🇨🇳A sudden surge of Chinese warplanes into Taiwan’s air defence zone has raised alarm about whether the drums of war are beating louder across the Taiwan Strait.
🛫A record-breaking 56 Chinese warplanes flew close to the island’s airspace on Monday, following 93 similar flights over the weekend.
The latest mission included 12 nuclear-capable H-6 bombers in the vicinity of the uninhabited Pratas islands claimed by both Taiwan and China
So, what is China up to?
🇹🇼Taiwan acts like any other nation with its own democratic government and military but China’s ruling Communist party claims the island of 24 million as its own territory even though it has never ruled there
While the ramping up of Chinese military activities is designed to intimidate Taiwanese forces, it does not herald an imminent invasion.
➡️But there is growing consensus that the threat of Beijing launching an attack to annex the island is the highest it has been in decades
🗣️"At a minimum, Xi Jinping has raised the stakes, set new risk records, and elevated tensions far beyond what almost anyone would have forecasted just days ago” says Ian Easton, a China affairs analyst
❓How worried should we be?
On Monday, Jen Psaki, the White House spokesperson, indicated that beyond the belligerent rhetoric “we are also in touch privately, conveying clear messages through diplomatic channels.” telegraph.co.uk/world-news/202…
✈️Bonnie Glaser, a Taiwan expert, said the ratcheting up of flights could simply signal the wrapping up of the People’s Liberation Army training cycle, coinciding with the celebration of China’s National Day on October 1st
🇨🇳But Beijing’s aggressive overtures are rattling world governments and fuelling a dangerous arms race in Asia that extends across the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific
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