ALERT The Winds of War Blow in Korea and The Far East

northern watch

TB Fanatic
China could attack Taiwan's smaller islands: Analysts

Taiwan's Dongsha Island, Taiping Island, and Wuqiu Island vulnerable to attack by China


By Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
2020/07/22 12:03

1595387589-5f17aec505c57.png

Taiping Island. (Wikimedia Commons photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A panel of experts on Tuesday (July 21) warned that China could attack one of Taiwan's smaller islands, resulting in a "low-intensity" conflict between the two countries.

The recent frequent intrusions by Chinese warplanes into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) coupled with the news that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is planning on holding war games in August to prepare for a future assault on the Taiwan-controlled Dongsha Islands (Pratas Islands, 東沙群島), has raised concerns about a conflict erupting in the Taiwan Strait. According to a panel of military analysts who met on Tuesday, there is a high possibility of low-level military conflict in the Taiwan Strait, and because such low-level conflicts often have fewer indicators, they said it is vital that Taiwan remain vigilant about such a possibility.

At a forum titled "The dangerous Strait: the possibility of military conflict in the Taiwan Strait," scholars and military experts were invited to discuss the possibility of military conflict between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, as well as between the U.S. and China, and the possible consequences.

Retired Air Force Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Chang Yen-ting (張延廷) said at the forum that the possibility of a high-level conflict or full-scale war between the two sides of the strait is low, but the possibility of low-level conflict is high, reported CNA. Chang said such a conflict could occur on the Dongsha Islands, Taiping Island, or Wuqiu Township because these "are easy to attack but difficult to defend."

1595387530-5f17ae8ad894a.jpg

Dongsha island. (Water Resources Bureau photo)

Chang pointed out that the number of incidents in which Chinese warplanes and warships have approached Taiwanese territory has increased significantly this year. He advised that Taiwan should closely monitor for a shift from a "quantitative change to a qualitative change," such as whether the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) goes from circling Taiwan from south to north to north to south.

Chen Ching-pu (陳勁甫), a social and policy sciences professor at Yuan Ze University, said that if China and Taiwan continue to test each other's red line and further demonize their opponents to win internal and external approval, once a conflict breaks out it could be a major turning point in cross-strait relations and lead to a "showdown," according to the report. Chen stressed that there is no winner in a war and that only by "cherishing peace, reducing mutual hostility, and providing hope and confidence can crisis and war be avoided."

Former Taiwan National Security Bureau chief, Tsai De-sheng (蔡得勝) also mentioned that the growing hostility between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait in recent years is dangerous. Amid the crackdown in Hong Kong, the pandemic, the rise of nationalism in China, and the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) fear of surging calls for Taiwan independence, Beijing is more willing to "exercise its sovereignty," and the situation will become more complicated.


1595388139-5f17b0eb5cdee.jpg

Wuqiu Lighthouse on Daqiu Island. (Wikimedia Commons photo)

Former Vice Defense Minister Chen Yeong-kang (陳永康) believes that in the face of a possible military conflict, Taiwan should consolidate its internal defense and social structure, "not by comparing the number of missiles but by ensuring that water and electricity continue to flow and banks do not collapse, so that the social structure can support its defense." As for tensions between the U.S. and China, Chen said that actions by both sides are still relatively moderate, which shows they do not want to engage in a conflict.

However, he warned that military preparations by the two countries are indeed heading in the direction of a possible "great power war." Therefore, he suggested that a conflict between the major powers cannot be ruled out.

 

northern watch

TB Fanatic
In looking at the maps above (Post #5002) I would say If China decides to attack Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu and Wuciou are goners right from the get-go, but they will serve as a trip wire that the conflict has begun.
 

jward

passin' thru
Apex

@Apex_WW

19m

Beijing sends fighter jets to disputed island chain in South #China Sea
View: https://twitter.com/Apex_WW/status/1287522429347270658?s=20


Rest of article behind paywall:
Beijing sends fighter jets to disputed island chain in the South China Sea

Didi Tang
Thursday July 23 2020, 12.01am BST, The Times
Satellite images showed eight fighter aircraft on the Woody Island airstrip in the Paracels chain

Satellite images showed eight fighter aircraft on the Woody Island airstrip in the Paracels chain
Beijing has stationed eight warplanes on a strategic disputed island in the South China Sea, escalating tensions over territorial claims.

Satellite images from July 15 showed at least four aircraft on Woody Island in the Paracels chain, believed to be J-11B air superiority fighters. More pictures the following day showed them in a different area of the island along with four other aircraft, thought to be JH-7 anti-ship fighter-bombers, according to Radio Free Asia, a broadcast service backed by the US government.

%2Fmethode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2F76be0afc-cc3d-11ea-979f-ba077cfea17c.png

It follows war games by both the Chinese and US forces in the area. The US manoeuvres involved two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan, while China fired more than 3,000 missiles at moving targets in a

Continue reading
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Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Apex
@Apex_WW

19m

Beijing sends fighter jets to disputed island chain in South #China Sea
View: https://twitter.com/Apex_WW/status/1287522429347270658?s=20


Rest of article behind paywall:
Beijing sends fighter jets to disputed island chain in the South China Sea

Didi Tang
Thursday July 23 2020, 12.01am BST, The Times
Satellite images showed eight fighter aircraft on the Woody Island airstrip in the Paracels chain

Satellite images showed eight fighter aircraft on the Woody Island airstrip in the Paracels chain
Beijing has stationed eight warplanes on a strategic disputed island in the South China Sea, escalating tensions over territorial claims.

Satellite images from July 15 showed at least four aircraft on Woody Island in the Paracels chain, believed to be J-11B air superiority fighters. More pictures the following day showed them in a different area of the island along with four other aircraft, thought to be JH-7 anti-ship fighter-bombers, according to Radio Free Asia, a broadcast service backed by the US government.

%2Fmethode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2F76be0afc-cc3d-11ea-979f-ba077cfea17c.png

It follows war games by both the Chinese and US forces in the area. The US manoeuvres involved two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan, while China fired more than 3,000 missiles at moving targets in a

Continue reading
Get unlimited digital access, free for one month

Hummm.....three sub launched conventionally armed cruise missiles and any one of those bases would be out of action for the duration of any crisis.
 

jward

passin' thru
Alert 5

Military Aviation News
Taiwan preparing to deploy DMS Stinger, Kestrel rocket to South China Sea
Posted on July 27, 2020


As China could be holding military exercises near Pratas island in the South China Sea, Taiwan has decided to move one reinforced company from the ROCMC 99th Marine Brigade to the island as part of a “relocation exercise.”
Visitor Operate FIM-92 Stinger Twin Launchers with Soldier 20130810b
玄史生
/ CC BY-SA

The company will have increase firepower using Dual Mount Stinger and Kestrel anti-armor rocket launcher if necessary. The Kestrel is developed by Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology and has a range of up to 400m.
Kurstal anti tank rocket
Zuilon2000
/ CC BY-SA

Taiwan preparing to deploy DMS Stinger, Kestrel rocket to South China Sea – Alert 5 posted for fair use
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Alert 5

Military Aviation News
Taiwan preparing to deploy DMS Stinger, Kestrel rocket to South China Sea
Posted on July 27, 2020


As China could be holding military exercises near Pratas island in the South China Sea, Taiwan has decided to move one reinforced company from the ROCMC 99th Marine Brigade to the island as part of a “relocation exercise.”
Visitor Operate FIM-92 Stinger Twin Launchers with Soldier 20130810b
玄史生
/ CC BY-SA

The company will have increase firepower using Dual Mount Stinger and Kestrel anti-armor rocket launcher if necessary. The Kestrel is developed by Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology and has a range of up to 400m.
Kurstal anti tank rocket
Zuilon2000
/ CC BY-SA

Taiwan preparing to deploy DMS Stinger, Kestrel rocket to South China Sea – Alert 5 posted for fair use

Hummm......a MANPAD system and an anti-tank system....Now if they were putting a medium to long range SAM battery out there and making a big deal about it that would be IMHO something. Those ROC RoC Marines are trip wires/speed bumps.
 

jward

passin' thru
World News
July 27, 2020 / 5:15 PM / Updated 8 hours ago
North Korea's Kim says there will be no more war thanks to nuclear weapons


2 Min Read


North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks at an event to confer "Paektusan" commemorative pistols to leading commanding officers of the armed forces on the 67th anniversary of the "Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War", which marks the signing of the Korean War armistice, in this undated photo released on July 27, 2020 by North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang. KCNA via REUTERS
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said there will be no more war as the country’s nuclear weapons guarantee its safety and future despite unabated outside pressure and military threats, state media said on Tuesday.

Kim made the remarks as he celebrated the 67th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, which fell on July 27, with a reception for veterans, the official KCNA news agency said.


The country developed nuclear weapons to win “absolute strength” to stave off another armed conflict, Kim said in a speech carried by KCNA, emphasising the defensive nature of the programmes.

“Now we are capable of defending ourselves in the face of any form of high intensity pressure and military threats from imperialist and hostile forces,” he said.


“Thanks to our reliable and effective self-defensive nuclear deterrent, there will no longer be war, and our country’s safety and future will be firmly guaranteed forever.”

The speech came amid stalled talks aimed at dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes in exchange for sanctions relief from Washington.

Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump met for the first time in 2018 in Singapore, raising hopes for a negotiated end to North Korea’s nuclear threats. But their second summit, in 2019 in Vietnam, and subsequent working-level meetings fell apart.

 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
World News
July 27, 2020 / 5:15 PM / Updated 8 hours ago
North Korea's Kim says there will be no more war thanks to nuclear weapons


2 Min Read


North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks at an event to confer "Paektusan" commemorative pistols to leading commanding officers of the armed forces on the 67th anniversary of the "Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War", which marks the signing of the Korean War armistice, in this undated photo released on July 27, 2020 by North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang. KCNA via REUTERS
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said there will be no more war as the country’s nuclear weapons guarantee its safety and future despite unabated outside pressure and military threats, state media said on Tuesday.

Kim made the remarks as he celebrated the 67th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, which fell on July 27, with a reception for veterans, the official KCNA news agency said.


The country developed nuclear weapons to win “absolute strength” to stave off another armed conflict, Kim said in a speech carried by KCNA, emphasising the defensive nature of the programmes.

“Now we are capable of defending ourselves in the face of any form of high intensity pressure and military threats from imperialist and hostile forces,” he said.


“Thanks to our reliable and effective self-defensive nuclear deterrent, there will no longer be war, and our country’s safety and future will be firmly guaranteed forever.”

The speech came amid stalled talks aimed at dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes in exchange for sanctions relief from Washington.

Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump met for the first time in 2018 in Singapore, raising hopes for a negotiated end to North Korea’s nuclear threats. But their second summit, in 2019 in Vietnam, and subsequent working-level meetings fell apart.


Hummm...an interesting manner to downshift the rhetoric.....
 

jward

passin' thru
China and Somalia agree to joint patrols on Somaliland’s territorial waters on the Red Sea


According to diplomatic and defense sources briefed on the matter, The People’s Republic of China and the Somalia Federal Government have agreed to conduct joint naval patrols in the Red Sea. As part of the agreement which has not been made public, Somalia is to withdraw from its membership of the Red Sea Initiative.

Sources add that the agreement is a direct result of the recently established Somaliland – Taiwan bilateral ties.

Both China and Somalia have condemned the bilateral ties between Taiwan and Somaliland as a violation of their sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Although the White House National Security Council has indirectly welcomed the new ties between Somaliland and Taiwan, neither country is formally recognized.

The PLA’s Logistics Support Base in Djibouti is China’s only overseas military installation and is part of its Strings of Pearl naval strategy that seeks a dominant role in the Red Sea.

video at source
posted for fair use

The United States has expressed concerns over the Chinese military’s base in Djibouti and particularly its proximity to its Africa Command base and Djibouti’s long-term viability as a host given its heavy debt obligations to China.
Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti – Military Bases

On July 21st, President of the Republic of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi Abdi, addressing police and army cadet graduates reiterated Somaliland’s stance on the Red Sea Initiative and without mentioning the Somalia – China agreement.



Sources who spoke to Somaliland Chronicle confirm that President Bihi and few cabinet members have been briefed on the agreement between China and Somalia. It is unclear if Somaliland has formulated a strategy to prevent Chinese naval forces in its territorial waters.

It is unclear if the agreement will go into effect given Somalia’s tense political atmosphere following the ouster of the Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire by a surprise parliamentary no vote of confidence on Saturday.
US conducts airstrike in Somalia as its prime minister visits ...
Former Somali Prime Minister Mr. Hassan Ali Khaire with Former National Security Advisor Mr. John Bolton in Washington DC
During a two day internet shut off in Mogadishu, the Somali President Mr. Mohamed Abdillahi Farmajo has carried out a purge of the former Prime Minister’s allies from security, law enforcement, and other areas of the Somali government.

Somalia’s western backers have unanimously condemned the removal of Prime Minister Khaire and warned against term extension. The United States Embassy in Somalia went a step further and threatened unspecified actions against what it called “spoilers”.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment

By extension then, any time an Aegis system equipped ship is anywhere near the mainland coast in international waters it should respond to any action of harassment as a direct and active assault on that vessel.

At some point Beijing is going be surprised when all this posturing starts a real shooting war. Particularly when the leadership itself comes under direct fire.
 

jward

passin' thru
I thought they needed a real shooting war to deflect from their failures and retain power :: scratchin head ::
 

northern watch

TB Fanatic
China’s Xi Sets His Sights on Taiwan After Subduing Hong Kong
July 30, 2020, 12:01 AM EDT

Bloomberg
By Iain Marlow and Cindy Wang

The leader wants to continue on the path of Mao and Deng by bringing more territory under Beijing’s control.

Ever since Mao Zedong triumphed in 1949, prompting his Nationalist enemies to flee to Taiwan, Communist Party leaders have bolstered their legitimacy to rule by taming rebellious corners of China’s vast periphery.

The quest to capture lost territory prompted Mao’s army to subdue Tibet, where cadres co-opted Buddhist monasteries and eventually built a railway that ensured well-supplied garrisons of troops across the Himalayan plateau. He also reclaimed Xinjiang in the far west, a Muslim desert region the size of Iran where Silk Road traders once crossed paths with Uighurs—who have now been reduced to about 30% of the population of their own homeland after millions of China’s dominant Han ethnicity moved in. After Mao’s death, Deng Xiaoping further helped restore China’s glory following the so-called century of humiliation when he negotiated the return of two cities lost to colonial powers. The U.K. handed over Hong Kong in 1997, and Portugal followed two years later with Macao.

Xi Jinping has consolidated control in all of these places since taking power in 2012 and bolstered Beijing’s hold on disputed reefs in the South China Sea. Most notably, he set up a vast police state in Xinjiang that sent Muslims en masse to reeducation camps, and just in July he imposed a sweeping national security law in Hong Kong aimed at stamping out dissent in a city that many in the West once hoped would spur China to embrace democracy.

Now fears are growing that Xi wants to cement his place alongside Mao and Deng by conquering Taiwan, a prize that’s eluded Communist Party leaders for decades. Joseph Wu, the foreign minister of the island’s democratic government, warned on July 22 that China “may look for excuses to start a war or conflict” after it suddenly stepped up incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, raising the risk of a collision that could escalate. “What China is doing now is continuing to ramp up preparedness to solve the Taiwan issue,” Wu said. “We are very concerned that China will target Taiwan now that the Hong Kong security law’s been passed.”

Worries are also growing in the U.S., where both parties are increasingly united in viewing China’s rise as a threat to the free world. On July 23, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said “securing our freedoms from the Chinese Communist Party is the mission of our time,” and a Republican Party lawmaker even planned to propose a bill authorizing the president to respond with military force if China attacks Taiwan.

The U.S. had terminated its mutual defense treaty with Taiwan as part of the agreement to establish diplomatic ties with China in 1979 in the wake of Richard Nixon’s famous trip to Beijing. It replaced that with legislation authorizing the sale of weapons for Taiwan to “maintain a sufficient self-defense capability,” while stopping short of saying it would join a conflict.

Those defense sales have become an increasing point of tension with Beijing. China slapped sanctions on Lockheed Martin Corp. in July after the latest approval of weapons sales under President Donald Trump’s administration, which has included billions of dollars’ worth of F-16 fighter jets, tanks, and Stinger missiles. Nikki Haley, Trump’s former United Nations envoy, on July 21 called for sales of more high-tech equipment and a trade deal. “Protecting Taiwan from Chinese aggression is essential to preventing an outright conflict with Communist China,” Haley wrote in a Medium.com opinion piece that lauded Trump for regularly sending warships to the Taiwan Strait. “No one wants war. Yet by threatening Taiwan, Beijing is making the world less safe and a confrontation more likely.”

Of the many U.S.-China conflicts right now—from Huawei Technologies Co. to Hong Kong to the consulate closures—none is more dangerous over the long haul than that involving Taiwan. The Communist Party has threatened to invade the island ever since Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists fled China in 1949. In a speech in Beijing last year about the party’s policy toward Taiwan, Xi said, “We make no promise to renounce the use of force and reserve the option of taking all necessary means.” He declared that “China must and will be united, which is an inevitable requirement for the historical rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the new era.”

1000x-1.jpg


The Republic of China Armed Forces’ annual Han Kuang military exercise in Taichung, Taiwan, on July 16.
Photographer: I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg

How a war would play out is the subject of much debate. China’s population of 1.4 billion dwarfs Taiwan’s 23 million, and its total defense expenditures are estimated to be 25 times greater. Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper, said in July that China wants peace but “is fully capable of destroying all of Taiwan’s military installations within a few hours, before seizing the island shortly after.”

Yet researchers who’ve studied war preparations on both sides doubt it will be so easy. While the People’s Liberation Army would seek to bombard the island with missiles and cyberattacks to quickly neutralize Taiwanese forces before they could fight back, the chances of pulling off such a comprehensive surprise assault are slim, according to a 2017 paper by Michael Beckley, who’s advised the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence communities
.

Any failure to immediately knock out Taiwan’s forces, he wrote, would allow the island to repel an amphibious invasion or sustained bombing campaign—even without the U.S. military. Taiwan has been building up asymmetric capabilities like mobile missile systems that could avoid detection, and a prolonged conflict that draws in the U.S. and its allies risks dire economic consequences that could backfire on the Communist Party. “Even if China’s prospects are better than I have suggested, the PLA clearly would have its hands full just dealing with Taiwan’s defenders,” Beckley wrote, referring to the People’s Liberation Army. “Consequently, the United States would only need to tip the scales of the battle to foil a Chinese invasion.”

Any military action would be catastrophic for the global economy in one crucial regard: Taiwan has more than 20% of the world’s microchip production, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., which briefly became the 10th most valuable company in the world on July 24 following reports speculating that Intel Corp., the largest U.S. chipmaker, might outsource its production to the company. TSMC is based in Hsinchu, less than 100 miles from China’s coast. A sudden disruption of the supply chain would resound everywhere, including the People’s Republic.

Even if it took over the island, Beijing would face a hostile population. While China long used economic incentives to win hearts and minds, it cut off direct contact after the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who views the island as a de facto independent nation that needs increased international recognition. China’s suppression of Hong Kong only boosted support for Tsai, who easily won reelection in January. Xi’s proposal to use Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” model for unification is so unpopular in Taiwan that even the Kuomintang, the main China-friendly opposition party and the rump organization of the Nationalists who fled Mao, has rejected it.

The difficulties of unifying under that system were made evident in July. After China imposed the national security law in Hong Kong, the government tried to force senior Taiwanese officials at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office to sign a “one China” pledge that recognizes Beijing’s sovereignty over the island. The officials refused and returned to Taiwan, and it’s uncertain whether the office will stay open. Converted from a travel agency setup in the 1960s under British rule, the office had come to reflect the kinship between two bastions of democracy-loving Chinese people on territory claimed by Beijing. Whereas Hong Kong once provided refuge for more than a million people seeking to escape the mainland, Taiwan is now becoming a destination for pro-democracy protesters in the city. “In the past, Hong Kong was not only a buffer for cross-strait relations, it was a window for global countries to engage and interact with China,” says Lin Fei-fan, the deputy secretary-general of Tsai’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party. “And Taiwan will be at the front line of China’s pressure now that Hong Kong is no longer a buffer.”

Lin says Taiwanese officials are monitoring Xi’s statements closely, so as not to be caught unprepared if he takes any action to distract from a slowing economy in China. They also expect Beijing to further isolate Taiwan from its remaining diplomatic allies, block its officials from joining global bodies, step up cyberattacks and spying operations, and continue military drills near the island in the air and at sea.

Still, an invasion remains unlikely. At an annual legislative meeting in May, China’s premier, Li Keqiang, called Taiwan’s people “brothers and sisters” and said leaders would “do our very utmost to promote peaceful reunification of China.” And in July, a spokesman for China’s defense ministry put the blame on the U.S. for the increased tensions, saying its leaders frequently play the “Taiwan card” and want to undermine China’s sovereignty by “salami slicing.”

While China is Taiwan’s largest trading partner, Tsai has sought to take advantage of Trump’s trade war to reduce the island’s dependence on Beijing. Her “Invest Taiwan” initiative attracted more than $36 billion worth of pledges with incentives to persuade businesses to bring operations back home from the mainland. Despite a lower 2020 gross domestic product forecast of 1.67% because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Taiwan is set to be the only developed economy in the world to see growth this year.

Taiwan’s response to the coronavirus has also boosted its international standing. The island’s quick reaction and warning to the world prompted the U.S. and its allies to push for Taiwan’s inclusion in the World Health Assembly, the decision-making section of the World Health Organization—a move Beijing continues to oppose despite the pandemic. (The Trump administration has announced the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO effective July 2021.)

In the U.S. the rhetoric over Communist designs on the island has ramped up. After the State Department abruptly booted China from Houston on July 23, GOP Texas Senator Ted Cruz tweeted that “the city now has a consulate for the free Republic of China (Taiwan) and no consulate for the tyrannical People’s Republic of China … as it should be.” That evocation of the “two China” policy hails Taipei as a viable democratic alternative to Beijing. It also raises the issue of a formal declaration of Taiwan’s independence, a red line for the mainland that would likely trigger an invasion.

“The U.S. is desperately using the Taiwan issue to put pressure on the Chinese government, while some in Taiwan hope to use the opportunity to promote independence,” says Liu Guoshen, director of the Collaborative Innovation Center for Peaceful Development of Cross-Strait Relations, based in Fujian, the province directly across from Taiwan. “Given this situation, Beijing must prepare for the worst.” He adds that “if the United States holds no bottom line in using the Taiwan issue to carry out provocation, China will respond appropriately in its own way and at its own pace.” Liu says “Beijing has been the biggest defender of the status quo, and the Chinese government has not given up the goal of peaceful reunification.”

China’s idea of status quo doesn’t seem all that stable in the eyes of Taiwanese officials, however. They take a quick look around the neighborhood and see good reason for worry: China recently surprised India with the deadliest border clash in decades around the same time that it clamped down on Hong Kong. “China has moved toward Hong Kong first and Taiwan’s next,” says Tung Li-wen, a consultant for Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which oversees the island’s relations with Beijing. “But China’s ambition is not only Taiwan. It’s all of Asia—and the whole world.” —With assistance from Jing Li and Lucille Liu

China’s Xi Sets His Sights on Taiwan After Subduing Hong Kong
 

northern watch

TB Fanatic
'Indications and warnings' from China

By Bill Gertz - The Washington Times - Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Authorities in Beijing are taking steps that are setting off alarm bells inside the U.S. military and intelligence communities.

What intelligence agencies call “indications and warnings” — signs of potential hostile military or other actions against the United States — are being detected from inside China. Analysts suggest these movements reveal Beijing may be preparing for some type of military or covert action.

One indicator was Twitter video showing authorities putting up signs telling citizens how to take cover in a bomb shelter.

The account @TruthAbtChina on July 25 tweeted video from Beijing and Shanghai showing posters instructing people how to go to underground bunkers if an alarm signals a military attack.

One poster read: “How to quickly enter the wartime civil air defense facility after you hear the alarm.”


Civil defense has been a major focus of Chinese Communist Party leaders since the 1960s, when Beijing feared attack from the Soviet Union.

Also, China’s “Great Underground Wall” — 3,000 miles of tunnels connecting nuclear missiles, warheads and production plants — highlights the CCP’s concern with underground facilities.

Another source in Asia reported that Taiwanese ham radio operators were picking up indicators that China may be preparing to take some type of action against Taiwan’s outer islands, which are closer to the mainland than the main Taiwan island, which sits around 100 miles off the southern coast.

A third indicator comes from a businessman with contacts inside China who says locals there are reporting unusual movements of equipment and shifts in production at some factories away from producing civilian products.

There are also rumors of a major political power struggle in Beijing pitting Chinese President Xi Jinping against political elements behind former Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong — an ally of former leader Jiang Zemin and part of the Shanghai political faction.

“The internal messaging has suddenly turned much more bellicose, and crackdowns internally have ratcheted up, significantly,” said the businessman, speaking on background. “It is not clear if their concern is external or internal, but there has been a shift in Chinese-focused rhetoric, and military readiness is suddenly heightened.”

The last time similar indicators were seen was around 2012 when senior party leader Bo Xilai set himself up as a new sort of populist leader in southern China until he was ousted by Mr. Xi.

 

jward

passin' thru
Duan Dang

@duandang

·
12h

China reacts angrily to Australia's position on the South China Sea in a note verbale to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) on 29 July. https://un.org/Depts/los/clcs
View: https://twitter.com/duandang/status/1288873692580032512?s=20

_________________________________________

Shahriman Lockman
@raylockman

14h

Malaysia has underscored its longstanding legal position on the South China Sea in a note verbale to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS).
View: https://twitter.com/raylockman/status/1288844686774345728?s=20
 
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