Beijing conducts maneuvers around Taiwan with its navy and air force on Christmas Day. It sees itself provoked by the USA.
A Taiwanese fighter jet intercepts a Chinese H-6 bomber capable of dropping nuclear bombs. The image is from an earlier incident in February 2020.
On Christmas Day, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy and Air Force held major joint exercises around Taiwan. With this, Beijing expressed its anger at the US budget, which President Joe Biden signed on December 23. This includes billions in aid for Taiwan’s defense and Congress’s request for the Pentagon to work more closely with the Taiwanese armed forces.
China feels provoked
The maneuvers were held because the US continued on the provocative and dangerous path of playing the “Taiwan card” to hold down China, wrote the Global Timesthe Chinese Communist Party’s international mouthpiece on Sunday.
The Chinese military did not say how many units took part in the maneuver and where exactly it took place. Photos showed H-6 bombers capable of dropping nuclear bombs and guided missile destroyers, according to the Global Times.
China repeatedly responds with military saber-rattling when it feels provoked by Taiwan. After American Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August, China’s navy and air force surrounded Taiwan and missile forces fired ballistic missiles over the island. The current maneuvers do not appear to be of the same magnitude.
Will the US hold joint maneuvers with Taiwan in the future?
The budget and related legislation signed by President Biden before Christmas provides $10 billion in aid to Taiwan over the next five years. This should enable the island to buy weapons to defend itself against a possible attack by China.
In addition, Congress is calling on the government to invite Taiwan to the next major maritime maneuver RIMPAC (“Rim of the Pacific”). This has taken place every two years since 1971 and is the largest multinational sea maneuver in the world. This summer, Rimpac took place in Hawaii: 26 countries with 38 ships, three submarines, 170 airplanes and a total of 25,000 soldiers took part.
While Beijing is provoked by Washington’s renewed commitment to defending Taiwan, cautious voices in Taiwan warn that all the declarations of intent have yet to be implemented. The funds for the arms deliveries only flow when they have been released with separate laws. Any gun deal must be approved by the government.
Washington’s arms are not coming as quickly as hoped
And even if the permits are in place, the orders still have to be filled. According to one Report of the “Wall Street Journal” approved deliveries to Taiwan worth 19 billion dollars are already outstanding – either because the bureaucratic process in the USA is stuck or because the industry cannot keep up with production.
The latter problem has been exacerbated by the massive US arms shipments to Ukraine. For example, Taiwan has had to wait longer for Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and Javelin anti-tank weapons, which it ordered back in 2015. These two portable systems have proven very effective in defending Ukraine against the Russian attacker.
Because Taiwan is an island, it can be cut off from supplies in the event of war with a naval and air blockade. With the maneuvers after the Pelosi visit, Beijing showed that it is working towards this. That means the weapons needed to defend Taiwan must be delivered before conflict breaks out. Ongoing replenishment, as is currently the case in Ukraine, will be very risky or even impossible.
Beijing accuses Washington of duplicity
Even if there is a consensus across party lines in the US that support for Taiwan is important and right, the administration will have to walk a tightrope in implementation. President Biden and Chinese party and state leader Xi Jinping only met in Bali in mid-November and promised to improve mutual relations. Foreign Minister Antony Blinken is due to travel to Beijing at the beginning of the year.
In Beijing, the support for Taiwan is seen as a sign that Washington is not serious about relaxation. The “Global Times” also writes that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi only spoke to Blinken on the phone two days ago. He warned the Americans that dialogue and cooperation made no sense, while at the same time the US was stabbing China in the back with its Taiwan policy.