China sends a squadron of jets to Taiwan.

 

Taiwan. The Hill/Getty.

China sent a squadron of jets to Taiwan to intimidate the country. The Hill. 19 planes flew near Taiwan this morning and a second flight of five planes approached in the afternoon. Taiwan launched interceptors and followed the planes on radar. China has been much more aggressive towards Taiwan which they consider a breakaway province. The United States has authorized an arms sale to Taiwan last month and this incident might be in retaliation for the sale. Fears of a wider conflict between China and Taiwan have grown in recent years. 

My Comment:

Not much else to write about tonight so I figured I could give an update on the current situation in Taiwan. As always, I think it is very important to resist China on the issue so once again, I have to say that there is only one China and Taipei is it's capital. I don't recognize the Communist government of China in any way, and though Taiwan has their own set of problems it would be much better if they were the ones in charge of China. That won't happen but it would be nice. 

This incident was probably an operation with two goals. The more obvious one is that they want to intimidate Taiwan and their allies. I don't think it's just about the arms sale though. China is furious with the new joint USA/UK/Australia alliance that will provide Australia with nuclear submarines. Those submarines would be a major threat to China and are obviously aimed and countering them. Indeed, I think that is probably a bigger concern for China than the arms sale. 

The other objective is that they want to test Taiwan's defenses. The more data they have on Taiwan's defenses the more information they have and the better they can plan any eventual war with the country. They now know more about Taiwan's air defenses and air force reaction times are. 

Is war with China likely? It's very possible. China seems to have a window where they could have a chance to take back the island. I still don't think they have the invasion forces to do it. They have the troops and ships but I don't know if their logistics is up to snuff. Time will tell if they can pull it off. 

The other problem is that China may not be as stable as they seem. The Evergrande company going under will be a huge problem given how big the construction company is. It's possible it will destabilize the entire economy of China. If that happens China's ambitions in Taiwan will be moot. They won't be able to launch a major war while at the same time trying to prop up their economy.