Decoding China’s covert attacks on Taiwan, how China harasses Taiwan

World

Though China and Taiwan have many reasons to avoid a war that could kill many lives, devastate their economies and potentially lead to a nuclear conflict with the US and its allies but unfortunately the geopolitical tensions today have only heightened between the two nations. In the past years, China has tightened its control towards the self-governing island, which Beijing considers a breakaway province. Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan.

Xi Jinping’s Chinese Communist Party has threatened to invade Taiwan for more than seven decades. Now fears are growing among people that it might actually follow through over the next few years, potentially triggering a war with the U.S. For instance, On Wednesday, Indian American Republican politician Nikki Haley said the U.S must act “strongly” against China, stating that if Beijing takes control of Taiwan, it will be emboldened to seize other territories around the globe. She urged to organise a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing with allies like India, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Canada. She said “And if we don’t boycott, if we don’t do something to really call them out, mark my words: Taiwan is next. And if they take Taiwan, it’s all over, because they will think that gives them free rein to grab any territory, not in the region, but anywhere they want to go.”

War speculations have strengthened based on past instances such as in September, People’s Liberation Army aircraft repeatedly breached the median line in the Taiwan Strait, eliminating a de facto buffer zone that has kept peace for decades; Chinese forces have conducted a number of live-fire drills that appear directed at Taiwan, and Chinese military flights across the median line in the Taiwan Strait and into Taipei’s air-defence identification zone.

More recently, on Tuesday, Taiwan witnessed the largest daily incursion as over two dozen Chinese military planes flew into the country‘s Air Defence Identified Zones (ADIZ).

Taiwan has complained in recent months of repeated missions by China’s air force near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands. Tensions in the Taiwan Strait are escalatingand series of Chinese covertly attack and moves such as celebrities that refer to Taiwan are forced to apologise, suspicious Covid outbreaks in Taiwan chip makingfactories, blocks on Taiwan’s access to foreign vaccines, lobbies in United Nations to deny Taiwan a voice, threatens Taiwanese politicians from contacting U.S, attacks Taiwan officials at international receptions, makes investors buy illegal shares in Taiwanese companies, mention Taiwanese cities as Chinese in global NGOs list have only made observers uncomfortable.

China ramped up political pressure and military threats against Taiwan. Taipei, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that “Taiwan’s independence” means war. Despite regular war threats by China, countries like Japan, US, Australia have expressed support for Taiwan.