A Looming Threat of Chinese Intrusion into the island nation of Taiwan 🇨🇳 🇹🇼

The news of Chinese forces violating the Taiwanese airspace and conducting military drills around the island captures the headlines of Newspapers in every month or two. But, recently, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping during its 20th National Congress, asserted for the greater reunification of China with Taiwan and also issued a proclamation that Beijing would never vow to renounce the use of force against the self governed island. This statement by the Chinese leader rang up the alarm bells of major nations of the world as it could spur a war down the line. 

After such a bone chilling statement, especially at a time when the Chinese ruler begins his third term, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cautioned the global community about the speeding of plans of the sieze of Taiwan by the Chinese forces. Although, it remains ambiguity on the part of US whether it could come in defence of Taiwan in case of a Chinese intrusion.

However, this issue takes us few months back, when tensions mount in the Taiwan Strait, after the high profile visit by US speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to Taipei. Beijing showcased its military might and conducted a series of military drills to allude the world about its prowess to take hold of the island nation. On the other hand, Taipei did its own series of manoeuvres and reiterated its stance of not bogging down to Chinese hegemony and to continue scale up its defences.  

These instances, put the spotlight on the larger picture and compels the government mandarins, geopolitical analysts and major think tanks to mull on to the reasons that will lead the Chinese President to officially launch a major blockade or a military offensive against Taiwan and also the ramifications of such a dreadful event. 

Many analysts believe that , since Covid had wreaked havoc in China and due to the zero tolerance policy by the government to control the virus which led total lockdown. This move affected the lives of the ordinary people and ofcourse it also adversely impacted the country's economy. So, its president needs a major event in his presidency to prove its mettle and also it could turn the eyes of its compatriots from the debacle of mismanagement of Covid to the country's expansion. Secondly, the founding father of the modern People's Republic of China Mao Zedong , under which the country witnessed gigantic expansions is one of most followed leader in the country's history. If Taiwan gets annexed to mainland China under the leadership of Xi Jinping, it would portray him as someone who can be comparable to the infamous Mao. 

Moreover, the repercussions of such an intrusion would have many spill over effects around the globe. Firstly, Taiwan being a major semiconductor producer, disruption in the supply chains would adversely affect the market. Prices of electronic devices would skyrocket. To prepare for this foreseeable future, many countries including the USA are  hugely investing to produce semiconductors domestically. Secondly, countries such as Japan might come in defence of Taiwan, which would only enlarge the conflict. Thirdly, the ambition of expansionism would only intensify and it can be a cause of worry for India, because places like Arunachal Pradesh could be line up next. 

It is imperative for countries like United States and other western nations to embolden the defence of Taiwan and provide it with the state of the art military hardware and also come in defence of small island nation . If western nations fails to come in defence, it will once again prove after the Russia Ukraine War as not a reliable defence partner. Countries should also support Taiwan internationally and should renounce One China Policy as, Beijing fails to keep up its agreements and never walk the talk.