Taiwan’s Hourglass: China Tightens the Sands of Geopolitical Time

July 11, Taipei: Taiwanese officials expressed worry about the escalating tensions in the region as China carried out military exercises in the adjacent waters. Beijing conducted a military exercise in which warplanes were observed flying over an island near the Taiwanese camp.

 Later, the planes joined the Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific, which is a Type 002 class carrier and a variation of the Kuznetsov-class carrier. China has used this signal to scare off its neighbours and foes as Shandong went near the Philippines to the Pacific Ocean for a military exercise.

Taiwan’s defence ministry reported on Thursday morning that it had found 66 Chinese military aircraft in the area of the island during its daily report on Chinese military activities during the previous 24 hours; 39 of those travelled to Taiwan’s southeast and south, according to the ministry.

According to a government statement on Wednesday, 36 aircraft were spotted flying toward the Western Pacific to conduct drills with the Shandong.

The defence ministry of Taiwan released two images: a colour photo of a nuclear-capable H-6 bomber and a black-and-white photograph of a Chinese J-16 fighter. The exact time of the event is still unidentified, but the Taiwanese military claimed that they tracked both planes.

These strategies of China, which experts refer to as “grey zone tactics,” are meant to tire the island’s military but do not include overt acts of combat.

The PRC still has not presented any official statement for these activities, while Taiwanese officials reaffirmed their citizens for their security.

“The Chinese Communists’ threat to regional stability continues to rise, and its grey zone intrusions into the Taiwan Strait and surrounding areas are also increasing day by day, which are a common challenge to global democracy,” an official statement by President Lai Ching-te.

The NATO alliance has described China as a threat to Europe and its security since it was noted during the NATO Washington summit that China was a decisive enabler of Russia’s military operations in Ukraine.

These scenarios are more and more pushing Taipei to forge relations with the adversaries of the PRC, the mightiest of them being the U.S. Tensions reached their peak during the 2022 Nancy Pelosi visit to Taiwan.

On the other hand, China has responded with stern words as the Chinese spokesperson to the European Union said the NATO summit’s declaration is full of “belligerent rhetoric” and that the China-related content contains provocations, “lies, incitement, and smears.”

These two parallel ideologies and approaches have somewhat dragged Taiwan into a state of high alert, as the Taiwan allies have not given their allegiance to Taipei without a motive, The U.S. has used this situation as an opportunity to announce its power on the global stage.

In this scenario, multiple players are involved, such as Japan, which recently entered Chinese waters with its naval destroyer, while the Philippines Air Force landed in Australia for combat practice alongside U.S. and Australian fighter jets on Wednesday.

Most of the regional powers are gathering and conducting military drills to counter recent Chinese dominance, it seems time is ticking for Taiwan and its allies to control the alarming situation in the region.

Team Profile

Mohammad Kaif ZaidiNews Writer

Mohammad Kaif Zaidi is a student of MA Mass Communication and Journalism at Aligarh Muslim University. His background is strongly backed by his previous experience in the vibrant spectrum of mass communication and journalism. He possesses a creative and technical personality with a robust approach towards his work.

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