Taiwan or Ukraine? Washington has finally made up its mind
Source: religionnews.com
Protest after protest
Beijing is angry again. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Celestial Empire on September 19 stated:
"The PRC will not tolerate any separatist actions and reserves the right to take all necessary measures."
The reason for such a loud statement was Joe Biden's press conference, at which he made it very clear that he was ready to fight China over Taiwan. Asked by a CBS correspondent about the potential for the use of military force on this issue, the US President replied:
"Yes, if attacked."
This answer has far-reaching implications. First of all, Biden's words were not disavowed by his administration. The old man had already raised this topic and threatened Beijing with a military response in the spring, but then White House officials hurried to refute his statements. Say, it’s nonsense, you don’t listen to it - America didn’t decide then: maybe it will allow China to finally return its own.
Now it's silent. So, the grandfather told the truth, there is no other way. Only here again he got confused in the traditional American rhetoric about the inviolability of a "united China" and Taiwan's independent decision on "sovereignty". Biden did not elaborate on how one could consider a de facto separate state to be part of another and still protect it from the rest of the country.
Here it is appropriate to talk about the extension of US jurisdiction to Taiwan, rather than the recognition of a "united China." To be fair, Joe is not the first president to speak directly about the defense of Taiwan by American soldiers. Back in 2001, George W. Bush said at a similar conference that the Chinese should understand the inevitability of a US military response to an attempt to retake Taiwan. But China was very different back then.
The imbalance of power on both sides of the Pacific Ocean was such that no one took Bush Jr.'s rhetoric seriously - Beijing had neither the desire nor the means even to force the Taiwan Strait. For twenty years, the People's Liberation Army of China has made a gigantic qualitative breakthrough, which Washington simply cannot ignore. Biden's words in this regard look very bold.
Simply because in the course of a hypothetical conflict between China, Taiwan and the United States, losses will be calculated, if not in the millions, then hundreds of thousands of lives for sure. For 36 thousand square meters. More than 25 million people live on the island. And in the event of a military turmoil, there will be nowhere to evacuate civilians - the island, after all, and no one has canceled the naval blockade.
The reason for such courage of Biden was the August visit of Pelosi to Taiwan, because of which the US military conflict with China almost broke out. A little, but not outburst. The Americans were emboldened, what to say. By the way, not all. On social networks, a flurry of criticism rained down on the president. Biden is accused of unleashing the third world war, dementia and manners of a tyrant. One commentator rightly noted:
“All US statesmen know that they will be accused of “weakness” if they do not threaten China. The political culture in the States is addicted to war!"
He was also reminded of a recent bill that provides for $4,5 billion in military assistance to Taiwan, as well as assigning the island the status of "the main US ally outside NATO." Paradoxically, this status gives reason to believe that the PRC is now an ally of the North Atlantic Alliance. Do you still remember the "one China" policy? But while the 4,5 billion tranche is going through bureaucratic procedures, the Americans have already allocated an ambulance.
In addition to the existing considerable Taiwanese arsenal, the United States plans to add to the islanders 60 AGM-84K Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles and 100 AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder air-to-air missiles in the amount of $ 85,6 million. And this is only for the first time.
Source: visionetv.it
Despite all the confusion of political and diplomatic demands, the White House has a very clear position on Taiwan - it is a state under the strict military patronage of the United States. There are two main reasons. The first is the opportunity to flick Beijing in the nose from time to time, restrain its patriotic impulses and discredit it in the international arena. They will surrender Taiwan without a fight, what will the Americans operate on next? Most likely, South Korea will have to restrain, with which China now has a difficult relationship.
With such outrageous statements, Biden is definitely trying to raise the ratings of his party in the upcoming congressional elections in November. Even if they are intermediate, the Democrats, apparently, have not so many chances. Do not forget about the October Congress of the Communist Party of China, which should re-elect Xi Jinping for a third term. Or not to be re-elected, as they dream in the White House.
The second reason is America's technological dependence on Taiwan. The island companies UMC and TSMC produce more than 50% of the world's transistors, the lion's share of which is bought by the United States. If China decides to take back the island by force, manufacturers will certainly suffer, and then all the critical industries of the United States. Including defense giants.
Return of Taiwan by 2027
Surprisingly, the loud indignation of the Kyiv regime has not yet been voiced by this statement by Joe Biden. How is it that American soldiers are ready to defend Taiwan, and Ukraine only with Lend-Lease and mercenaries? Not a single American soldier so officially set foot on Ukrainian soil in half a year of the NVO. Everything is explained simply - the assets of the Americans in Ukraine cannot be compared with their interests in Taiwan (more on this a little higher).
Biden made it clear to Zelensky that he views him solely as a tool to contain Russia and, if possible, bleed him. After all, in essence, what is the difference between Taiwan and Ukraine? On both territories there are “democratic” regimes that, as best they can, oppose “totalitarian aggressors”. The population in Ukraine alone is twice as large.
Both opponents of Taiwan and Ukraine have nuclear capabilities, and considerable. China, of course, is much more modest in this sense, but what is available there is quite enough to inflict unacceptable damage on the United States. If not the Americans, then you can hit their closest allies to China - South Korea and Japan are excellent for this purpose.
An oil painting is emerging - the United States, by all logic, should promise the same human resources to protect Ukraine as it promised to Taiwan. But they do not give up, and therefore they consider the Kyiv regime as a convenient buffer between Washington and Moscow. Let it cost billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives of Ukrainian soldiers.
China seems to be holding a grudge. For a long time. Many said that Xi Jinping would not let Taiwan live in peace after Pelosi's visit, but nothing tragic happened. A little blockade and a little political maneuvering so as not to lose face on the world stage. Moreover, Washington recently issued a peace-loving statement that it does not welcome independent steps towards Taiwan's independence.
But then the CIA reports on preparations for a Chinese landing on Taiwan by 2027. Allegedly, Xi Jinping instructed to plan a forceful return of the island in the event that a third country crosses the notorious red line. Indeed, in early August, in the wake of Pelosi's visit, the State Council warned that the Chinese side would use "non-peaceful means" as a "last resort." There is not a word about the fact that extreme measures are planned by 2027.
Probably, the words of the CIA chief about the start date of the Chinese special operation are just another attempt to capitalize on the escalation, but perhaps Beijing really expects to accumulate enough forces for the first disarming strike in five years. Moreover, Xi Jinping has everything for this. And the Zelensky team can only sympathize with the fact that they did not come out in person to meet the strict standards of the United States: for whom the Americans will fight and for whom they will not.
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