Taiwan is holding it’s presidential election this weekend and the United States has sent 2 aircraft carrier battle groups to the Taiwan region for training exercises. The U.S. has typically deployed carrier battle groups around Taiwan to basically discourage China from doing anything “provocative”. If you’re not familiar, China as repeatedly stated that Taiwan is a province of China and that if Taiwan declares independence, it will use force if necessary to bring Taiwan under its rule. This would basically entail a full-scale invasion of Taiwan. In the past China has sought to influence Taiwan’s elections by trying to intimidate the electorate, sometimes firing missiles into the Taiwan Straight.
More information about the deployment here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1934158120080319
I can’t speak specifically on Taiwanese politics but Taiwan is my “mother” country and I care very much for its well-being. My position is that Taiwan is a completely independent, sovereign nation. Communist rule and things like state-controlled media goes against basic principles of freedom. Goverment oppression of dissension, civil liberties, and free speech are just wrong. That’s why I don’t want Taiwan to be ruled by China.
But the ever-present threat of military force is worrisome because I have many relatives in Taiwan. China has hundreds of missiles, with more every year, pointed directly at Taiwan. Although Taiwan has purchased advanced military equipment, ships, and aircraft from the U.S., I doubt it can withstand a full scale invasion by China for very long without U.S. intervention. I only hope the U.S. continues to support Taiwan’s security.
Here’s some articles on this subject if you’re interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_status_of_Taiwan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_Relations_Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Assurances
As an aside, the aircraft carrier is a formidable ship and has become a symbol of American military power. The U.S. is the only country to operate what are known as supercarriers. Not only does a carrier house of dozens of fighter jets and bombers, each carrier is accompanied by an array of additional support ships like destroyers. That’s why it’s called a “battle group”. The carrier is so valuable because it enables “force projection” – the military can deploy a sizable air force almost anywhere in the world without airbases.
Leave a Reply