China recently flew 39 warplanes through Taiwan’s defense zone.
Four days ago, China flew 39 aircraft into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone, followed by 13 more the following day. Taiwan responded to the incursions by scrambling several of its fighters to confront the Chinese warplanes, and the military tracked them in its air defense radar systems.
China’s ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, said in a rare interview that if Taiwanese authorities “keep going down the road for independence,” it would “most likely” lead to a “military conflict” between the U.S. and China. Qin, a veteran diplomat, stated, “The Taiwan issue is the biggest tinderbox between China and the United States.”
Taiwan is a self-governing democratic island that China views as a rebellious province that must be brought back under mainland control, either by peaceful reunification or by force. The Taiwanese government desires to maintain its status quo, and the U.S. has indicated its support for Taiwan.
In fact, the Taiwan Relations Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in April 1979, “requires the United States to have a policy ‘to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character,’ and ‘to maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social economic system, of the people of Taiwan.”
Ambassador Qin claimed that Taiwan has been “emboldened by the United States,” which he said maintains a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether it would go to war with China to defend the island from an invasion.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For wisdom for Secretary of State Blinken as China continues to show aggression toward Taiwan.
- For discernment for the president and his advisors regarding the posture of China in denying Taiwan’s independence.
- For U.S. officials as legislation regarding foreign relationships and agreements is interpreted and upheld.
Sources: Axios, Wikipedia, Voice of America
