April 18, 2018
The Chinese military is scheduled to hold live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday — a clear warning to Taipei about seeking independence or closer ties with Washington.
Taiwan is a self-ruled island republic, but China sees it as a breakaway province that should be brought back into the fold and has not ruled out reunification by force.
The Chinese government has been paranoid about any moves to bolster the island’s independence, and the drills are seen as a warning to the US not to interfere with China’s plans in Asia, says Professor John Blaxland from the ANU’s South-East Asia Institute and head of the university’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre.
“This is a demonstration to show to the regional players in the neighbourhood, to Taiwan, to Japan, to the other South-East Asian states that China is serious. It is going to have to be reckoned with if countries want to challenge it — and that’s a pretty powerful message,” as quoted by news.com.au.
“Two decades ago Bill Clinton sent carrier strike groups through the Taiwan Strait as a show of force. This (Chinese exercise) is in my view an act that is very much with that assertion of American power in mind and demonstrating to the US, and others, that that’s not an option any more,”
“This is a demonstration to reinforce the point to Trump that you don’t have a stake in this, to say to Trump; make a deal, back off, leave this space to us,” Prof Blaxland said.
“That is something that is particularly disconcerting to all the neighbours, for Taiwan, for Japan, to a certain extent Korea and for all the South-East Asian nations, even if they won’t say so publicly.”
While China’s latest military drill is designed to project a pointed message to any rivals who might want to curb its power in the region, it is also very much about reminding Taiwan not to get any ideas.
“There’s been considerable concern for quite some time now about Taiwan’s growing desire to assert its independence,” Prof Blaxland said.
After the Communist Party earlier this year paved the way for China’s President Xi Jinping to rule for life, he warned on March 20 that “all acts and tricks to separate the country are doomed to fail” said Professor John Blaxland to news.com.au.
It comes just days after the country deployed much of its naval hardware for the world to see in a demonstration in the South China Sea. That drill included 10,000 personnel, 76 fighter jets, 48 naval vessels, a nuclear powered submarine and an aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.
China is keen to flex its naval muscle, which has grown considerably under the current president who has consistently indicated a desire to expand its military presence into the Pacific and beyond.
“The task for building a strong navy is urgent. We must strengthen through reform and technology and promote modernisation, to increase combat capacity and readiness,” President Jinping said during the recent drills in the South China Sea. Prof Blaxland said it has been “quite a substantial and rapid build-up of the Chinese navy and its capabilities” in recent years.
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