(Chris Parker, Headline USA) China seems to be offering a glimpse of its strategy to punish and eventually annex the island nation of Taiwan, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi‘s ill-fated overseas trip escalated the deteriorating situation and did nothing to provide any solutions.
The Chinese Communist Party directed its People’s Liberated Army to host several drills immediately following Pelosi’s trip. However, those drills may have hinted at a new strategy despite China’s claimed willingness to take Taiwan by force, reported The Federalist.
The Chinese military drills took the same measures that would be needed to set up a blockade. If true, this means the PLA could simply block imports and exports in the region, thereby starving Taiwan’s economy.
This strategy would help save China significant resources while avoiding the “assets” that it believes it holds in Taiwan. For example, the production capabilities of a Taiwanese city become useless to China if it’s destroyed during an armed conflict.
This notion is supported by another action recently taken by the CCP – and one that has largely escaped public knowledge. China also imposed significant sanctions on Taiwan after Pelosi’s visit.
These sanctions included halting all of China’s imports of Taiwan’s agricultural products while also ceasing its export of sand (a vital constructions material) to Taiwan. So far, China has banned 35 Taiwanese food exporters (a move that preceded Pelosi’s visit).
The CCP has, in effect, already begun its attack on Taiwan’s economy. And if the PLA does enforce a blockade, the impact will be far reaching.
Over 30% of global trade passes through the South China Sea each year. A blockade would devastate a global supply chain that’s still struggling to recover from COVID mandates and the Russian/Ukraine conflict.
It would also cut off the world’s top microchip manufacturer at a time when the world is already facing a critical shortage of chips.
If China continues exercising military drills, it will also be more difficult to distinguish them from actual aggression. Since a Democrat-led delegation of US representatives just visited Taiwan a few days ago, it would not be difficult to believe that China may continue conducting drills or take more aggressive actions.
