A Chinese official said this week that the rising number of Chinese flights in areas around Taiwan is a direct response to “collusion” between the US and Taiwan, making clear Beijing’s motives for its stepped-up military activity.
Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said that recent drills conducted by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are a “solemn warning against Taipei’s increased provocation, which damaged peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
Ma said that Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has “recently intensified military collusion with the US.”
The PLA held major drills around Taiwan on December 25th in response to President Biden signing the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes unprecedented military aid for Taiwan. The bill allocates $2 billion in loans for Taipei to purchase US-made weapons each year until 2027.
Since Washington severed formal diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979, the US has always sold weapons to Taiwan but has never financed the deals.
China hawks in Congress say the aid is needed to deter China from invading, but Beijing’s actions make it clear that more US support for Taipei will make war more likely.
Source: Antiwar.com
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