America and China Accuse Each Other of Aggravating the Taiwanese Issue.
Taiwan is part of a more global opposition between America and China that extends to the entire Indo-Pacific.
After more than a year of diplomatic wrangling, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin met for the first time this weekend with Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe as part of the Shangri-La Dialogue, a major regional security forum held in Singapore.
But if the leaders of the two largest economic powers in the world have resumed their talks, it is to accuse each other of aggravating the highly explosive Taiwanese issue. Speaking publicly on June 12, 2022, after his confidential exchange two days earlier with his American counterpart, the Chinese minister called on the United States “to stop interfering in China's internal affairs and to stop harming China's interests”.
Beijing believes that Washington is now openly questioning the principle of One China by speeding up arms deliveries to Taiwan or by multiplying speeches apparently in favor of the island's independence.
Chinese provocations multiply around Taiwan
The Chinese Communist regime believes that the democratic and autonomous country of 24 million people is part of its historical territory and must be reintegrated, willingly or unwillingly, into the motherland. “Taiwan's independence is a dead end, an illusion. Relying on foreign support will achieve nothing. Forget it,” Wei Fenghe hammered before repeating that China would not hesitate to fight if the island had to secede.
“China has no desire to engage in such a civil war, but it will resolutely crush any plan for Taiwan's independence,” the minister said. “If anyone dares to divide Taiwan, we will not hesitate to fight, we will not back down from the price we have to pay and we will fight to the end.”
Taking up the position of the White House, Lloyd J. Austin assured that the United States had in no way changed its posture towards Taiwan and remained attached, since 1979, to the principle of One China. And he, in turn, accused Beijing of being the main culprit in the rise of tensions around the island.
Lloyd J. Austin cited “a continued increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan” by People's Liberation Army aircraft and ships. In the first five months of 2022, the Chinese military sent 465 fighters or bomber aircraft inside Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). This represents a year-on-year increase of 50% in incursions into this airspace, which is considered crucial to the national security of each country.
Very worried about the deterioration of this Sino-American tug of war which will affect the whole region, the leaders of several Asian nations called, over the weekend, the two giants to keep a cool head before recognizing that they would, all the same, have to adapt their defense strategies to meet these new tensions.
Explaining that “today's Ukraine could be tomorrow's East Asia,” Fumio Kishida, the Japanese Prime Minister, explained that his country would have to engage in “more realistic diplomacy” and play a more important role in regional security. He promised $2 billion in assistance over three years to the navies of the Indo-Pacific region. Tokyo may also soon approve a very large increase in its annual defense budget, in particular, to acquire preventive attack capabilities, which until now have been considered contrary to the principles of its state pacifism.
Beijing is learning from what is happening in Ukraine following the Russian invasion decided by Vladimir Putin and seems to want to prepare itself for any eventuality concerning Taiwan. The fight around Taiwan is strategic for America, as the country depends on the island's semiconductor capabilities. It is also part of a more global confrontation that China and America will have to wage in the Indo-Pacific in the future.
The goal is to be the country with the greatest influence in this area to strengthen its position as the world's leading superpower. The struggle between America and China has only just begun, and it is clear that the decoupling has already started.
Some reading
Watching the War in Ukraine, China Is Learning Lessons and Preparing for Its Invasion of Taiwan. America and Europe must also start preparing ...
The Real Issue of the Confrontation Between America and China on Taiwan Is Written in 4 Letters. China will probably wait until America is no longer dependent on TSMC before acting.