China couldn't be clearer in telegraphing their aggressive intentions:
On Monday, the United States sent two warships through the Taiwan Strait in the second such operation this year and the latest in a series of U.S. gestures in support of democratic Taiwan.
"The Taiwan issue is related to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and touches upon China's core interests," Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe said at the opening of the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, which China styles as its answer to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore.
"On this issue, it is extremely dangerous to repeatedly challenge China's bottom line. If someone tries to separate out Taiwan, China's military will take the necessary actions at any cost."
If China takes necessary actions, I think my old scenario for a Chinese invasion hold up very well.
And no matter how good a peaceful union appears, China will spare no expense in tightening Peking's control over time:
China's President Xi Jinping officially opened the world's longest sea bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China Tuesday, at a time when Beijing is tightening its grip on its semi-autonomous territories.
And while I doubt China's civilian rulers would like to risk a war with America over Taiwan given the economic problems that would cause--and hence pose a threat to Chinese Communist Party legitimacy to rule China--the more narrowly focused PLA leaders with an exaggerated sense of their military power might be far more willing to risk war. Could they?
