Taiwan conflict: US wants to increase military presence on China's doorstep

Created: 08/13/2022, 10:28 am

By: Patrick Freiwah

Military ships of the US Navy in the Pacific - They will be increasingly deployed near Taiwan in the future (symbol image).

© IMAGO/Mc2 Wesley Richardson/Planetpix

The US continues to heat up the conflict with China over the Taiwan conflict and makes an announcement that is likely to cause a stir in the Middle Kingdom.

Washington/Taipei - While the conflict between the West and Russia in Ukraine continues to simmer, another geopolitical aggravation has long been underway: Taiwan is rapidly developing into another crisis region in which the great powers USA and China are continuing to provoke the situation with each other tighten.

Notwithstanding heightened tensions in the Taiwan conflict, the United States will cross the Taiwan Strait in ships and planes in the "coming weeks," according to a senior US government official.

This is the narrow strait (Strait of Formosa) just off the coast of China.

In addition, the United States intends to expand trade ties with Taiwan, US Asia-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell said.

Taiwan: US announce increased presence on China's doorstep

US forces would "continue to fly, navigate the seas and operate where international law permits, consistent with their long-term commitment to freedom of navigation," Campbell said.

This also includes "normal overflights and ship transits of the Taiwan Strait in the coming weeks".

Political scientist Campbell did not specify the exact timing or extent of the planned US Navy troop movements off mainland China.

The 65-year-old government official also announced that a new trade plan for Taiwan and information on planned trade talks with the Taipei government would be released in the coming days.

The American country would "further deepen" ties with Taiwan, particularly in terms of economics.

Campbell described the day-long maneuvers of historically unprecedented proportions that China last held after US politician Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan as an "overreaction".

Beijing continues to show "provocative, destabilizing and unprecedented" behavior.

Taiwan's leaders welcomed the US official's announcements, and the State Department thanked Washington for its "determined support" and "concrete actions to maintain security in the Taiwan Strait and peace in the region."

Experts, on the other hand, see the danger of a nuclear escalation due to the latest developments.

Taiwan conflict: Pacific powder keg - saber rattling between the US and China

U.S. and allied warships have held regular drills in the straits for years, often drawing angry reactions from Beijing.

China regards Taiwan and the surrounding waters as its sovereign territory.

The United States and other countries, on the other hand, regard the route as international waters open to all.

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After the communists won the Chinese Civil War in 1949, there was a split between China and Taiwan.

To this day, Beijing regards the island as a breakaway territory that it wants to reunite with the mainland - if necessary using military force.

Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has fueled fears that Beijing could use a similar approach in its dealings with Taiwan.

As in the Ukraine, a geopolitical conflict in Taiwan also harbors the risk of dire consequences for countries like Germany: a “super meltdown” is imminent.