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China Announces New Military Drills Near Taiwan

    China Announces New Military Drills Near Taiwan
    Last updated Aug 09, 2022
    Image credit: AP [via The Guardian]

    Facts

    • On Mon., Beijing announced a new round of military drills around Taiwan. This comes a day after the scheduled end of its largest-ever war games, carried out for 72 hrs in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island.
    • Without identifying the exact location, China's Eastern Theater Command has resumed anti-submarine and sea assault drills in the seas and airspace near Taiwan. Exercises are also being carried out in the South China Sea and the Yellow Sea.
    • Taiwan claimed to have detected 39 aircraft and 13 ships from China in the Strait on Mon., including 21 planes crossing the "median line" – an unofficial border not recognized by Beijing.
    • Tensions have escalated since last week as China fired ballistic missiles over the island for the first time during the four days of drills it conducted after Pelosi's visit. China argues it is making preparations for a possible war.
    • Beijing claims Pelosi's visit violated the US commitment to the "One China" policy, in which the US acknowledges China's claims of sovereignty over Taiwan.
    • Besides conducting war games near Taiwan, China has also imposed sanctions on Pelosi and ceased military and climate cooperation with the US.

    Spin

    Pro-China narrative

    China's drills around Taiwan are necessary to both prepare the Chinese military for a possible military engagement initiated by the US and push forward the reunification process. China has every right to assert itself over its own sovereign territory, and the US is playing with fire by flagrantly disregarding its previous historic agreements with China.

    Anti-China narrative

    China is clearly overreacting to Pelosi's visit. US support for Taiwan has been a cornerstone of US policy in Asia for over 70 years, and it's China who is being provocative by launching its largest ever military drills near the island. The PRC's loud saber rattling is menacingly close to Taiwan, which marks a dangerous escalation.

    Nerd narrative

    There is a 25% chance that China will launch a full-scale invasion of Taiwan before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


    Establishment split

    CRITICAL

    PRO

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