2024-02-11 21:01:22
China intensifies its surveillance and monitoring activities around Taiwan; As proof of its presence on the island, which it considers an integral part of its territory, taking advantage of the preoccupation of Washington, an ally of Taipei, in the US administration’s disputes with the state of Texas regarding immigration and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, according to experts.
In this regard, an American party politician and researcher specializing in Chinese affairs, in an interview with Sky News Arabia, explains China’s next steps in Taiwan, and the expected American response to it, despite the current American preoccupation.
China’s movements since the beginning of the year
- Saturday, February 10, Taiwan announced that it had spotted 8 Chinese balloons on Friday and Saturday crossing the Taiwan Strait, and two of them flew over the island.
- The Chinese government has dismissed repeated complaints from Taiwan about the balloons, saying they are for meteorological purposes.
- January 25, Taiwan Army announces the discovery of 6 ships and 18 warplanes belonging to the Chinese Army around Taiwan.
- On the same day, commenting on the presidential elections in Taiwan, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, Wu Qian, said in a press conference that Taiwan will never become a state, and any separatist activities seeking so-called “Taiwan independence” will never succeed.
- The spokesman also announced that the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army carried out joint naval and air patrols around Taiwan, with the aim of enhancing combat readiness and protecting China’s territorial integrity, and that the army will continue to launch relevant military operations on a regular basis.
- Taiwan responds by extending the conscription period from 4 months to a full year, due to war fears.
- January 14, the candidate who supports the independence of the island of Taiwan from China, Lai Ching-te, wins the elections to become president of the country. In a report by the American newspaper “Politico”, it was stated that China directed repeated criticism at Lai, indicating that he is the one who will ignite the war on the island.
- On January 9, China launched the “Einstein Probe” satellite into Taiwan space. The Chinese news agency “Xinhua” said that its goal was to monitor transient cosmic phenomena, but the authorities in Taiwan issued security warnings via phones to its residents; Fearing that his goal was to influence the preparations currently underway for the elections.
The island of Taiwan, which is administered under an autonomous system, is considered by China to be an integral part of its territory, and opposes any rapprochement between it and the United States, as it accuses Washington of supporting groups seeking secession.
Not the first time
US Democratic Party member and political analyst, Mehdi Afifi, points out, “This is not the first time China has used balloons for spying and other purposes, and it seeks to monitor any movements of Taiwan on the ground and ship movements so that it is aware of everything in it.”
The expert on Chinese affairs, Jad Raad, agrees with him, saying that the balloons that passed over the Taiwanese coast all the way to the Pacific, one of their tasks is to monitor the movement of all types of submarines, including nuclear ones.
Taiwan has issued complaints since last December about the repeated launching of balloons in its airspace, saying that it is a threat to aviation safety and an attempt to wage psychological war on the Taiwanese.
How does America respond to China’s moves?
China is racing against time to exploit the United States’ preoccupation with the Ukraine and Gaza wars, and the turbulent events between US President Joe Biden and Texas Governor Greg Abbott over the immigration issue, to influence the Taiwanese and keep them away from the idea of secession, according to Afifi.
For months, Texas authorities have been in sharp disagreement with Biden due to the increasing number of immigrants coming from across the southern border of the United States.
The Texas governor wants to increase measures to protect the border from the influx of migration, while the federal government welcomed a court decision allowing the removal of barbed wire that was installed under Abbott’s supervision to deter migrants from crossing the border.
A coalition of 25 Republican governors backed Abbott, writing that they “stand in solidarity with the Texas Governor in using every tool and strategy, including razor wire fencing, to secure the state.”
In addition to this internal turmoil that coincides with everyone’s preoccupation with the presidential elections scheduled for next November, the United States is still politically and financially involved in the Ukraine and Gaza wars, with no horizon for their end.
Accordingly, Afifi does not rule out any moves from China in the coming days, “especially after it learned of the internal discord in the United States and its preoccupation with wars,” as he put it.
For his part, Jean Raad believes that Washington will also move, but through attempts to encircle Beijing economically, noting that all that matters to Biden is to implement the three draft laws related to China that he is preparing to send to Congress, which are:
- A draft law bans any economic dealings with Chinese companies important to China’s defense and surveillance technology sectors.
- A bill calls for expanding investment restrictions to include high-performance and high-speed computing.
- The Foreign Investment Transparency Act requires that US companies provide notification to the Treasury Department before investing in certain industries.
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