Five ballistic missiles launched by China landed in waters of Japan’s exclusive economic zone on August 4, sparking international protests against the communist regime.
The missiles were launched as part of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) retaliatory military exercises against Taiwan, cutting off several international air and sea routes to the island in a kind of blockade.
“This is the first time that five Chinese missiles have fallen into Japan’s EEZ like this.” Said Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi.
“We strongly protested through diplomatic channels.”
Shortly before the launch, Chinese Communist Party officials citing their dissatisfaction with Japan’s signing of a joint statement by the G7 calling for a peaceful resolution to tensions with China and Taiwan, citing the previously scheduled China-Japan canceled a meeting of foreign ministers.
“We call on China not to change unilaterally. status quo We will use force in the region to resolve cross-strait differences through peaceful means,” the document said.
Taiwan warns CCP may ‘invade’ local waters
The military exercise is the largest ever conducted by the Chinese Communist Party across the Taiwan Strait. These include joint naval, air and missile forces operating in his six regions around Taiwan.
In particular, some of the exercise areas that the Chinese Communist Party has declared “no” for outbound travel are within 10 miles of Taiwan’s coastline. According to international law, a nation’s sovereign waters end 12 miles from its coastline.
If Chinese forces move across the training ground, such an operation would constitute an invasion of Taiwan’s territorial waters, Taiwan’s premier Wang Tingyu said. Said Axios.
“If they send fighter planes or warships into our territorial waters, it means China has invaded our territory, and we will have standard operational procedures in place to respond,” Wang said. I was.
“We don’t want to cause conflict here, but we have a duty to protect our homes from anyone who wants to invade our country, our homes.”
Chinese Communist Party officials maintain that Taiwan is a rogue province of China and must be reunified with the mainland at all costs. issued An article claiming that Taiwan’s territorial waters are actually Chinese territorial waters.
Despite China’s claims, Taiwan has remained autonomous since 1949, has never been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, and boasts a democratic government and a thriving market economy.
The White House said China was poised to take more aggressive action against Taiwan following the exercise’s announcement. blocked Many important international trade routes to the island.
“China is poised to take further action and we expect it will continue to respond with a long-term view,” John Kirby, communications coordinator for the White House National Security Council, said at a news conference on Aug. 2. Stated. “America does not seek or want crisis. [But] We are ready to manage whatever Beijing chooses. “
“What we’ve seen so far is consistent with the playbook we expected them to run,” Kirby added.
US and China Conflict Over Maintaining the Status Quo
The CCP’s escalation in the region follows a highly publicized visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which was loudly protested by the CCP leadership. Both China and the United States have used the ensuing tensions to accuse each other of trying to unilaterally change the world. status quo Regarding Taiwan.
The United States maintains a one-China policy, which recognizes, but does not support, the CCP’s principle that there is one indivisible China of which Taiwan is a part. is bound by the treaty to supply Taiwan with the weapons needed for de facto independence. Moreover, the underlying document of the China-US agreement on the Taiwan issue requires neither side to unilaterally attempt to change the current situation. status quo By force or coercion.
That is why the Chinese Communist Party says it will “start a war at all costs” to prevent Taiwan’s independence from being recognized on the international stage.
But similarly, former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the language of the U.S.-China agreement shows that the U.S. is willing to go to war to defend Taiwan against Chinese Communist Party aggression.
“Five decades ago, our view on this issue was [have] In that respect, it’s clear that this will be an issue of ‘serious concern’, which is often a diplomatic statement that we are willing to go to war over this,” Esper said in a speech last month. I was.
“It is China that undermines the one-China policy, and now for 50 years, all sides understand that. status quo through force. Those are just the facts of the matter. “
Despite claims by the Chinese Communist Party that Pelosi’s visit kept “separatists” from China, status quothe White House was quick to point out that congressional delegations have visited Taiwan with some frequency.
Taiwan’s political and military leaders also defended the visit, pledging to protect Taiwan’s territory and democratic way of life from Chinese Communist Party aggression.
“We are not eager to fight and will not hesitate to fight,” Taiwan’s defense ministry said. said In a video published on social media. “We have the ability and the will to protect the freedoms and democracies we deserve and to maintain regional stability.”