What Taiwan Needs to Know When Condemning China's Acts of Aggression

On Tuesday, China's ongoing military exercises around the coast were only a rehearsal for an invasion of a small autonomous island. No, but it shows that Beijing is trying to control a vast area of ​​the Western Pacific. The warning came as Taiwan's military conducted its own exercises, apparently intended to show its readiness to defend against Chinese aggression.

China regards Taiwan as its own territory, and President Xi Jinping has made it clear that he intends to take control of the island by force if necessary 93}

His administration was outraged by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan earlier this month. In addition to terminating a number of cooperation agreements with the United States in all areas ranging from China to China, China has responded by swiftly launching dramatic military exercises around Taiwan.

China flew fighter jets over the waters separating China and Taiwan and fired missiles into the waters around Taiwan each day during the exercises.

"China is using military planning drills in preparation for an invasion of Taiwan," Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said on Tuesday. rice field. "China's true intention is to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and the entire region."

Here are some key facts to understand about the ongoing military exercises and the capabilities of both sides.

What are China's military exercises off Taiwan intended to show?

China's military exercises, unprecedented in scale and intensity, seek to encircle the democratic and autonomous island with her six active zones. In doing so, China has demonstrated its ability to cut off access to the Taiwan Strait, which separates the island from mainland China, and has done so. In the process, it has severely restricted access to Taiwan's major ports.

The exercise saw Chinese forces attack a major military base in Taiwan and effectively facilitate a sea escape from the island.

The Pentagon says it still believes China will not launch an invasion of Taiwan in the next two years. But China's prolonged use of force is seen not only as a way to practice blockades and aggression, but also as an attempt to normalize China's aggression in the Taiwan Strait.

How does Taiwan's military compare to China's? Can it protect itself?

Taiwan has fewer than 200,000 active-duty military personnel, compared to her 2 million in China. Taiwan's compulsory military service is for men only and lasts only four months, far too short to prepare soldiers for real combat.

Taiwan has about one-fifth as many fighters as China, and most of its fighters are outdated.

This week, Taiwan held what it called a regularly scheduled defensive drill, firing artillery into the sea. The exercises were conducted by hundreds of troops and included dozens of howitzers.

War simulations by US experts found that if the US helped defend Taiwan against a hypothetical Chinese attack, The island is predicted to be able to successfully resist invasion. However, the physical and economic damage to Taiwan would be enormous, not to mention the cost of the US military.  

President Biden said the United States would intervene with its military to defend Taiwan if China attempted to invade.

Continued military drills could affect global trade. Ship traffic in the Taiwan Strait, one of the Asia-Pacific's busiest shipping and air routes, appeared to be back to normal on Tuesday after some disruptions, despite the indefinite extension of the rice field.

But China's aggression has also unfolded in non-military ways.

According to Japan's Nikkei Shimbun, Apple has instructed its component suppliers to stop using the "Made in Taiwan" label on shipments to China and to label components with "Made in Taiwan, China" or "Made in Taiwan, China." Chinese Taipei."

• Taiwan
• War
• Xi Jinping
• Joe Biden
• US Army
• China
• Asia