China conducts record air mobilization against Taiwan

China conducts record air mobilization against Taiwan

Amid military drills in retaliation for Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, China this Friday (5th) promoted the largest air mobilization in its history in the strait separating the mainland from the island it promises to incorporate into its territory.

According to Taipei’s Defense Ministry, 68 Chinese warplanes were airborne in the area, and “some of them” crossed the socalled Median Line, an unofficial airspace boundary dividing the Taiwan Strait. The previous record was 52 aircraft last October, but on this occasion they all invaded the area where the island patrols.

Taiwanese warplanes have been deployed to intercept the intruders, as they do almost weekly. On Wednesday (3rd), before the exercises began, at least 22 aircraft had crossed the air border.

At the same time, the Chinese military conducted sea maneuvers with live ammunition in the north, southwest and east of the island, effectively blocking sea traffic. In the strait, 13 ships sailed near the center line.

Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, made a controversial trip to Taipei on Tuesday (2) and Wednesday (3). She met with island officials and reaffirmed American support for local democracy, the first visit of its kind in 25 years.

Beijing had warned it viewed Pelosi’s departure as a violation of its sovereignty, noting that despite Taiwan’s military support, Washington recognizes Chinese rights over the island as it has maintained diplomatic ties with the communist dictatorship since 1979.

This ambiguity is being tested as Beijing announces sanctions against Pelosi and removes some items from the bilateral cooperation agenda. It is the most acute crisis between the world’s two largest economies since the socalled Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, which occurred in the wake of the island’s thenpresident’s trip to the United States in 1995.

The point is that China now has unprecedented political, economic and military strength and has been experiencing Cold War 2.0 with the US in various fields since 2017. Pelosi’s visit provided Beijing with an ideal justification for bending her, although the US says there is no reason to.

The drills around Taiwan are a kind of dress rehearsal of a naval air blockade that could be carried out without the human cost of a territorial invasion that would subdue Taipei. It is one of the hypotheses on the table in Beijing that the island’s incorporation is a national priority.

For President Xi Jinping, the crisis is serving as a ladder to assert power as he prepares for his reelection to a new term in November. Reelection by the Communist Party’s Politburo has only been allowed once since 1982, but Xi changed the rule in 2018, allowing him to perpetuate himself in power and even have his name enthroned in the country’s constitution.

Xi is facing a serious economic crisis, so the international show of force also has distracting properties. The military drills are scheduled to end at 12 p.m. (1 a.m. in Brasília) on Sunday. The Taiwan crisis runs parallel to the Ukraine war, in which China politically supports its ally Vladimir Putin against Kyiv and the West.

Taiwan is on high military alert and the US maintains ships, including an aircraft carrier, in the region and has deployed B2 stealth bombers to Australia.