OPINION:
The U.S. decapitation strike on Venezuela sparks People’s Liberation Army copycat fears in Taiwan and puts China’s Taiwan saber-rattling into focus.
The surprise American attack gives China an opportunity to promote itself as a responsible global power and makes it easier for Chinese officials to forcefully assert their own interests in Taiwan. The attack on Venezuela could further encourage China to intervene forcefully in its own neighborhood, with risks especially high for Taiwan.
If the U.S. is drawn into a prolonged entanglement in Venezuela, it could open a door for China to move against Taiwan while American officials are distracted.
China will probably want to wait and see whether the Americans end up in a quagmire in Venezuela. If that happens, then attacking Taiwan becomes much more of a temptation.
Anxiety is especially high that China could now act in a similar fashion against regional leaders it deems problematic in Taiwan. Earlier this month, China held enormous war games entirely encircling the island of 24 million in apparent response to a record $11.1 billion American arms package to Taipei.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that President Trump and the MAGA movement want to control the Western Hemisphere and will let China take Taiwan and control the Pacific.
KENT WANG
Advisory commissioner for the Overseas Community Affairs Council, Republic of China (Taiwan) in the United States
Potomac Falls, Virginia
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