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Showing posts with label US Hegemony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US Hegemony. Show all posts

Sunday 22 October 2023

Pentagon report hypes 'China threat' to sustain own hegemony, China's military power only makes those with malicious intent feel 'threatened

The US' "China Military Power report," like its previous editions, ignores the facts and is filled with bias, spreading the "China threats" theory which only serves as an excuse to maintain its military hegemony, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday, in response to a Pentagon report that warned Beijing is building up its nuclear and long-range missiles arsenal "faster than previous projections."

The newly-released annual Pentagon document claimed that China has more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023, surpassing earlier projections, and forecast that China would likely have more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030.

Describing China as a "pacing challenge," the US Defense Department report also said that Beijing may be exploring the development of conventionally-armed long-range missiles that could reach the US. It said that Beijing has completed the construction of three new fields of long-range ballistic missiles silos.

Mao Ning, a spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Friday that China is firmly committed to a defensive nuclear strategy, and has always maintained nuclear forces at the lowest level required for national security, and has no intention of engaging in a nuclear arms race with any country.

China has a unique nuclear policy among nuclear weapon states and has maintained a high degree of stability, consistency and predictability, Mao said, "No country will be threatened by China's nuclear weapons as long as it does not use or threaten to use them against China."

We urge the US to abandon its Cold War mentality and hegemonic logic, to view China's strategic intentions and national defense development objectively and rationally, to stop publishing such irresponsible reports year after year, and to take practical actions to maintain the stability of the military-to-military relationship between the two sides, Mao said.

Chinese military expert Zhang Junshe said that it's hilarious that a country with more than 5,000 nuclear warheads says another nation poses a threat.

In 2020, Fu Cong, then director general of the Department of Arms Control and Disarmament, cited statistics from renowned international think tanks, pointing out that the US nuclear arsenal stands at about 5,800 nuclear warheads.

Even if China does have 500 nuclear warheads, they are not even close to the size of the US' arsenal. In addition, the number of US strategic nuclear submarines, strategic bombers, and the number of warheads they carry are far higher than any other country in the world, including China, Zhang remarked.

For fiscal year 2024, the US defense budget request hit another record high of $842 billion, more than the gross domestic product of Saudi Arabia for the entire year of 2021, and 20 percent higher than the combined defense budgets of nine countries, including China, Russia, India, and the UK, according to Xinhua.

According to Zhang, the US is developing a new generation of strategic nuclear weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), sea-based strategic missiles and airborne nuclear weapons, a new generation of nuclear submarines, and strategic bombers.

In addition, the US is miniaturizing nuclear weapons for so-called tactical use, namely, lowering the threshold for the use of tactical nuclear weapons, Zhang said, "The US is also considering resuming the storage of nuclear weapons in other countries, such as the UK, a Cold War era practice of nuclear sharing with allies."

The hyping of the "China threats" is nothing but a search for excuses for Washington's uncontrolled nuclear arsenal expansion, and to discredit and suppress China's normal military development, so as to maintain absolute military superiority, Zhang said.

'Undesirable hobby'


The report smeared China's military modernization as a means of projecting power across the Pacific region and ultimately around the globe, saying China's strength is growing in all the domains of warfare, including the traditional land, air and sea, as well as nuclear, cyber and space, according to CNN.

The 212-page report also mentioned the word "Taiwan" 261 times, highlighting the Chinese mainland's "military pressure" against the island.

The US is worried that the increase of the Chinese People's Liberation Army's military capability could pose challenges to US military hegemony, thus affecting the US political hegemony and global hegemony, Chinese military expert and TV commentator Song Zhongping told the Global Times on Friday.

Given that the report was released ahead of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, a China-hosted platform on defense and security issues, Chinese analysts believed it was also aimed at entrapping Chinese neighbors, cajoling them to resist and oppose China's normal military development so that they can be better "utilized" by the US in the Asia-Pacific region.

As the world's largest nuclear state, the US has not made a commitment not to be the first to use nuclear weapons, as China has done, as well as a commitment not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear countries and regions. Instead, the US has even been aggressive, emphasizing the pre-emptive use of nuclear forces, according to Zhang.

The nuclear strategy of the US is global in its scope. When it provides nuclear umbrellas and even nuclear sharing to some allies, it poses a serious threat to other countries, and at the same time is extremely destructive to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation around the world, and ultimately exacerbates regional tensions, Song said.

In July, the US deployed a nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine to South Korea for the first time since 1980s. North Korea later fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern waters as a response to the "grave provocation," media reported.

The problem that the US poses to global security is its nuclear superiority and military power, said a Beijing-based expert. "When it comes to the resolution of regional crises, the US is inclined to resort to the use of force, either by itself or through its allies. And the US' absolute military strength and nuclear power has further encouraged that undesirable hobby."

"The US, with the largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal in the world, follows a first-use nuclear deterrence policy, keeps making enormous investment to upgrade its nuclear triad, advances forward deployment of strategic forces, and strengthens extended deterrence for its allies," Mao said. "These policies and acts heighten the risk of a nuclear arms race and nuclear conflict, and will only adversely affect the global strategic security environment."


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China's military power only makes those with malicious intent feel 'threatened'

PLA Photo:VCG

The US Department of Defense (DoD) released its annual report to Congress on "Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China" (China military power report) on Thursday. People familiar with China-US relations know that since 2000, the Pentagon has issued this report every year, which basically compiles some public information, including media reports with unknown sources, into a "collection of annual China threat theories" in a bid to request funding from Congress and deceive allies into buying US weapons. As a result, one can imagine the level of professionalism in this report.

The China military power report can be roughly divided into three parts. First, it assesses China's current military capabilities without any real basis. Second, it selectively hypes China's military activities over the past year. Third, it distorts and speculates about China's military intentions. This year's report has an additional section - complaints about China's "resistance" to military-to-military communications with the US.

By combining these factors, the US attempts to fabricate a terrifying image of China, whose military strength is rapidly increasing, military behavior is becoming more aggressive, and "military ambitions" are insufficiently transparent. All the malicious speculations and smears about China's military in the report are far from the reality of China's military situation, but instead resemble a reflection of the US military itself.

The Pentagon's report always focuses on China's modernization of its nuclear capabilities and makes groundless speculations and comments on the situation in the Taiwan Straits. It is worth noting that this year's report claims that the DoD estimates that China possessed more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023 - on track to exceeding previous projections, and that China will probably have over 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030. In the 2020 report, the DoD made its first public estimate of China's nuclear warheads, and said its nuclear arsenal was slightly more than 200. In just three years, the number of China's nuclear warheads in the US report has more than doubled. Common sense dictates that on such a significant issue, the US report has not shown the required rigor. The specific number depends on the needs of the Pentagon and Washington at different times.

The US needs to understand two points. First, China pursues the strategic thinking of active defense, and the deployment of nuclear forces is part of its defense strategy. However, no matter how many nuclear warheads China has or how strong its defense capabilities are, they will not become violent tools for China to dominate the world, as is the case with the US military. Instead, they are a strong guarantee for China to safeguard its national sovereignty, security, and development interests, as well as regional and global peace. Second, the development of China's defense force has its own established pace, it does not target any specific country, but it firmly safeguards China's sovereignty, security, and developmental interests. As long as China has not achieved reunification and external forces continue to interfere without restraint, China will not cease to strengthen its defense capabilities.

In addition, many have also noticed that this year's report highlights the PLA's so-called coercive and risky operational behavior in the past two years. The Pentagon even presented videos and photos of Chinese military aircraft "intercepting US military aircraft flying in international airspace with dangerous maneuvers," claiming Chinese aircraft have adopted more dangerous, coercive and provocative actions toward the US and its allies in the airspace of East China Sea and South China Sea. However, what the Pentagon never mentions is that this so-called international airspace is primarily located along China's coast, with some US aircraft even intruding into China's territorial waters, while none of these incidents occurred along the US coast. Doesn't this already make the point clear? If we were to reverse the situation, in an atmosphere where even harmless balloons create a sense of impending crisis in Washington, the reaction from the US side would likely be far more significant if Chinese warships or aircraft appeared in international waters and airspace outside San Francisco Bay, beyond just what is termed "dangerous intercepts."

The US, with the most powerful armed forces in the world, has become one of the most enthusiastic proponents of the so-called "Chinese military threat" theory, which in itself is abnormal. If the US had no ill intentions toward China, has no desire to interfere with China's reunification efforts, and has no intention of conflict or suppression, it would not perceive such a strong "threat" from China's peaceful armed forces. In the past year, the actions of the US military have made it even clearer who the escalating threat in the Asia-Pacific region truly is and what poses the greatest challenge to peace and stability in that region.

At roughly the same time as the report's release, multiple US military bases in the Middle East came under consecutive attacks. The US State Department also issued a rare worldwide caution alert citing potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against US citizens and interests. All of these factors indicate that the real danger facing the US does not actually stem from its imagined challenge to its position of leadership by China. Rather, it arises from its excessive interventions and the blowback resulting from creating tension and inciting the risk of war on a global scale. This is what the US truly needs to pay attention to and reflect upon.


Wednesday 16 August 2023

International community must take action to oppose the 'new Cold War'

 

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

If recent developments in the three major areas of politics and diplomacy, international trade and economics, and military in the US are looked at together, there will be a chilling discovery. This week, the leaders of the US, Japan, and South Korea will hold a meeting at Camp David, a retreat of US presidents. This kind of summit is the first in the history of these three countries, and its target against China is no longer concealed. According to reports from Japanese media, Japan and the US will also agree this week to jointly develop an interceptor missile "to counter hypersonic warheads being developed by China, Russia and North Korea." As for the executive order on introducing investment restrictions on China recently signed by US President Joe Biden, its negative impacts are spreading and fermenting.

The actions and policy measures of the US mentioned above are all marked by a strong "new Cold War" color and exhibit a trend of continuity and escalating intensity. Can they be characterized as "new Cold War" thinking or actions? This can be discerned through the following four criteria. First, is it confrontational zero-sum competition or cooperative mutual benefit? Second, does it involve ideological delineation or equal exchange, mutual learning, and peaceful coexistence among different civilizations? Third, does it create cliques and alliances for confrontation or does it promote openness, inclusivity, and the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind? Fourth, does it resort to containment and suppression against perceived competitors, or does it engage in benign competition within the scope of international rules and principles? Upon comparison, the answer becomes self-evident.

Just as the drumbeats of the "new Cold War" are becoming more frequent and the smell of gunpowder more suffocating, prominent figures in the White House, including President Biden, have been emphasizing on various occasions that the US "does not seek a "new Cold War"," that "the US must reject neo-containment," and that "Washington should learn from the lessons of the Cold War and the old Cold War construct of blocs is not coherent." This has created a strange scene where there is not just a departure but even a contradiction between the actions and statements of the US, as well as between US self-assessment and the real impressions of the outside world about it. This issue goes beyond American hypocrisy or lack of self-awareness; it harbors a significant underlying risk.

There are at least two possibilities. The first one is that the US knows it is engaged in a "new Cold War" and is well aware that people all around the world, including Americans, strongly oppose and are deeply concerned about a "new Cold War." In other words, the US realizes that this is a highly risky undertaking and therefore would never admit to it. Instead, it might label its actions with a new term to deceive the world.

The second scenario is that the US has actually initiated a "new Cold War," but it does not really think that it is engaging in a "new Cold War." This will have more serious consequences than the first scenario, because the US not only refuses to make a reflection and change its course, but also will gain a stronger "moral drive" from self-hypnosis. In order to wake the US up from its pretended or genuine sleep, the international community needs to strengthen its resistance and criticism against the US' initiation of a "new Cold War" and take actions.

Regardless of what the US diplomatic strategists say or think, their actions speak louder. When faced with international challenges, especially when dealing with countries that have similar power with the US but different political and cultural backgrounds from the US, they habitually and unconsciously refer to the Cold War experience. They sometimes even directly resort to Cold War tactics, without taking off the "Cold War glasses" to view the world and era that have already undergone tremendous changes, even though they may also know that this is wrong and dangerous.

An article in the American magazine Foreign Affairs points out that Cold War history has become a straitjacket constraining how Americans perceive the world, including making Americans struggle to understand gray areas between friend and foe, making negotiations with rivals appear to carry impossibly high stakes and making it hard for Americans to imagine a less-militarized foreign policy.

The deeper the misunderstandings of history and reality, the stronger the limitations and misguidance of Cold War thinking on American foreign policy decision-makers. Binary thinking makes it impossible to understand the complexity and richness of a multipolar world, and severely lacks imagination for the future. The diplomatic strategies and approaches formulated based on this have distorted international politics.

More specifically, Washington has misunderstood history, misjudged the times, and misunderstood the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people. The destructive power of "new Cold War" is world-class, and the fate of all humanity stands at a crossroads. American political elites may believe that the US was the winner of the Cold War, which is controversial, but it is certain that the US cannot be the winner of the "new Cold War" and must bear historical responsibility for today's choices.

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Saturday 18 March 2023

US’ hooligan nature laid bare in forced divesting of TikTok

 

  Forcing TikTok to sell its shares is a shameless ... -


There has been an absurd development of the political farce surrounding the crackdown on TikTok, which has recently been playing out in the US and spreading to Canada and some EU countries.

The Biden administration has threatened to ban TikTok if its Chinese owners don't divest their stakes in the popular video app, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Even though TikTok has tried its best and done almost everything possible within the technical range in response to the so-called national security concerns, it remains helpless in the face of Washington's economic vandalism. The message is clear: if Washington cannot see TikTok ending up in an American hand, it will shut it down. Judging by the various bans and legislation involving TikTok that US politicians have been working on, it is not impossible for the worst to happen.

Yet, the Emperor's New Clothes surrounding national security concerns cannot hide US politicians' selfish and hooligan nature. The US claims that TikTok threatens to undermine US national security, but there is no evidence at all supporting the killing or robbery of such a globally successful app on national security grounds. The fact that Washington can suppress and even rob TikTok without justification and only because it is owned by a Chinese company is the latest manifestation that in order to maintain the US hegemony, Washington can make any rogue behavior that is against the law and business rules. This could serve as a wake-up call to companies around the world about the political risks of doing business in the US. If they are successful enough to pose a real challenge to American business titans, a rogue government in Washington will start finding fault with them.

TikTok has been seeking various technical solutions to soothe the so-called national security concerns. For instance, it has committed to spend $1.5 billion on a plan known as "Project Texas," which would enact a stronger firewall between TikTok and employees of its Beijing parent company. It has also built what it called a Transparency Center in Los Angeles to help legislators and journalists understand how it safeguards data and how its algorithms work.

But what has happened to the company has laid bare that there is no way to play by the rules to address the US politicians' so-called concerns. This is because it is not national security issues, but TikTok's ability to challenge the supremacy of the US internet industry, that is what really upsets Washington.

With more than 1 billion active users, TikTok is the most downloaded Chinese app in the world last year. The US has 113 million active TikTok users aged 18 and above, and a 2022 Pew Research Center survey of American teenagers aged 13 to 17 found that 67 percent say they use the app, which would add up to about 17.4 million teenagers.

By comparison, the development of some American internet giants has been overshadowed. Facebook-parent Meta Platforms announced on Tuesday it would cut 10,000 jobs this year, marking a second round of mass layoffs following the first one in fall 2022. Since 2020, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has spoken out on several occasions about TikTok's threat to American values and technological dominance.

Of course, the US government's crackdown on Chinese technology companies has not only aimed to rob economic interests off Chinese companies, but also to curb China's high-tech development and to maintain the US technological and financial hegemony.

However, it should be noted that the fact that Washington cannot allow a Chinese company to have the potential to beat American internet giants in market competition doesn't mean China will allow its hegemony to rob Chinese companies of core technology. Behind TikTok's success is the rise of a new algorithmic technology, which is the representative of Chinese high-tech companies gaining an advantage in international markets.

When the former Trump administration tried to push through a forced sale of TikTok in 2020, China's Ministry of Commerce already made adjustment to its catalog of technologies that are subject to export bans or restrictions, which includes certain advanced information process algorithms. It goes without saying China will resist any bully-like robbery of Chinese companies' core technologies. 

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 Forcing TikTok to sell its shares is a shameless ... - YouTube
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Forcing TikTok to sell its shares is an example of the US wanting to claim ownership of everything that is advanced and competitive.
YouTube · 环球时报 Global Time
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday 4 March 2023

When White House cracks down on TikTok, what is US afraid of?

 


The US, with around 750 military bases across the globe, warships in most oceans, which is waging a proxy war, stirring up conflicts here and there, is now vehemently making a fuss about so-called "threats" it is confronting: Earlier this month, it was balloons, and now, it is TikTok.

The White House on Monday gave government agencies 30 days to ensure they do not have short-video platform TikTok on federal devices and systems, Reuters reported on the same day. In December last year, US Congress voted to bar federal employees from using the video app on government-owned devices. Now, US President Joe Biden officially tossed out the deadline.

The decision is as unreasonable as Biden's order to shoot down balloons with missiles. It is a typical irrational action generated by security anxiety stemming from a kind of mental illness, Shen Yi, an international relations expert from Fudan University, told the Global Times.

If the move reveals anything, it is that the US has gone hysterical in its anti-China stance while its relevant decisions have gone far beyond reality. TikTok has been trying to demonstrate its global nature. However, in the eyes of American elites, being born in China is an "original sin."

Over the past years, TikTok has been questioned on whether the Chinese government has access to US user data; whether its content is censored by China; whether its stored US user data is based on US soil … However, after TikTok appropriately responded and met all these requirements, the US still claims the app is a "national security threat."

In 2020, then president Donald Trump even tried to mandate that ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, strike a deal to sell TikTok's US operations. In other words, the US government has been attempting to harm this globally leading short-video platform which was not born in the US, using various excuses.

The latest ban is aimed at government devices and will only affect a small portion of TikTok's users in the US, yet some observers believe that, the US is actually attempting to fan the flames of a wider call to ban the app throughout the country. On the global arena, some US allies have already followed suit. Also on Monday, Canada announced a ban on TikTok from government-issued devices. Last week, the European Commission and Council of the EU, EU's two biggest policy-making institutions, banned staff from using the app.

It is a mystery why the US and its Western allies are afraid of TikTok, when there is no evidence to prove its "danger," and when it is basically a purely entertainment platform, which people can download out of their own free will. Against the backdrop, banning TikTok is absurd. And the US is behaving like the emperor in the folktale "The Emperor's New Clothes." Don't ask why he has no clothes, he is just being unreasonable and even mentally ill, Shen said.

"How unsure of itself can the world's top superpower be to fear a young people's favorite app like that?" Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, asked at a daily briefing on Tuesday, when responding to the White House's TikTok ban.

It cannot be ruled out that the Biden administration needs some scores to demonstrate its capability to keep staying in the White House and protect so-called US national security, observers noted. Moreover, reports show that TikTok was the most-downloaded app worldwide. That being said, killing TikTok means US internet companies will have one less competitor.

US Federal Chief Information Security Officer Chris DeRusha said this latest decision on TikTok is "part of the Administration's ongoing commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and protecting the American people's security and privacy."

US officials keep talking about "American people's security and privacy," do they mean it? As George Galloway, a six-term British parliamentarian, tweeted, "It's American intelligence, not Chinese, which is coming through your back door, your front door and all of your windows."

Worse, it was speculated that Washington's balloon frenzy earlier in February has a lot to do with covering up the scoop over what US did behind Nord Stream bombing. There is also reason to suspect the hype of TikTok is aimed at distracting people from Ohio derailment and chemical spill. Thanks to social media platforms like TikTok, short videos can be uploaded anytime and anywhere. And they helped to push the story into the public when traditional mainstream media covered their eyes. US' crumbling railway system is shocking, and US government's attempt to cover up the toxic train has been nakedly exposed to the world. 

 

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Sunday 26 February 2023

'US plan for destruction of Taiwan' draws public outcry, distrust grows toward Washington


Biden had revealed the US plan to destroy Taiwan

To kill everyone in Ukraine and Taiwan!! Fight against China and Russia!!! Are you an idiot for being the leader of China and Russia?

The United States issued bonds to borrow one trillion dollars from China,!! Biden used the borrowed money to fund anti-China groups!!, and encouraged them to attack China!! Can President Xi Jinping still expect peace?

Biden said our plan to destroy Taiwan is more catastrophic than destroying Ukraine!! It is to use the evil empire China+Russia as a tool in disguise!! Destroy Taiwan+Ukraine these two little allies!!

So letting the EU and Russia kill each other is also part of Biden’s plan!! No wonder the destruction of Nord Stream 2!!Ultimately killing the poor of America!!

Jesus said that God loves everyone!! Spread rumors about the so-called evil China, Russia, North Korea, and Middle East countries, and tell the poor to go to the battlefield to destroy them!! Is it in line with what Jesus said? May I ask the poor in the United States? Are you willing to go to the battlefield and die for Biden?

 'US plan for destruction of Taiwan' draws public outcry

A screenshot of a recent Taiwan media discussion on a social media post of the US president's purported claim of Washington's "plan for the destruction of Taiwan".  (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

 A recent controversy sparked by a purported “US plan for the destruction of Taiwan” has sparked growing distrust of and dissatisfaction in the United States by the island’s residents for using the island as a pawn to contain the Chinese mainland.

The remarks came in a social media bombshell dropped in Washington by Garland Nixon, a renowned American radio program host, who quoted a White House insider as saying that Biden had revealed the US plan to destroy Taiwan.

The incident also shows that Taiwan residents’ distrust of the US is growing and they are not willing to be used by US politicians

The post, on Feb 16, read that “when asked ‘if there could be any greater disaster than the neocon Ukraine project, President Biden responded, “wait until you see our plan for the destruction of Taiwan”.

The bombshell went viral on Taiwan’s social media platforms, trigging a public outcry and wrath against US politicians. Many media programs held debates on US’ intentions to exploit and sacrifice Taiwan for its hegemonic purposes, including plotting to undermine Taiwan’s chipmaking sector.

According to a media report by Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao, Zhang Wensheng, deputy dean of the Graduate Institute for Taiwan Studies at Xiamen University, said that although the post’s content has not been verified, it has always been evident that the US has used Taiwan as a pawn to contain China and never cared about the safety or interests of Taiwan residents.

The incident also shows that Taiwan residents’ distrust of the US is growing and they are not willing to be used by US politicians, Zhang added.

The island’s authorities rushed to defend the US stance, but analysts from the island brushed aside their simple denial with examples of US moves against Taiwan interests in the name of “shared value”.

A representative of a Taiwan youth council said US politicians and high-ranking military personnel have been pushing to liken Taiwan to Ukraine, when they are vastly different. American politicians and military personnel hype up tension across the Taiwan Strait in order to peddle more weaponry to Taiwan and turn the island into an arms storage facility for the US, the representative said.

A Feb 24 report by Bloomberg website headlined: “US to bolster its small force on Taiwan” said that US troop numbers in Taiwan “would grow to between 100 and 200.”

If the Bloomberg report is true, the US is blatantly breaking its promise to and infringing the sovereignty of China as Washington officially acknowledges that the People’s Republic of China is the sole representative of China and Taiwan is part of China, analysts said. The US is also violating international law and contravening the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, its founding document. 

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Distrust grows toward Washington amid revelation of US’ ‘destruction of Taiwan’ plan

Photo taken on Jan 12, 2019 shows the White House and a stop sign in Washington D.C., the United States. Photo:Xinhua 
Photo taken on Jan 12, 2019 shows the White House and a stop sign in Washington D.C., the United States. Photo:Xinhua

Along with reports of enhanced interactions between the US and the island of Taiwan, the US was also reported to have been considering plans to destroy the island in the event of a military conflict between the island and the Chinese mainland. Related reports have seriously damaged the belief that the US can "defend the island," and demonstrated that the US is just using it as a pawn.

US radio talk show host Garland Nixon last week wrote on Twitter that White House insiders said that US President Joe Biden had warned about the "destruction of Taiwan," when asked if there could be any greater disaster than the Ukraine crisis.

When asked for comments on the so-called "destruction of Taiwan" plan at a press conference on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, "I also want to know what the 'destruction of Taiwan' plan is. The US should give a definitive explanation."

He noted that Taiwan is China's Taiwan and China will firmly safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Similar plans have been revealed before. In late 2022, Taiwan authorities said that they had rejected a proposal to destroy its flagship semiconductor industry in the event of a military conflict with the mainland.

The "destruction of Taiwan" must be one of the US' options, and it could even be one of the options that preparations are being made for, Zheng Jian, director of the Graduate Institute for Taiwan Studies of Xiamen University, told the Global Times.

For the US, the best strategy is to deter the Chinese mainland without using a single soldier. The middle and worst policy is to destroy Taiwan, or the essence of Taiwan, such as taking away TSMC and the talents on the island, Zheng explained.

Amid reports of the US' plans for destroying and abandoning the island, Washington has also recently ramped up military support for Taiwan.

It has been reported that Taiwan authorities plan to boost military exchanges with the US, after the island's regional leader Tsai Ing-wen met with some US lawmakers recently. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the US plans to deploy between 100 and 200 troops to Taiwan island in the coming months, up from roughly 30 there a year ago.

Zheng noted that the US' decision to release the news just before the first anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict reveals its real intention, which is to closely bind the Taiwan question and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

However, the Taiwan question is fundamentally different from the Ukraine issue, as China has reiterated on many occasions. The most fundamental difference is that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory and the Taiwan question is completely China's internal affair, one which brooks no external interference.

Illustration:Liu Rui/GT 
Illustration:Liu Rui/GT

The US has made the Taiwan question, which is entirely China's internal affair, a strategic point for its competition with China. However, it has no confidence in defeating China and is making multiple plans to impede China's reunification, Zhu Songling, a professor at the Institute of Taiwan Studies of Beijing Union University, told the Global Times.

This revelation of so-called "destruction of Taiwan" plan has sparked heated discussions on the island, with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Wednesday labeling related reports as "false." 

快新聞/拜登有「毀滅台灣計畫」? 外交部嚴正駁斥

 快新聞/拜登有「毀滅台灣計畫」? 外交部嚴正駁斥:絕非事實 

外交部發言人劉永健。(圖/翻攝自中華民國外交部官方YouTube)

The plan and previous US media reports on "blowing up the TSMC" have frustrated Taiwan secessionists and some pro-US politicians, said Zhu.

What the US has done to other countries and regions, especially those it called "allies" in the past decades, clearly shows how fragile US promises and commitments are. The US' continuous fanning of flames in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has also turned away more people on the island of Taiwan, analysts said. 

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