Chinese Military Maneuvers Heighten Tensions in Taiwan

Taipei convenes Security Council as Chinese military deploys ships and planes around island – US says it is “seriously concerned”

Lai Ching-te

Tensions are rising rapidly in the waters of the South China Sea, where the Chinese army began new drills around the island of Taiwan on Monday, October 14. According to a spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army of China (the official name of the armed forces of the People’s Republic of China), the maneuvers involve “land, naval, air, and missile” forces and include, among other things, “combat tests, port blockades, and assaults on sea and land facilities.”

The large-scale Chinese drills followed a Republic Day speech by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (also known as William Lai, pictured) on Thursday, October 10, in which Lai said China “has no right to represent Taiwan.” The Chinese government sharply criticized Lai’s intervention, calling it “provocative and dangerous.”

Immediately after the start of the new phase of Chinese military maneuvers (which began in May), Lai urgently convened Security Council members on Monday morning to decide on possible responses to escalating tensions around the island, which China claims as an integral part of its national territory.

Taipei’s Ministry of Defense responded by raising alert levels on more peripheral islands, such as Matsu and Kinmen, a few miles off the Chinese coast. According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, “additional security measures are ready if necessary.”

THAAD

The United States, Taiwan’s closest ally, said it was “seriously concerned about the People’s Liberation Army military exercises in and around Taiwan.” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller wrote in a statement that Beijing’s “military” response “to a routine annual performance is unwarranted and risks escalation.” Washington urged Beijing to “act with restraint to avoid further actions that could undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the region.”

In this situation, the USA must act on various fronts, among which the most important at the moment is the Middle East. On Sunday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the dispatch of the ultra-modern Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system to Israel on the orders of President Joe Biden, as well as a missile defense contingent of a hundred US soldiers who will be deployed to activate them in the event of its use.

THAAD is a more advanced anti-missile system than traditional ones: it can protect much larger surfaces, hitting targets in flight up to 200 kilometers away.