Large-scale war games have the waters and airspace around Taiwan surrounded. The Trump administration issued a stern warning to China on April 1 and they weren’t fooling. Beijing’s live fire exercise “warlike preparations” aren’t helping the chance for peaceful negotiations any.
Forget Taiwan independence
Live fire war games happening around Taiwan are clearly meant to be a message from China. Don’t even think about independence for the territory. Xi Jinping is not happy with the way things have been going since Donald Trump came back on the world scene.
The Pooh Bear’s economy was already in dire straits and Trump’s trade war made it worse. His belt and road initiative was stalled on the shoulder when Panama backed out of it. Trying to sell the two ports he owned through a shell company in Hong Kong was the last straw.
Xi Jinping has always been a huge fan of the Sun Tzu classic “Art of War.” He’s well aware that “if peaceful negotiations are in progress, warlike preparations should be made beforehand.” He signaled to Russia, through his top diplomat Wang Yi, that he’s ready to meet directly with Trump and play let’s make a deal.
Before he sits down at the table with his adversary, he has to make a show of force. Taiwan is one of his biggest priorities and this underscores the fact he’s willing to go to great lengths for “unification.”
Trump read that book, too. He also wrote one of his own on the “Art of the Deal.” The president and his national security advisors are totally aware the “joint military drills, which were launched with no prior notice and included China’s army, navy and air and rocket forces” were a message.
In case they didn’t understand it, a spokesperson for China’s People’s Liberation Army spelled out that it’s the Pooh Bear’s “severe warning” of “forceful containment against Taiwan independence.”
Peaceful resolution
After White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt sat down for a briefing with the National Security Council, she issued a formal statement. Trump told the Pooh Bear to calm down and not make any sudden moves he might regret later. Sure those tariffs sting but they got his attention.
Threatening his neighbors only weakens his bargaining position. The Trump administration is “emphasizing the importance of maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait, encouraging the peaceful resolution of these cross-strait issues.”
As Trump’s told Beijing in the past, “any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion” will get an appropriate response. The U.S. president has already indicated that he’s open to helping China reabsorb Taiwan. After all, it’s recognized as a legitimate territory of the mainland.
Trump has a few conditions though. One is no use of military force to accomplish the “re-unification.” The other and more important one is not to cut the supply of microchips off from the rest of the world.
Taipei’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed that they had “tracked 71 Chinese aircraft and 21 warships, with an aircraft carrier battle group entering Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.” They aren’t supposed to do that. Nobody can tell if it might be a real invasion.
“China’s blatant military provocations not only threaten peace in the Taiwan Strait but also undermines security in the entire region,” Taiwan’s president responded on social media. “We strongly condemn China’s escalatory behavior.“
