On Point: China Tests Taiwan After Biden's Afghanistan Debacle


by Austin Bay
October 6, 2021

On Oct. 4, 56 mainland Chinese combat aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait and illegally penetrated sovereign Taiwanese airspace. That aerial "show of force" rated as the largest mainland Chinese airspace violation since 1949 when Chinese Nationalist soldiers retreated to the island and dug in.

According to numerous media reports, the 56-plane demonstration by the Chinese Communist Party's Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) culminated three days of sustained military saber-rattling harassment. There have been other sustained military displays, including combat engagements, such as the air and artillery battles in the late 1950s.

The Eisenhower administration's support for Taiwan led to a stalemate and a ceasefire.

But with Ike in charge the Communists thought twice.

In the 2021 President Joe Biden geopolitical context, the Oct. 4 violation was a multidimensional diplomatic and military probe in the form of a calculated outrage designed to generate maximum media headlines.

The headlines erupted. At the military tactical and operational levels behind the headlines, the intrusion probed Taiwanese air defenses. It was recon. Very possibly the CCP's military gleaned valuable intelligence on technical capabilities, such as radar range and missile battery readiness. The probe could have provided insight into the Taiwan military's decision-making. How long will the Taiwanese wait before intercepting the PLAAF attack formation?

The strait is narrow. Delay has fatal consequences.

At the strategic level, the penetration was another provocative Beijing test of Taiwan's faith in reliable American support of its defense. To be frank, U.S. support for the defense of Taiwan translates into protecting the small democracy's very existence.

In a theoretical frame, the Chinese show of force air operation was a classic example of a "power cocktail," mixing what strategists dub basic elements of power, in this instance diplomatic, intelligence/information and military power.

However, Communist China's threat to Taiwan isn't theory. From Mao Zedong on, senior Chinese Communist leaders have vowed to seize Taiwan. Often Beijing obfuscates that vow with rhetoric like a "formal declaration of Taiwan independence" will immediately lead to a cross-Strait war.

The Pentagon and several open-source analysts also identify other camouflage for Beijing aggression. In addition to formal independence, the cases include:

No. 1: Unrest within Taiwan, and note Beijing could seed unrest

No. 2: Foreign intervention in Taiwan's internal affairs, and that could mean anything from selling Taiwan F-16 parts to providing loans

No. 3: Taiwanese acquisition of nuclear weapons -- and like Japan and South Korea, Taiwan has the brains to produce them

No. 4: A foreign nation stationing military forces on Taiwan.

That is a warning to the U.S. Every so often commentators -- like me -- mull deploying a U.S. Army armored brigade combat team to Taiwan. Think tripwire forces in South Korea and, during the Cold War, West Germany.

In the larger lens of willingness to fight a war for freedom: The probe was a material manifestation of the giant sucking sound, the huge Asian power vacuum and credibility vacuum created by Biden's disastrous Afghanistan bugout.

The withdrawal was a self-inflicted disaster. The world knows it, even if the Washington Beltway media refuses to admit it.

Power abhors a vacuum, and autocratic states and tyrannies like Communist China rush to fill power vacuums. The Oct. 4 show of force suggests that after the post-Afghanistan debacle Beijing senses opportunity.

Communist China is America's foremost security threat. Chinese president Xi Jinping is already arguing Biden's bugout demonstrates American promises are unreliable. China wants South Korea and Japan to observe closely, and India as well.

Without strong leadership by democratic nations, primarily from the powerful U.S., our weaknesses, especially our self-inflicted weaknesses, could quickly become debilitating wounds the authoritarians will leverage, to our great loss.

Read Austin Bay's Latest Book

To find out more about Austin Bay and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2001 - 2024CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.

On Point Archives:

On Point Archives: Current 2023  2022  2021  2020  2019  2018  2017  2016  2015  2014  2013  2012  2011  2010  2009  2008  2007  2006  2005  2004  2003  2002  2001

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   Contribute   Close