Chinese warships sailing near the Taiwan Strait.
Before Taiwan’s newly elected President Lai Ching-te came to power in May, China has started putting pressure on the neighboring country. China increased its activities near the Taiwan Strait. It is continuously increasing the deployment of its fighter planes, warships and submarines in these areas. Therefore, Taiwan is facing continuous Chinese pressure before its next president comes to power in May. Taipei officials fear Beijing could further weaken the island’s territory without resorting to direct conflict.
Current Vice President Lai Ching-te won the presidential election in January. Now in May he will assume the charge of the post of President. China views Lai as a separatist. So she diverted an air route across the narrow Taiwan Strait and began regular coast guard patrols around the Taiwan-controlled area off Kinmen Island, which adjoins the Chinese coast. Due to this the tension in Taiwan is increasing. China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own, but the island has always vehemently rejected its claim.
A foreign official who tracks security issues in the region described what was happening as a form of pressure to send a message without war that Beijing does not like Lai. China has done this twice in the past around the island for one and a half years. One way to do this is to force direct or military confrontation. “This is part of a pattern of gradually changing the status quo in the Taiwan Strait,” the source said on condition of anonymity. On the sensitivity of the matter, China says the coast guard patrols are to ensure the safety of its fishermen.
Chinese fisherman was killed in Kinmen last month
Last month, two Chinese fishermen were killed by Taiwan’s coast guard while trying to flee Kinmen Island. He had come very close to one of the heavily fortified islands of Kinmen. Asked on Wednesday whether the Kinmen tensions were part of China’s pressure on Lai, a Chinese spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office did not directly answer, reiterating China’s authority over coast guard patrols. “Both sides of the Taiwan Strait are part of China, and Taiwan is part of China,” Zhu Fenglian said. China says it alone has sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait, and does not recognize any “off-limits” waters to its fishermen around Kinmen. Taiwan strongly rejects China’s territorial claims. (Reuters)
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