and gradually improve capabilities for an invasion."

Taiwan has never been ruled by Beijing nor formed part of the People's Republic of China, but has been locked out of international diplomacy and agencies at the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s insistence.

Washington has said it will no longer seek to "appease" China on Taiwan, as the State Department announced an end to a ban on high-level official and diplomatic contact with Taiwanese officials on Jan. 9, at the tail end of the Trump administration.

Under CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, China has stepped up its rhetoric claiming the island as part of its territory, and has refused to rule out a military invasion.

But Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly said that the country's 23 million people have no wish to give up their sovereignty or their democratic way of life.

Taiwan's ADIZ was created by the United States Armed Forces after World War II, and covers most of Taiwan Strait, part of East China Sea and adjacent airspace, The Aviationist magazine said in a Jan. 24 article on its website.

The zone isn't defined in any international treaty nor is it regulated by any international body. It extends over what is mostly international airspace, far beyond territorial airspace, which extends only 12 miles from a country's coastline.

The zones are primarily designed to give a country more time to respond to potentially hostile aircraft, the report said.

Reported by Hsia Hsiao-hwa for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Raymond Chung for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

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Personal note: China is testing the resolve of the US & Europe to indicate they can do what they please in this area. More to come I'm sure of that!

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Update: China threatens war as Joe Biden continues the outreach to Taiwan
By: GORDON G. CHANG, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 01/26/21 09:00 AM EST
Re: https://thehill.com/opinion/national...each-to-taiwan

Over the weekend, China sent large numbers of military aircraft into the southwestern portion of the Taiwan air defense identification zone, near the strategic Pratas Islands, which guard the southern approach to the Taiwan Strait. The Saturday demonstration of air power was provocative, including nuclear capable bombers and swift fighters used in offensive operations. Though the Chinese planes stayed in international airspace, Beijing appeared to deliver hostile messages to Taipei. The Sunday flight was the twentieth Chinese air incursion in less than a month.

The air exercises also sent a warning to President Biden. It did not take long for his team to push back. The State Department issued a statement calling on China to “cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue” with Taiwan. It declared the United States “commitment to Taiwan is rock solid.”

Perhaps most significantly, the statement mentioned the robust but often ignored “Six Assurances” of the Reagan era. John Tkacik, a retired foreign service officer who served in both Beijing and Taipei, told me the pledge of Biden with the “Six Assurances” is diplomatese for “the United States does not accept Chinese claims to sovereignty over Taiwan.”

Washington also responded in a powerfully symbolic way. The United States Navy Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group entered the South China Sea to promote “freedom of the seas.” China claims almost the entire body of water as its own “blue national soil” even though almost every other country considers it part of the global commons.

China, which has never exercised sovereign functions over Taiwan, claims the island as one of its provinces. Taking control of the Republic of China, which is the formal name of Taiwan, is believed to be the highest foreign policy objective of Beijing, which now appears like it is preparing to use force. Amendments to the Chinese national defense law, already effective for this new year, take powers from the State Council, which administers the civilian central government, and then hand them over to the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party. Included in the transferred powers is authority to mobilize the entire population of China.

Xi Jinping, the aggressive Chinese ruler, this month told his military to be ready for war “at any second.” His generals and admirals did not need to be told. They have been making their “military diplomacy” the policy of China, which is fast becoming a military state. So Washington should be prepared to defend Taiwan as the air exercises signal that China is about to provoke a crisis. Chinese leaders often test new American presidents with some of its military exercises in their peripheral waters.

Back in spring 2001, a Chinese jet flew dangerously close to an unarmed American Navy reconnaissance plane, causing a fatal collision over the South China Sea. Starting in winter 2009, Chinese vessels harassed two unarmed American Navy reconnaissance vessels in the South China Sea and Yellow Sea. One of those incidents was so serious that it constituted an attack on the United States, or in other words, an act of war. In both sets of incidents, the reaction from Washington was insufficient, which has therefore allowed Beijing to continue its bellicose ways.

Chinese leaders did not test Donald Trump during his term, perhaps due to fears of his unpredictability. Xi looks like he is going after Biden, as it is clear Chinese leaders think, or at least thought, they could bully the new American president. How do we know that? The derisive comments of Di Dongsheng, a professor at Renmin University, were recorded and publicly circulated around China. Di basically claimed that China would be able to determine outcomes in Washington if Trump lost the election.

Japanese leaders were worried about the departure of Trump. Yasuhide Nakayama, the Japanese defense minister, had advised Biden last month that Taiwan should be a “red line” for the United States. Japanese officials know a thing or two about what militaristic regimes can do, and they now see with China perilous trends reminiscent of imperial Japan in the 1930s, when uniformed officers took over the government in Tokyo.

But the Taiwan policy of Biden is shaping up to be resolute. In a move that surprised observers, his transition team invited the top ranking Taiwanese representative in Washington, Bikhim Hsiao, to the inauguration last week. Her presence ended four decades of shunning Taiwan at the ceremony. It continued the outreach of the last administration to Taipei.

With Washington engaged with Taiwan, it seems China no longer wields a veto over American policy toward the island. Beijing, with its shows of air power, has now made its displeasure known. At the moment, most every observer thinks Xi is just huffing and puffing over Taiwan. Yet regimes that say they want war almost always will find themselves in one.

Gordon Chang is a columnist and the author of “The Coming Collapse of China.”

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Question? Does Taiwan want to be ruled by China? Does the US want Taiwan to swing over to China? Is the U.S. in a position to take on China should China move in on Taiwan?
What NATO Allies' would join the U.S. if this took place?

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