BEIJING (Archyde.com) – Chinese President Xi Jinping may not have been able to stop U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from visiting Taiwan, but she has ordered far more aggressive military exercises. It’s a “blockade” exercise that will be crucial to a military takeover of Taiwan, according to security experts.
Chinese military planners have been considering blockade exercises for years, but until now they likely thought blockade exercises were too provocative, experts say.
But after Mr. Pelosi’s visit, the Chinese military launched missiles that flew over Taipei for the first time, flew drones in waves over Taiwan’s outlying islands, and warships crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait to encircle Taiwan. Taiwanese military officials describe this as a “blockade” exercise.
S. “The first series of actions has effectively changed the security status quo in Taiwan,” said Lee Ming-Jiang, an associate professor at the Rajaratnam Institute for International Studies in Singapore. “The Chinese military now has a new starting point for further advancing the perimeter in future exercises,” it said.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army is much stronger than it was during the 1996 “Taiwan Strait Crisis” when it last launched a missile near Taiwan. The ability to enforce a blockade would be a lever to bring Taiwan to the negotiating table in the event of a conflict.
If Taiwan accepts “bloodless reunification” to avoid massive deaths and massive destruction, Xi will have the greatest achievement in his long-held goal of “reviving the Chinese people.” Become.
Taiwanese citizens, who have been threatened by China for decades, seem unperturbed by this turn of events. However, some point out that the military leadership is concerned.
Michael Chan, secretary general of the National Security Council during the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, told local media that the exercise was a preview of a possible Chinese invasion scenario.
The United States and its allies, including Japan, criticized the military exercises. But it has not intervened directly to stop the blockade exercise, not wanting to escalate the situation.
A former senior Chinese defense official told Archyde.com that the reactions of those countries offered little consolation for Taiwan. “To what extent did the Taiwanese leadership think it could count on the help of these countries when attacked by the People’s Liberation Army?” he asked.
The series of events occurred at an important time for Mr. Xi Jinping. Xi is expected to secure an unprecedented third term at the Communist Party Congress later this year, despite widespread public discontent over his “zero-corona” policy to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
Humiliated by failing to prevent Ms Pelosi’s visit, Beijing needed to balance domestically by fanning outrage over the visit, according to knowledgeable people.
State media flooded videos of the exercises, praising China’s improved military capabilities.
Bilahari Kaushikan, a former Singaporean diplomat, said the propaganda was partly aimed at saving face for Mr. Xi, who cannot afford to look weak before the party convention. “The grim fact is that despite China’s threats, it failed to stop Mrs. Pelosi’s visit, so the CCP had no choice but to spice up the show,” he said.
China may be one step closer to using force on Taiwan, but most experts don’t see war imminent.
Former British diplomat Charles Parton said: “A successful invasion in the 2020s has little guarantee of success. A failure would mean the end of Xi Jinping, his dreams and possibly the Chinese Communist Party. ‘ said.
Experts say Mr. Xi must be well aware of the risks. S. Associate Professor Lee of the Rajaratnam Institute for International Studies said, “China may have hoped that through this military exercise, the United States, Europe, and many other countries would try to stop the alarming trend of strengthening sympathy for Taiwan. That is the effect. It remains to be seen whether it will,” he said.
(Reporter by Yew Lun Tian)