World News

Tit-for-tat, innit?

Not a coincidence that the Filipino-American Balikatan military exercise this year simulated invading Taiwan... or that exercises ended on May 10th (taking place in the Batanes, 218km from Taiwan)... Or that they were the largest such exercises since 1991.

Not a coincidence that the Korean-American "Freedom Shield" military exercise was more than double the scale of last year's.

Also not a coincidence that Lai very conspicuously claimed that the PRC is an independent country, violating the ROC's Constitution and breaking the 1992 Consensus that is de facto upheld by the KMT and supported by the TPP immediately after agreeing to uphold said constitution...

While Lai holds the executive seat, his opposition dominates the legislature. Coincidentally, Taiwan is currently seeing mass protests against a bill that would shift power away from the executive to better match other democracies worldwide (this is the same bill that, notoriously, DPP lawmakers tried to steal from the Yuan to avoid getting it passed).

The DPP is a party that does not want Taiwan to stay Taiwan. It wants to ignore Taiwan's roots, it wants to ignore the history, the culture, and the economy. It does not want to uphold democratic ideals and instead prefers consolidated power within the executive... And, of course, this is even as KMT sympathizers hold a stranglehold over the upper echelons of Taiwan's military.

I think the weakness shown around Ukraine is now having the opposite effect that the early strong support and western democratic unity had at the start of the war, the CCP senses there's blood in the water.

Flag waving and boot stomping. It's effective.

The Neo Axis powers: China, Russia and Isreal

The ministry said China sent 19 warships around Taiwan’s perimeter, 16 marine police vessels and 49 warplanes, of which 35 crossed the median line, the de facto border between China and Taiwan.

Lol, that's it? Taiwan is bigger in area than 9 US states and has 24 million people. It's taken China more than 19 warships and 49 planes to conquer uninhibited islands.

Add it to the list. Although I think these drills are more about Xi seizing his own appendage than seizing power.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

China has begun its second day of military drills targeting Taiwan, in what it says is punishment for “separatist acts” after the inauguration of its new president on Monday.

China’s defence ministry said the drills on Friday were testing its military’s ability to “seize power” and occupy key areas, in line with Beijing’s ultimate goal of annexing Taiwan.

Taiwan’s government and people reject the prospect of Chinese rule, but China’s ruler Xi Jinping has not renounced the use of force to take the island.

Beijing did not declare any no-fly zones, and no live fire was used except in practice areas on the Chinese mainland, according to Taiwan’s military.

In response, Taiwan scrambled jets, put its forces on alert, and moved anti-ship missile systems to coastal areas.

China’s official state news agency Xinhua said on Friday the drills were “legitimate, timely and entirely necessary, as ‘Taiwan independence’ acts in any form cannot be tolerated”.

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