China threatens war as Joe Biden continues the outreach to Taiwan By Gordon G. Chang

[mystery-ak]

China threatens war as Joe Biden continues the outreach to Taiwan
By Gordon G. Chang, opinion contributor — 01/26/21 09:00 AM EST

Over the weekend, China sent large numbers of military aircraft into the southwestern portion of Taiwan’s air-defense identification zone, near the strategic Pratas Islands, which guard the southern approach to the Taiwan Strait. Saturday’s demonstration of air power was especially provocative, including eight nuclear-capable H6K bombers and fast-moving fighters used in offensive operations. Although the Chinese planes stayed in international airspace, Beijing apparently wanted to deliver hostile messages to Taipei. The Sunday flight was the twentieth Chinese air incursion in less than a month.

The air exercises also sent a warning to the Biden administration. It did not take long for the Biden team to push back. The State Department on Saturday issued a statement calling on China to “cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan’s democratically elected representatives.” It pointedly declared America’s “commitment to Taiwan is rock solid.”

Perhaps most significantly, the statement mentioned the robust but often ignored Reagan-era “Six Assurances.” As John Tkacik, a retired foreign service officer who served in Beijing and Taipei, told me, “The Biden commitment to the ‘Six Assurances’ is diplomatese for ‘the U.S. does not accept China’s claims to sovereignty over Taiwan.’”

more
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/535819-china-threatens-war-as-joe-biden-continues-the-outreach-to-taiwan