Taiwanese Government ‘Very Concerned’ About A Possible Chinese Invasion

Taiwanese concern over continued Chinese military exercises and activity in and around Taiwan Strait is once again becoming apparent. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, while conducting an interview with Stan Grant of Australia’s ABC News program The World voiced his belief that the risk of a military conflict in that area is increasing. Through the summer and fall months of 2020, when world attention was focused elsewhere, Chinese naval and air activity in the Taiwan Strait area was extensive. Wu went on to say that Taiwan’s government is now ‘very concerned’ about the prospects of a Chinese invasion of the island. China’s increased military posture around Taiwan comes as part of multiple Chinese moves beyond its borders. From leashing Hong Kong and dragging it fully into the Chinese sphere of influence, to the territorial expansions into the South China and East China seas.

Taiwan faces an uncertain future at the moment. Its close relationship with the United States will become even more valuable through the next four years. A Biden administration is not going to provide Taiwan with the material support that the Trump administration has. Nor will it stand firmly behind Taiwan as a counterbalance to recent Chinese actions and behavior in the Western Pacific. Although Joe Biden claims his administration will continue to support Taiwan, a look back at the relationships that the Obama, and Bush administrations had with Taiwan earlier in the century show that Taipei has valid reason to worry.

Even now as relations between Beijing and other powers in the Western Pacific have turned sour it provides no advantage for Taiwan. In the event of a large-scale PRC military operation against the island, Taiwan will have no formal allies it can turn to for assistance. Historically, the United States is the only friend it can rely on in the event of a crisis. But with Joe Biden sadly likely to take power in January, 2021, even that is no longer a guarantee.

China Plans Action Against US Tech Companies

With less than a day remaining until app stores in the United States remove TikTok and WeChat, China is now considering punishing US tech corporations with sanctions. Apple and Google were the two major tech companies mentioned, but any future sanctions would not be restricted to those two. The Chinese Commerce Ministry also stated today that it is considering adding Apple and Google to its “Unreliable Entities List” which is essentially a corporate blacklist. Companies on the list are restricted from investing in China, or engaging in trade with the Chinese market. Beijing has threatened sanctions and similar actions against US companies in the past, and as Sino-US relations continue to fray, the threatened sanctions grow bolder.

These moves seem to indicate that China is prepared to retaliate and risk an escalation. TikTok and WeChat are two popular Chinese apps. Their use contains grave national security implications for the US as it is believed that user information can be accessed by the Chinese government. The US government, along with many companies that do work with it, has banned its workers from using TikToc and WeChat. The apps parent companies have failed to address the issue to the satisfaction of the White House. WeChat has come under fire by the US government for being a platform for Chinese-language disinformation and can be subject to censorship by the Chinese government.

US-China Trade War Update: 26 August, 2019

Vice Premier Liu He,China’s senior negotiator for trade has publicly announced that China is willing to resolve the trade dispute with the United States through negotiation. Liu also stated that his country opposes an escalation of the trade war now underway. The composed gesture coming from Beijing was answered by President Trump at the G-7 summit underway in France. Trump went as far as to predict that a trade deal will be reached with China at some point in the near future. It remains unclear whether today’s gestures reflect sincere intentions or if they are simply water on the fire. Last week’s wave of new US and Chinese tariffs sent global markets into spasms. Monday’s conciliatory words helped to calm markets, however, the current trade situation between the United States and China remains volatile.

Trade talks are expected to resume in Shanghai next month. Expectations will be high even though both Washington and Beijing will likely remain cautiously optimistic about the chance that further talks will bring an end to the trade war. Suffice to say, it would be in Beijing’s best interests to bring the trade matters to an end soon given what’s happening in Hong Kong, as well as recent issues in the South China Sea. China cannot move decisively in either area while the eyes of the world remain fixed on it. Beijing understands this, yet there are factions in the government that favor taking a harder line in the next round of trade discussions.

6 August, 2019 World Brief: Kashmir, Turkey, US-China Trade War

The beginning of the week has been a volatile one across the world from the Middle East to Asia. I am coming off of a long weekend and feel the best way to begin the week on here is with a brief on some of the world’s brightest flashpoints at the moment.

 

Kashmir

The Indian government has decided to fully incorporate the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) into the nation. It will become a union territory and the central government in New Delhi will assume considerably more control over the state’s affairs. The Kashmir region has enjoyed almost full autonomous authority since 1949. Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, the section of the document allowing J&K to conduct its own affairs, will be scrapped. Last week, a buildup of army troops, and paramilitary police in Kashmir, coupled with government warnings for visitors to leave the region immediately, foreshadowed Monday’s announcement. Unrest is expected and will likely occur. The growing concern in the region and around the world is what Pakistan’s reaction will be to India’s move. It will likely intensify tension between the rivals, who have fought multiple wars over the Kashmir region in the past. The Pakistani government has called for a joint session of the nation’s parliament today, and the military leadership has begun discussions on ‘regional security.’

 

Turkey Prepares for Syrian Offensive

Turkey has started moving forces onto its border with northwestern Syria as a major offensive against the US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces in that area becomes likely. A military move against the Kurds by Turkey will significantly ramp up already high tensions between Ankara and Washington. A delegation of US military officials is presently in Turkey and conducting talks aimed at heading off the Turkish offensive. Whether or not the Turks heed the US warning remains to be seen.

 

US-China Trade War

Following a sudden, and sharp drop of the yuan against the dollar, the US Treasury has designated China as a currency manipulator. The exchange is the latest as the US-China Trade War shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. The US viewed the drop in the yuan’s value as a deliberate move by Beijing to make China’s products cheaper on the international market and circumvent US tariffs. Stock indexes around the world reacted negatively to the Chinese action, and the US label, especially Wall Street which saw its worst trading day of the year. Today, China’s central bank set the yuan’s official position above the 7 yuan-to-the-dollar mark, bringing it out of currency manipulation territory and calming world markets. It is becoming clear, however, that the US-China Trade War will likely escalate further before it calms.

 

Saturday 24 March, 2018 Update: Trade War Looming?

The notion of a potential trade war breaking out sometime in the near future is creating much speculation. A number of well known economists, including Nobel Prize winners Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman are convinced President Trump’s aggressive protectionist tariffs, coupled with China’s retaliatory actions herald the beginning of a US-China trade war that will have drastic effects on the global economy. Other economists, and experts in the field are less convinced a trade war is upon us. They point to the Chinese retaliation measures as proof of this thesis. Beijing’s response has been cautious, and calculated. 128 US products with an import value of $3 billion have been targeted. The sum is a fraction of President Trump’s tariffs on $60 billion in Chinese imports. What the future will bring remains to be seen, but if the market reactions over the last two days are an indication, the anxiety out there may not diminish for some time.

It is open for debate whether or not China’s responses will be strictly economic in nature. Economists seem to believe this will be a tit-for-tat exchange of tariffs between the US and China.  Beijing can decide to craft a geopolitical response as well. China’s actions in the North Korea situation have vacillated between helpful and hindering. The Trump administration had long sought Beijing’s assistance in defusing the high tensions in the region. To Washington’s chagrin, China has not exercised its substantial influence with Pyongyang in a beneficial manner. With economic tensions between the US and China rising, Beijing could use it as a justification to do even less with regards to the North Korean situation.

The South China Sea presents another arena where the PRC can project its displeasure with US actions. China has been extending its military reach there, and has expressed increasing annoyance with US attempts to project power in the disputed sea. Today a US Navy destroyer cruised within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef, once a fishing atoll, now the site of a Chinese military installation. Now, with the tariffs becoming a heated matter, Beijing can respond more aggressively to US warship patrols, possibly leading to a diplomatic compromise or a concession of sorts down the line.

Saving face is important to China. If the tariff tug-of-war continues, and even escalates, the South China Sea, and North Korean issue provide two areas where Beijing can challenge Washington with a measured approach without plunging the world into a major trade war.