China once again flexed its bully military muscle in an attempt to intimidate the island democracy of Taiwan. They dispatched air, navy, and rocket troops to conduct joint live-fire drills in what Beijing called a "stern warning" against separatist and "external interference" forces, reports the Associated Press.
Destroyers, frigates, bombers, along with other vehicles and weapons were deployed in the north and southwest areas of the Taiwan Strait. Meanwhile, Taiwan said that it was placing its forces on alert and called the Chinese government "the biggest destroyer of peace."
The drills are in response to Beijing’s displeasure with other nations coming in defense of Taiwan. Recently, the U.S. conducted its largest arms sale to Taiwan, and Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, is speaking out against China’s aggression. She said that their military could get involved if any action is taken against the island territory. When the drill was announced on Monday, China made no mention of the actions or warnings from the other two nations.
Bob Maginnis is a national defense analyst and president of Maginnis Strategies, LLC. He says that China's exercises provided a means for the communist regime to provoke nationalism.
"Which helps the Communist regime in Beijing, primarily because they are suffering some serious economic problems. And of course, there is the questions about the stability of President Xi's hold on the chairmanship in Beijing," says Maginnis.
Maginnis states is that the U.S. is accelerating its sales of weapons and showing far more support to the Taiwanese.
"This has disturbed the communist regime to no end. I'm not surprised that they're staging exercises, which is always intended to provoke the object, and that of course is the independent movement in Taiwan. But at the same time, it's to help raise the nationalistic interest in Communist China," says Maginnis.
