China’s military declared on Monday that it is “ready to battle” any attempts to establish Taiwan’s “independence” or any meddling by foreign forces after concluding its three days of extensive war drills around Taiwan, according to the Associated Press.
The exercises, which started on April 8 and featured acting out the “sealing off” of the island, were viewed as China’s response to the recent visit of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States.
In a statement, the Chinese military said, “The theatre’s troops are ready to fight at all times and can fight at any time to resolutely smash any form of ‘Taiwan independence’ and foreign interference attempts”.
Taiwan, which is often ignored by other countries, views itself as an independent state. China, on the other hand, views the island as a separatist state and is determined to seize control of it.
A worsening of the situation might have serious geopolitical repercussions since a conflict between China and Taiwan might involve the US. Although there are no formal diplomatic relations between the United States and the island, they are obligated by law to give Taiwan the tools to defend itself.
After the communists’ victory in 1949, the Kuomintang government’s Chinese republicans fled to Taiwan, which has since retained the name Republic of China. Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa, is a tiny island off the east coast of China. In the East China Sea, the island is situated southwest of Japan, northeast of Hong Kong, north of the Philippines, and south of South Korea. East Asia as a whole is extremely concerned about what occurs in and around Taiwan.
Taiwan celebrates October 10 (also known as “double 10”) as its national day. On this day in 1911, rebellious Manchu army units rose up, ultimately contributing to the fall of the Qing dynasty and the end of 4,000 years of monarchy. The Republic of China (RoC) was established on December 29, 1911, and under the direction of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Kuomintang (KMT) Party’s founder, it began to take off in the 1920s.
General Chiang Kai-shek succeeded Sun. By his activities against the Chinese communists, who had formed an alliance with the KMT, Chiang and the KMT were forced to flee to Taiwan when the communists won the civil war.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has insisted that Taiwan be united with the mainland since its foundation in 1949, whereas the Republic of China (RoC) has maintained its position as a “independent” nation. During the Cold War, the RoC emerged as China’s non-communist border, and up until 1971, it was the only “China” recognised by the UN. Around that time, Henry Kissinger, President Richard Nixon’s national security adviser, organised covert negotiations that led to the US and China establishing diplomatic relations.
The US officially supports the PRC’s “One China Policy,” which states that there is only one legitimate Chinese government, while yet supporting Taiwan’s independence, maintaining relations with Taipei, and selling weaponry to Taipei. Only 14 countries, the majority of them little, recognise Taiwan.
