Key Takeaways:
- Taiwan prepares for war, purchasing ammunition
- Xi Jinping escalated the situation, calling for "border integrity".
- The lack of communication between the countries alarms experts.
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) – As China increased its military activity and training near Taiwan, the official Taipei is getting ready for a war, sources report. Moreover, the Taiwanese government started taking “concrete steps” to defend and train itself in preparation for a “real war scenario.”
Taipei also shifted its military purchase focus, as per the Singapore Post. Taiwanese government reportedly decreased purchases of large military platforms and systems, like fighter jets and naval vessels, in favor of smaller lethal anti-ship and surface-to-air-missiles.
Chances of war between Taiwan and China rises
As CoinChapter reported previously, in 1895, after the Treaty of Shimonoseki, officials in Taiwan declared independence from China. However, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) considers Taiwan a Chinese Province. Thus, China could construe a possible attack not as an invasion but rather as an act of rebuilding its “border integrity.”
Moreover, US Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent Taiwan visit triggered extended military drills, building pressure on the US to respond. Meanwhile, The US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said an attack on the island’s democracy could come anytime.
I don’t think they’re likely to invade Taiwan in the next couple of years. But you never know. Xi [President of China Xi Jinping] has certainly given his military the charge to have that capability by the end of this decade and probably by 2027.
commented Kahl.
However, Kahl’s timeline could be off as China and Taiwan prepare for action. Given the crisis in Europe, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and a possible force shift in the US, Taipei might have to answer Chinese threats sooner than planned.
Additionally, lack of communication becomes a rising concern amid the tension.
No communication equals a rise in animosity.
As CoinChapter reported on Nov 10, President Xi has ordered its army to “prepare for war.”
We will strengthen the normal and diversified use of military forces, carry out military struggles with determination and flexibility, shape the security posture, contain crises and conflicts, and win local wars
read the speach.
Meanwhile, the Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen also said that she had not “surrendered” to Xi’s “one country, two systems” narrative. The latter is essentially a proposal for autonomy under Chinese sovereignty. However, Ing-wen said her “mission in life” was to ensure the island continued to belong to its people.
As the countries prepare for war, there is less and less room for peaceful negotiation. Furthermore, China ceased all official communication with Taiwan after Ing-wen’s election in 2016. Bonnie Glaser, a security expert with the German Marshall Fund of the US, also commented on the lack of communication, calling it “concerning.”
Alexander Huang, a member of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council advisory board, agreed with the outlook.
Since she took office, the phone has never rung. The communication line is of the utmost importance when tensions are rising.
commented the official.
Notably, the tension on the Taiwanese border might not result in a full-blown military attack. However, given the strain on the global economy and growing conflicts of interest, another global hotbed of might prove detrimental to the already frail geopolitical stability.
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