The United States is mulling a new operation to send warships through the Taiwan Strait, according to US officials. The mission aimed at ensuring free passage through the strategic waterway but which risks heightening tensions with China. Taiwan is an Island, which is a highly controversial region…
The United States is mulling a new operation to send warships through the Taiwan Strait, according to US officials.
The mission aimed at ensuring free passage through the strategic waterway but which risks heightening tensions with China.
Background
Taiwan is an Island, which is a highly controversial region in Asia. While Taiwan is considered a province in “Greater China,” it is largely an independent state. The ambiguity can be traced back to 1927 when the seeds were sown for a civil war between Kuomintang (KMT)-led government of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China (CPC). Both parties wrestled for control for China. While the civil war lasted between 1927 and 1950, the main phase is considered to be from 1945 to 1949.
The war came to an end when CCP captured Beijing. The leader of CCP, Mao Zedong, then officially declared the formation of the People’s Republic of China. The leader of the opposing faction, Jiang Jieshi fled to Taiwan. It is here that he declared the formation of the Republic of China (ROC). PRC has repeatedly used the threat of force to ensure Taiwan (ROC) never declared independence. As far as mainland China is considered, Taiwan is a rebel force well within China.
Analysis
The United States is considering a new operation to send warships through the Taiwan Strait, according to US officials, a mission aimed at ensuring free passage through the strategic waterway but which risks heightening tensions with China.
The US Navy conducted a similar mission in the strait’s international waters in July and any repeat would be seen in self-ruled Taiwan as a fresh expression of support by President Donald Trump’s government.
Taiwan has recently exercised two days of war games on its east coast, simulating an attack by the People’s Liberation Army in the wake of Beijing’s intensifying sabre-rattling.
“The two-day drill, code-named Joint-Electronic 107-2 is aimed at testing the combat readiness of our forces and their ability to cope with the attack from the enemy by means of firepower and electronic warfare,” a military official said.
The US military declined to comment and US officials who discussed the deliberations, which have not been previously reported, did so on condition of anonymity. They did not discuss the potential timing for any fresh passage through the strait.
China views Taiwan as a wayward province and has been ramping up the pressure to assert its sovereignty over the island. It raised concerns over US policy towards Taiwan in talks this week with US Defence Secretary James Mattis in Singapore.
Even as Washington mulls over ordering a fresh passage through the strait, it has been trying to explain to Beijing that its policies towards Taiwan are unchanged.
Washington has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help it defend itself and is the island’s main source of arms. The Pentagon says Washington has sold Taiwan more than US$15 billion (S$20.66 billion) in weaponry since 2010.
Taiwan is only one of a growing number of flashpoints in the US-China relationship, which also include a bitter trade war, US sanctions and China’s increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea.
Some current and former US officials say US warship passages in the Taiwan Strait are still too infrequent and note that a US aircraft carrier hasn’t transited the Taiwan Strait since 2007, during the administration of George W. Bush.
When the last two US warships, both destroyers, sailed through the Taiwan Strait in July, it was the first such operation in about a year.
Beijing, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, responded to the July passage with a warning to the United States to avoid jeopardising “peace and stability” in the strategic waterway
It has also viewed US overtures towards Taiwan with alarm, including its unveiling of a new de facto embassy in Taiwan and passage of the Taiwan Travel Act, which encourages US officials to visit the island.
Taiwan began two days of war games on its east coast on Tuesday, simulating an attack by the People’s Liberation Army in the wake of Beijing’s intensifying sabre-rattling
China raised concerns over the U.S.’s relationship with Taiwan during talks with Defense Secretary James Mattis in Singapore. Chinese officials warned late last month that a State Department-approved sale of F-16 fighter jet spare parts to Taiwan would violate international law and damage U.S.-China relations.
In a move viewed as evidence of Australia’s alliance with the United States, the HMAS Melbourne, an Australian Navy Vessel armed with guided missiles, passed through the Taiwan Strait in September 2017.
Assessment
Our assessment is that the US is keen to assert international rights to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea following US Vice President Mike Pence accusations of China meddling in US politics. We believe that the operation which would guarantee free passage through a key waterway could ratchet up already high tensions with China. We feel that the ties between the US and Taiwan, which have strengthened under President Donal Trump, have become a major irritant in Washington’s relationship with Beijing.
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