In Taiwan, America Does Well by Doing Good

Sailors stand near fighter jets on the deck of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy aircraft carrier Liaoning as it participates in a naval parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of China's PLA Navy in the sea near Qingdao, in eastern China's Shandong Province, on April 23, 2019. Mark Schiefelbein/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

Every few days now, Beijing finds an excuse to conduct another menacing act against Taiwan.

The latest included 32 aircraft and 9 naval vessels of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), sent to surround Taiwan in another mock blockade. This included a combat drone that followed Taiwan’s coast. Between Aug. 25 and Aug. 26, twenty of the aircraft crossed Taiwan’s median line in the strait or entered its air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

On Aug. 19, Beijing sent 42 military aircraft toward Taiwan, with 26 crossing the median line.

The PLA launched its first blockade exercise last August when then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited President Tsai Ing-wen. That made headline news.

Now, over-the-median flights, ADIZ incursions, practice blockades, and PLA video releases of screaming Chinese soldiers doing pushups in the surf seem to be coming fast and furious.

The strait was much quieter three years ago.

Is the latest pulsing of Taiwan’s borders an indicator of imminent invasion?

U.S. officials have warned that we should be more prepared for an invasion that could come any day.

Or, is a Hong Kong financial analyst interviewed by Bloomberg on Aug. 23 correct in saying that China is a “rational actor” and would not do something so self-damaging as to put its foot on Taiwanese soil? Surely, an invasion would be economically disastrous for China, which is already courting economic disaster.

Could Chinese leader Xi Jinping be following Sun Tzu’s Art of War and deceiving us? That seems a certainty.

As Sun Tzu says, “When able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”

There are strategic reasons for Mr. Xi to appear ready to attack Taiwan while not planning to do so in the near future. Perhaps he wants to encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin in his war against Ukraine, which is, at least, partially distracting the West from China for the moment. Perhaps Mr. Xi thinks he is obligated to reinforce his claims by responding to every last Taiwanese “transgression” of acting like an independent government. Perhaps he is attempting to distract the Chinese people by beating a war drum that makes it harder to perceive their many economic troubles. Perhaps it is all of the above.

Regardless, Taiwan and its allies must increase their military preparedness. Schooled by Ukraine in the new arts of war, Taiwan produces its own drones and submarines and purchases F-16V fighters from the United States. These are now equipped with advanced infrared search and track systems (IRST) to target enemy jets.

Air Force soldiers prepare to load US-made Harpoon AGM-84 anti-ship missiles in front of an F-16V fighter jet during a drill at Hualien Air Force base, Taiwan, on Aug. 17, 2022. Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images

The F-16V jets, along with Ms. Tsai’s planned visit to Africa and the Chinese Communist Party’s attempt to “rattle the people of Taiwan and impact voters’ decisions ahead of next year’s presidential election,” are supposedly the point of the latest blockade, according to Focus Taiwan. It’s hard to see how such a blockade would do anything other than push Taiwanese and world sentiment toward greater support for independence.

On Aug. 24, Taiwan announced a 3.5 percent increase in military spending to $19 billion. Much of that will go to the United States.

“From 2019 to August 2022, the U.S. Government has notified Congress of more than US$17.8 billion in arms sales to Taiwan,” according to the U.S. Commerce Department. “In addition to F-16V jets, major arms sales since 2019 included F-16 Block 79, MK-48 Mod 6AT, PAC-3, SLAM-ER, M1A2T Tanks, HIMARS, F-16 MS110 Recce Pods, Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems, Field Information Communication System, MQ-9B, spare parts for tanks and combat vehicles, plus technical assistance, among others.”

One must admit that the U.S. aerospace defense industry is a major beneficiary of Taiwan’s defense needs. Supplying Taiwan makes America’s “arsenal of democracy” more powerful and less expensive for the defense of ourselves and other democracies globally.

While some isolationists in the United States oppose U.S. support of frontline democracies like Ukraine and Taiwan, they have little good reason to do so. Ukraine and Taiwan are doing the fighting or taking the brunt of the risks for not only their defense but also ours.

Should Moscow or Beijing win these conflicts, they will become emboldened, have greater territorial and technological resources, and, therefore, become even greater risks to the United States. By nipping the threats from Russia and China in the bud before they reach American shores, the United States buys its own security on the cheap and makes a profit while doing so. We do well by doing good.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.