Published 14:42 IST, September 21st 2020
China-Taiwan tensions: Reason behind sudden escalation and associated risks
The China-Taiwan tensions escalated after Chinese aircraft ventured across the median line of the Taiwan strait, causing the island’s airforce to scramble.
- World News
- 2 min read
The China-Taiwan tensions escalated over the weekend after Chinese aircraft ventured across the median line of the Taiwan strait, causing island’s airforce to scramble fighters and deploy air defence missile system. According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, twelve J-16 fighters, two J-10 fighters, two J-11 fighters, two H-6 bombers and one Y-8 Anti-submarine warfare of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) crossed the line, violating island’s sovereignty.
Reason behind escalation
The decades-long simmering tensions suddenly escalated amid stronger US support for Taiwan which reflected from two high-profile visits in as many months. US Health Secretary Alex Azar visited Taiwan in August which was followed by another diplomatic visit by Keith Krach, the undersecretary for economic affairs, in September.
Washington has openly supported Taiwan’s inclusion on important international platforms, especially at the World Health Assembly after its successful coronavirus response. The self-governing island republic considers itself as sovereign while China claims the province as Beijing’s territory under its one-China policy and has been pushing to implement the Hong Kong system in Taiwan.
Beijing has become more assertive on the reunification of Taiwan with China under “one country, two systems” which has threatened Taiwan’s claim of sovereignty. It has forced Taiwan to prioritise defence purchases to thwart any aggressive military action from China. Recently, Taiwan revealed its plan to buy Harpoon anti-ship missiles from the United States to deal with the Chinese threat.
Associated risks
The lack of official dialogue mechanism between Taiwan and China remains a major concern as any aggression could spiral out of control and Beijing military strength could easily overwhelm Taiwan’s defence forces. China’s ability to launch cyberattacks against the island can bring Taiwan to it knees. While the United States has shown eagerness to support Taiwan in its struggle against Beijing, the geographical location of the island could make it difficult to provide any kind of urgent support.
Last month, Liu Chia-zung, the deputy director of the Taiwan Investigation Bureau’s Cyber Security Investigation Office, told reporters that Chinese hacking groups have been infiltrating government agencies and their information service providers for a long time. Liu alleged that hacking groups linked to the Chinese government infiltrated at least 10 government agencies and around 6,000 email accounts to steal important data. He said that the hackers were aiming to acquire important government documents and data, alerting that some government data might have been leaked.
Updated 14:42 IST, September 21st 2020
