Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
Published:April18,2022
By Staff Writer
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen is pictured with six U.S. lawmakers and other U.S. delegation members at the presidential office in Taipei, Taiwan, April 15, 2022.
A group of six Unites States legislators including Bob Menendez and Lindsey Graham were in Taiwan for a two day visit from April 14. The legislators arrived in Taipei aboard a US Air Force plane and their visit was described by Washington as aimed at holding talks on “US-Taiwan relations, regional security, and other significant issues of mutual interest”. Taiwan’s foreign ministry said the US legislators would meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Wu and defence officials.
The US law makers visit coincided with the presence of a Swedish parliamentary delegation in Taiwan, which cannot be described as a coincidence but a jointly- planned visit by US and their European allies. A Swedish parliamentarian Charlie Weimers told the press that the purpose of the visit is, “to send a signal of support from Europe to Taiwan. And to make sure that signal is being heard all across the Taiwan Strait.”
Despite Beijing protest, the US administration went ahead and sent a delegation to Taiwan, in breach of China’s sovereignty and the One China Principle. China’s foreign ministry warned the US senators against “going down on the wrong and dangerous path” ahead of their arrival. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian during a media briefing in Beijing said that, “China will continue to take strong measures to resolutely safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
In addition to official statements condemning the visit, Beijing is said to have carried out large-scale military drills in the waters near Taiwan, including sending aircraft on combat alert patrols and conducting maritime assault drills.
Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement, “Those who play with fire will burn themselves. The command troops always maintain high alert and will firmly safeguard national sovereignty and security and regional peace and stability.”
In recent years, the US administration has increased arms sales and diplomatic visits to Taiwan which represents a direct provocation and security threat to China. The US administration interest in Taiwan is to push for a separatist agenda and use Taiwan territory as a base for geopolitical reasons to get close to China.
The so called friendship between US and Taiwan with a more than 12,000kms distance apart, replicates in the same way NATO provoked Russia by trying to extend to Ukraine which sparked the on-going regrettable Russia-Ukraine war.
The US administration spends sleepless nights planning how to counter the rise of China and how to destroy its economy, military capability as well as its image in the international community.
As the US-NATO alliance has waged wars in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, to mention a few and currently in Ukraine, the same Alliance looks determined to cause an arms race in the Taiwan strait with a goal of destabilizing China politically, economically and militarily so that the US maintains its hegemony.
Will China continue to watch as US and its European alliance stockpile arms in Taiwan with the intention of destabilizing mainland China?
The fact that the United Nations system does not condemn US-NATO aggressions against sovereign states globally just for US’s hegemonic interests, is an indication that the current world order is dysfunctional and requires to be fixed. The question remains, who will take the lead?
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