China’s pressure on Taiwan’s airspace might be a “rehearsal”

As of late, China has been sending flights of dozens of military planes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). While in international airspace, the planes are within Taiwan’s territorial waters. This forces the Republic of China (ROC, aka Taiwan) Air Force to scrabble jets to intercept them. Communist China (aka the People’s Republic of China or mainland China) claims the people and territory of the island nation of Taiwan as its own. Taiwan broke away from the mainland when the communist revolution swept China, as anti-communists retreated to the island.

American leaders are aware and monitoring the situation. We are treaty obligated to come to defense of Taiwan should China attempt to retake the island. Of course, if China invades so quickly that they can’t wake up Biden, explain the situation, and get him to respond with a coherent thought before the Taiwan government collapses, then the treaty no longer applies.

Could China and Russia launch simultaneous attacks? One against Taiwan and the other against Ukraine, splitting Biden’s meager attention in two ways? The guy can’t read and talk at the same time. Expecting him to be sharp enough to fend off two world powers with leaders still in their prime is an unreasonable expectation.

Thanks to Jeff LPH 3 for sending in the link to this Breaking Defense article;

Over the last year, China has stepped up its flights around Taiwan, at one point in October flying almost 150 aircraft through Taiwan’s claimed Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over a four-day period.

Running that many planes through Taiwan’s ADIZ would seem to be a great opportunity for China to get a sense of potential operations — a suspicion US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin voiced over the weekend.

“I don’t want to speculate, but certainly, it looks like a lot like them exploring their true capabilities, and sure, it looks a lot like rehearsing” for operations against Taiwan, Austin said at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, Calif., on Saturday.

Asked about Austin’s comments, Adm. John Aquilino, the head of US Indo-Pacific Command, said that he agreed with the assessment. But the INDOPACOM chief also noted the flights have more than one purpose.

“I think the assessment is, as the Secretary articulated, right, training and rehearsal, but I also believe it has a coercive nature and a gray zone type of activity to ensure that the people on Taiwan will see that capability every day,” Aquilino told reporters. “So, it’s a form of a pressure campaign. That’s my assessment.”

More at the source, including their plans for defense of Guam. Boomer, look out, they’re already slipping on the timeline for their Iron Dome defense of the island. I will caution you all there to avoid moving to one side of the island at once, or else it might capsize.

Category: China, Foreign Policy