As tensions over regional security rise, China has issued a scary message to Joe Biden by claiming the Taiwan Straits are not international seas.
The announcement comes as China's rhetoric on the disputed island heats up, with Defense Minister Wei Fenghe declaring that Beijing is willing to go to war for its claimed sovereign territory. During discussions in Singapore, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin advised China not to engage in any more destabilizing acts in the area. According to one defense analyst, China has now increased tensions in the region by sending a warning over extremely important waterways.
China Warns US About Taiwan
Warnings have been conveyed at numerous meetings between US and Chinese officials, causing the Biden administration some anxiety. The United States and its main allies claim that much of the strait is international water, and they frequently send Navy boats through it as part of freedom of passage drills.
The United States has rejected China's assertions over the choke point waterway. Officials in the Biden administration have opted to reject China's ambiguous new argument that the Taiwan Strait is not international waters, and are increasingly afraid that the attitude would result in more regular maritime battles, Express reported.
Analysts predict that as Washington pulls closer to Taipei, Beijing will put even more pressure on the self-ruled island to fulfill its aim of seizing control. The judgment comes after two US senators filed legislation on Thursday to increase support for the island through billions of dollars in security aid and modifications to the statute that underpins Washington's unofficial relations with Taiwan.
It came after Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe said on Sunday that Beijing would fight at all costs any attempt to declare Taiwan independent and that it was working hard to peacefully reunify the island with the mainland.
Tensions are high across the Taiwan Strait, with the People's Liberation Army increasing its activity near the island in recent years, while the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom have all deployed warships through the strait on freedom of navigation patrols. China's foreign ministry stated on Monday that Beijing has sovereign powers over the Taiwan Strait, dismissing US allegations that it is international seas.
According to Ridzwan Rahmat, a lead defense analyst at Janes, the likelihood of an armed clash between Beijing and Taiwan is much higher now than it was five years ago.
China launched a new aircraft carrier, the Fujian, on Friday, bringing the fleet to three and marking the country's first domestically manufactured carrier. According to David Silbey, a military historian at Cornell University in Washington, Beijing is also anticipated to pursue reunification through a variety of non-military means, as per South China Morning Post.
China Plans To Start War Against Taiwan
Meanwhile, a leaked video from a Chinese invasion planning conference purportedly reveals officials pledging they will not hesitate to launch a war and destroy Taiwan. The video is said to be of a high-level strategy talk concerning invasion preparations involving 140,000 men among some of the country's leading soldiers and authorities.
The audio and a covertly shot image were released by top members of the military, according to a Chinese expatriate living in the United States. It is stated that they were concerned that China's increasing hostility against Taiwan was a threat to peace and risked their lives to make the recording public.
The video purports to be of a meeting of the Military-Civilian Joint Command in the southern city of Guangzhou to discuss mobilization plans for an invasion of Taiwan. Wang Dinggang, a Chinese-born exile living in the United States, formed Lude Media, which made the recording public. He has sparked controversy because of his relationship with Li-Meng Yan, who says that Covid was purposefully developed in a lab by the Chinese.
The recording has not been confirmed independently. However, the tone appears to be consistent with what Chinese leaders have stated publicly subsequently, with Beijing pledging to destroy Taiwan and warning it won't hesitate to launch a war following a meeting with the US, according to The Sun.
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