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Showing posts with the label Taiwan- China Relations

TAIWAN REJECTS CHINA’S THREATS WITH A SHOW OF MILITARY FORCE || 2021 (CREDITS- WARTHOG DEFENSE)

HERE COME THE BOMBERS: CHINA SENT A FLEET OF MILITARY AIRCRAFT NEAR TAIWAN || 2021 (CREDITS- WARTHOG DEFENSE)

WHY CHINA COULD INVADE TAIWAN SOON || 2021 (CREDITS-WARTHOG DEFENSE)

China No Longer Has a Taiwan Strategy ( Source- The National Interest / Author- J. Michael Cole)

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / VOA China Source- The National Interest Author- J. Michael Cole For all the talk about the inevitability of the eventual “reunification” of Taiwan and China and bluster about China’s determination to accomplish the “China dream,” ongoing trends in the Taiwan Strait have made it clear that Beijing’s approach to Taiwan is failing. Short of military conquest, there is very little in the current set of options available to Beijing suggesting that “peaceful unification” is even remotely possible. For a while, Beijing seemed to have a strategy, and if one did not look too closely it even seemed to be succeeding. Occurring at a time of shifting balance of economic and military power in the Taiwan Strait, the election of Ma Ying-jeou of the “Beijing-friendly” Kuomintang (KMT) in the 2008 elections, followed by the signing of a series of agreements and indications of political rapprochement, led many analysts to conclude that the Taiwan “ques

What Would China Do if America Sold Taiwan F-35s? ( Source- The National Interest / Authors- Nicholas Butts & Jared McKinney)

Lockheed Martin F-35 ( Image credits- VOA) Source- The National Interest Author-  Nicholas Butts , Jared McKinney A Taiwanese fighter jet on a routine patrol collides with a Chinese drone and crashes into the South China Sea; the pilot is killed. In response, the Republic of China Air Force, which for some time has been asking for upgraded planes, presses for a new arms package from America. Despite promising to maintain peace and stability in cross-Strait relations a little over a year ago in her victory speech, Tsai Ing-Wen, Taiwan’s president, is faced with growing pressure to respond strongly. A concerned Legislative Yuan authorizes major defense budget increases (overcoming budget difficulties) aimed at acquiring the F-35. Eager to signal that the rebalance she spearheaded in the Obama administration is returning in full force, newly elected president Hillary Clinton (following the advice of hawkish media commentators) directs the Defense Department to sell Taipei fi

China's Lethal J-20 vs. Taiwan's F-16: Who Wins? ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Kyle Mazokami)

Taiwanese Air force F-16 ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Al-Jezeera English) Source- The National Interest Author- Kyle Mizokami The balance of air superiority over the island of Taiwan is slowly shifting. Once assured by a fleet of sleek, modern Republic of China Air Force fighters, the rise of China—and the decline of Taiwan’s defense budget—has gradually changed the equation in favor of China. Following the end of the Chinese Civil War, the government of the Republic of China evacuated to the island of Taiwan. Less than two hundred miles separate the island from a hostile Chinese mainland. Yet as long as Taiwan maintained a strong navy and air force, and more importantly, as long as China remained poor, Taiwan might as well have been on the far side of the moon. But China is no longer poor, and it is building a military that matches its newfound wealth. China is able to build more combat aircraft than Taiwan can support, and has embarked on a two simul

Why 2016 Could Be a Nightmare for China ( Source- The Diplomat, Author- Kerry Brown)

Image credits- The Global Post Source- The Diplomat Author- Kerry Brown In the late 1990s, former President Jiang Zemin liked to talk of China entering a two-decade era of “strategic opportunity” — a period when China could become a middle income country while continuing the Deng-ist strategy of building up its capacity and strengthening its economy during the era of American hegemony. During this period, China would be low profile, largely free of global leadership responsibilities, and able to plead its status as a poor, developing power focused on solving its own problems as a reason to sidestep heavy diplomatic duties beyond its borders. Three-quarters of the way into this era of “strategic opportunity,” and we might argue that this period has already come to an end. Economically and geopolitically, the China of Xi Jinping increasingly talks and acts like an emerging super power. Xi, with his grand narratives of a “new model of great power relations” for the U.S.

The Next Flash Point between China and America: Taiwan? ( Source- The National Interest, Author- Ted Galen Carpenter)

Navy of Taiwan ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ ROCN Official image) Source- The National Interest Author- Ted Galen Carpenter Taiwan’s governing Kuomintang Party (KMT) suffered a brutal defeat in just-completed elections for local offices. Indeed, the extent of the KMT’s rout made the losses the Democratic Party experienced in U.S. midterm congressional elections look like a mild rebuke. The setback was so severe that President Ma Ying-jeou announced that he would relinquish his post as party chairman. Although that decision does not directly affect Ma’s role as head of the government, it reflects his rapidly eroding political influence. The growing domestic political turbulence in Taiwan is not just a matter of academic interest to the United States. Under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, Washington is obligated to assist Taipei’s efforts to maintain an effective defense and to regard any coercive moves Beijing might take against the island as a serious threat to t