Another special plane landed in Taipei, and US politicians visited Taiwan intensively, how should China counter it? The US warship swaggered through the Taiwan Strait, provoking at the door or looking for a fight? The three major aircraft carriers "surrounded" China, and the US military was reckless in its military force, so was it not afraid of overturning?
Another special plane landed in Taipei, and US politicians visited Taiwan intensively
Although after the victory of Lai Qingde, the successor of "Taiwan independence," the Biden administration promised that it would not support "Taiwan independence" or challenge the "one China" principle, it is obviously unrealistic to expect the Americans to be so obedient and resolutely not to risk their lives. Shinobayashi noticed that just recently, around the Taiwan issue, the Americans have come up with three classic tricks one after another.
The first is the congressman's visit to Taiwan.
On the 24th local time, a delegation of the United States Congress composed of a number of bipartisan congressmen flew to Taiwan. According to Reuters, the delegation included two members of the "Congressional Taiwan Connection" of the US House of Representatives, Republican Rep. Díaz-Balratt and Democratic Rep. Bella.
As for the purpose of the visit, the two men's offices called it "to reaffirm the U.S. support for Taiwan after Taiwan's successful democratic elections and to express a shared commitment to democratic values" and to explore ways to further strengthen the "strong economic and 'defense' relationship" between the United States and Taiwan.
Sending congressmen to visit Taiwan is indeed one of the most common means used by the United States to send a political signal of support for Taiwan, because congressmen have a very heavy weight in the political life of the United States, and they can be used to show that the United States attaches great importance to Taiwan; but they are not real government officials, and the United States thinks that it is convenient to avoid the red line drawn by China in this regard.
In addition, sending a bipartisan delegation to Taiwan can also send a signal at home and abroad that "the US political circles are very united on issues concerning US national interests," and both parties in the United States will be even more happy about this. Now, when encountering such a major event as the election of the leader of the Taiwan region, of course, politicians of all stripes in the United States are eager to rush to it.
Shinobayashi noted that in fact, on the second day after the end of Taiwan's election, a bipartisan delegation composed of former senior US officials arrived in Taiwan for a visit; after the current wave of congressmen visited Taiwan, Gallagher, a hawkish Republican congressman and chairman of the "China Special Committee" of the House of Representatives, is also expected to visit Taiwan.
In March or April, under the banner of commemorating the 45 th anniversary of the so-called "Taiwan Relations Act," there may also be US congressional members visiting Taiwan, and around the time of Lai Ching-te's inauguration on 20 May, a delegation of US congressmen will visit Taiwan.
Within the next six months, at least four to five former or current members of the US Congress will visit Taiwan. It can be seen that "strengthening ties with Taiwan" and "expressing a common commitment to democratic values" are false, and the real purpose of these US congressmen is to fully squeeze Taiwan's political oil and water and satisfy their own political demands by harming China's sovereign interests.
However, China has long issued a warning and resolutely opposes US interference in Taiwan affairs in any way and under any pretext. Now that the situation in the Taiwan Strait is at the most tense moment, anti-China politicians in the United States have been visiting Taiwan in an endless stream and taking the initiative to send wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces. Shinobayashi had to warn the US side that once any irreparable consequences were caused, the relevant responsibility would inevitably only be attributed to the US government and US congressional politicians.
Door-to-door provocation, the US warship passed through the Taiwan Strait in a high-profile manner
The second is the passage of US warships through the Taiwan Strait.
Also on the 24th, the US Navy's Seventh Fleet announced in a high-profile manner that the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS John Finn, with DDG-113 under its command, successfully sailed through the Taiwan Strait from north to south on the same day. The US Navy's Seventh Fleet went further and declared that the act was carried out in waters outside the territorial waters of "any coastal state" and that the USS John Finn's actions were in full compliance with international law.
Obviously, the Americans have learned the lesson of Pelosi's visit to Taiwan the year before last without military cover, and when congressmen arrived in Taiwan this time, they also sent warships into the Taiwan Strait to conduct a political and military demonstration against the mainland.
In addition, deliberately emphasizing that this crossing is in line with international law is also digging a trap for the mainland: since China believes that the Taiwan issue is an internal affair, if China dares to intercept the US warship, it is challenging international law for the internal issue of Taiwan and forcing the international community to make concessions to China's internal affairs.
Three aircraft carriers "surrounded" China, and the US military was desperately militaristic
Shinobayashi noted that in order to strengthen deterrence, the US military has recently sent three aircraft carriers directly to China's periphery:
- On January 15, the aircraft carrier "Carl Vinson" appeared near South Korea to participate in a joint naval exercise held by South Korea, the United States and Japan in the waters south of Jeju Island.
- The USS Roosevelt, which had just completed a mid-term refueling overhaul last year, left the North Island Naval Base in San Diego, California, at the beginning of this month, and by 22 July, it had entered the Seventh Fleet's area of operations.
- In addition, the USS Reagan, which has been deployed in the western Pacific Ocean with Japan's Yokosuka as its home port, has suddenly gathered three US aircraft carrier battle groups in the waters around China.
You must know that the US Navy's aircraft carriers have always followed the principle of one-third repair, one-third training, and one-third deployment, and now with the aircraft carriers deployed in the Middle East, the US military has dispatched all the aircraft carriers that can be used at hand to the vicinity of China, which is the most standard of reckless military force.
The US Navy did not give any explanation for this, but Shinobayashi believes that this lack of explanation is precisely to deliberately contrast sharply with the high-profile propaganda on the incident of transiting the Taiwan Strait, and to exert joint pressure on China through this overt and covert way.
But will these small moves by the Americans really scare China? Xiao Lin felt that the Americans were obviously too self-righteous.
On the issue of transiting through the Taiwan Strait, Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman for the Eastern Theater, publicly stated on the 24th that the Eastern Theater organized troops to follow and monitor the entire process of the US warship's transit, fully demonstrating the Chinese military's ability to control the relevant behavior of the US military.
And if the U.S. military dares to advance an inch and maliciously undermine regional peace and stability, then the Chinese military will not be afraid of this at all, but Shinobashi wants to ask the U.S. government: Are you willing to fight with China in this election year?
As for the gathering of aircraft carriers around China, Shinobayashi reminded the US government that now that the Russian-Ukrainian war has not stopped, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is still continuing, are you really not worried about what will happen in other parts of the world, so that you will take care of one thing and lose the other?
In addition, China's area denial capability is getting stronger and stronger, and even 10 aircraft carriers are not afraid, who can you scare by gathering these three aircraft carriers under China's nose?
In the end, what the Americans are doing is more like self-comfort.