Tensions Rise in the Taiwan Strait

Ted Galen CarpenterThe Chinese military is flexing its muscles in the Taiwan Strait in response to last month ’s electoral triumph by Taiwan’s pro‐​independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).President Tsai Ing-wen ’s landslide reelection, combined with the DPP’s retention of a majority in the legislature, infuriated Beijing ’s leadership.A dangerously provocative response was not long in coming.Acrimonious bilateral relations took on a worrisome military dimension early this week.Despite the onset of the coronavirus crisis and the pervasive disruptions it has caused, the Chinese government found time to orchestrate a show of force in the Strait. Taiwan ’s air force scrambled for a second day in a row on Mondayto intercept Chinese jets (both fighters and bombers) that briefly crossed an unofficial, but very important, mid ‐​line in the Strait, prompting Taipei to dispatch F‑16s to intercept and give blunt verbal warnings to leave. The Chinese planes then withdrew to the western side of the line.Although China has been flying “island encirclement” drills periodically since 2016 when Tsai first took office, this was only the second occasion that its military aircraft crossed the median line.Beijing ’ssubsequent comments emphasizing that the flights were meant to hone the military ’s combat capabilities were hardly calculated to reduce tensions.China ’s Eastern Theatre Command implicitly identified the motive for ...

Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 12, 2020 Category: American Health Authors: Ted Galen Carpenter Source Type: blogs