China Looks To Be Backing Down On The No-Fly Zone Around Taiwan.
In recent years, China has been very open to telling the world that Taiwan is its territory and anyone who helps Taiwan to become independent of China will face severe punishments.
China appears to have backed down following reports that it planned to establish a 3-day no-fly zone in the air north of Taiwan next week, shortening the planned period to only 27 minutes.
During a news conference, a Taiwan’s defence ministry representative stated that the no-fly zone accounted for around 85 nautical miles of Taiwan(north) and was suspected to be connected to aerospace activity, perhaps satellite launches.
According to reports, the flight restraint would greatly impact air traffic, impacting 60-70% of flights between northeast and southeast Asia, Taiwan and South Korea, Japan, and North America.
As Taipei objected to the plans, Taiwan’s transport ministry subsequently pointed the no-fly zone would be limited to a brief period on Sunday. The no-fly zone was supposed to be effective from April 16 to April 18.
The military drills by China.
On Monday night, China declared the conclusion of five days of military drills undertaken in retaliation for Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s president, visiting USA House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week.
Earlier, Tsai stated that her visit to the US indicated the island’s commitment to defending democracy, as the Taiwanese military is set to conduct its training.
Tsai stated that democracies must unify in the face of “continued authoritarian expansionism.” Through this journey, Taiwan delivered a message to the world community that Taiwan is committed to preserving freedom and democracy, which received recognition and support from our democratic friends; she meant visiting Canadian MPs at her Taipei office.
Although ostensibly declaring an end to the military manoeuvres from Saturday to Monday, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has resumed military actions encircling Taiwan. According to Taiwan’s defence ministry, 35 PLA planes and eight boats were detected in the vicinity of Taiwan on Tuesday.
Taiwan’s parliament condemned the drills unanimously, accusing China of upsetting the status quo and posing a “danger to regional peace and security.”
China stands stubborn, pronouncing the march a success. During a naval visit on Tuesday, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, called on the armed services to boost military training geared towards actual fighting. According to Chinese official media, Xi stated that the military must forcefully protect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime interests and try to preserve general periphery stability.
On Wednesday, the “countermeasures” to Tsai’s US trip, China’s Taiwan affairs office stated, were a strong warning against coordination and provocation by Taiwan independence separatist groups with external forces.
It alleged – without providing proof – that Taiwan’s governing party bought US politicians to oppose Beijing’s purpose for “reunification,” It criticised the Taiwan government’s decision to prohibit TikTok on public-sector gadgets.
Multiple countries have implemented similar restrictions globally due to national security concerns about the Chinese-owned website.
According to a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Taiwan’s government wants to restrict access to information, which would only harm Taiwanese people’s rights and interests.
The video-sharing software is an international version of Douyin, a popular Chinese app. TikTok is unavailable in China, where Western social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are prohibited. Other platforms, including news sites and search engines, are severely limited or blocked.
On Wednesday, the Republic of China (Taiwan’s formal representation) armed forces were set to conduct military drills in the southern city of Taitung. Last week, Taiwanese media asserted that the drills would train to defend against an amphibious attack on one of Taiwan’s few beaches where PLA soldiers could land.
On Wednesday, it was unclear whether the drills were still taking place, and the Defence ministry declined to comment.
Residents on Taiwan’s west coast reported seeing a huge number of armoured vehicles travelling along Taiwan’s southern highway, towards the Hengchun peninsula, where there is a joint training base, in the early hours of Wednesday. According to independent military experts, it was most likely the start of a joint forces exercise.
That comes a day after the United States and the Philippines conducted their largest military drills in decades in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
In its ambitions to absorb Taiwan as a Chinese province, Beijing has increased its military and diplomatic targeting of Taiwan. Tsai stated that the people would decide Taiwan’s future. According to polls, the majority of Taiwanese people oppose Chinese domination.
China has not ruled out a military takeover of Taiwan and is attempting to isolate Taiwan from the international community. When Honduras cut relations with Beijing last month, only 13 countries currently recognised Taiwan as a country.
According to China’s foreign ministry, a Chinese delegation met with Honduran authorities on Tuesday to discuss new bilateral business deals.
The talks intended to “improve bilateral ties, particularly on commerce, agriculture, investment, and exports for Honduran products and Chinese investors,” with a particular emphasis on Honduras exports of prawns, lobster, melon, coffee, and sea cucumber.
Disclosure.
In recent years, China has been very open to telling the world that Taiwan is its territory and anyone who helps Taiwan to become independent of China will face severe punishments. While many countries are in good contact with Taiwan, there are some that are breaking their alliance with Taiwan and moving towards China. In such a scenario, the superpower USA stands in support of Taiwan. Let’s see what happens next in the chapters of the one-china principle.
