US congressional delegation arrives in Taiwan

US congressional delegation arrives in Taiwan

As Markey’s delegation arrived in Taipei, Chinese fighter jets, bombers and airborne early warning aircraft departed for Thailand for joint exercises with the Royal Thai Air Force.

Meanwhile, the US is holding joint exercises in Indonesia with the Australian, Japanese, and Singaporean forces, while the Pentagon announced last week that the US Navy will conduct “air and maritime transits” through the Taiwan Strait in the coming weeks, while the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group will remain stationed in the region.

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As US lawmakers make more provocative visits, China’s determination to solve Taiwan question sooner rather than later also rises

Several US lawmakers made a visit to the island of Taiwan via US military aircraft on Sunday. This is new provocation. On the same day, it’s revealed by the Taiwan side that China’s PLA sent 22 military aircraft and six warships for combat readiness security patrols in the Taiwan Straits and some of them crossed the so-called median line, which the mainland doesn’t recognize.

Moscow prioritises ties with Myanmar

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Myanmar on August 3 shows that the relationship is assuming a strategic character. The Foreign Ministry in a press release on August 2 highlighted that the relationship is “one of the priorities of foreign policy in the Asia–Pacific region, an important factor in ensuring peace, stability and sustainable development.”

Moscow prioritises ties with Myanmar

China cuts ties with US on critical issues

Beijing has severed communication with Washington in several areas in retaliation for Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan

China cuts ties with US on critical issues

H/T: THE NEW DARK AGE

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Beijing Cancels U.S.-China Military Bilateral Efforts

China’s cancelation of the three military-to-military cooperation could have national security consequences given it reduces the level of engagement between the United States and China. To that end, the China-U.S. Defense Policy Coordination Talks (DPCT) have been in place since early 2005, designed to provide senior level dialogue in support of the China-U.S. Military Maritime Consultative Agreement (MMCA). The MMCA, in place since 1998, is meant to reduce the likelihood of an inadvertent incident at sea.

With the cancelation of the DPCT and MMCA, the likelihood of an incident similar to that which took place in April 2001, when a U.S. EP-3E Aries II aircraft collided with a Chinese aircraft. The EP-3 was able to make an emergency landing on China’s Hainan Island. The 24 crew members were taken into custody and eventually released some 10 days later. It would not be until July 2001 when the dismantled EP3 was flown out of China.

The ability for Defense Secretary Austin to communicate directly with the PRC Minister of National Defense, General Wei Fenghe remains in place. Indeed, in June 2022, Austin and Wei held one-on-one discussions in Singapore where they discussed improving crisis management. Those discussions have clearly been overtaken by events of the day. In addition, “The Secretary reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Strait, opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo, and called on the PRC to refrain from further destabilizing actions toward Taiwan,” according to the Department of Defense readout in the meeting.

On The ‘Woke’ Flight To Taiwan + More

On The ‘Woke’ Flight To Taiwan

That too old ‘woke’ lady with the massive freezer full of very expensive ice-cream let it know through Taiwanese media that she wants to arrive in Taipei tomorrow, August 2, at 22:30 local time (14:30 UTC) and stay over night.

There is also this thought, by Cynthia Chung, which might become relevant:

In October 2019, Jake Sullivan, who became U.S. National Security Advisor in 2021, stated in an interview that the U.S. needed a clear threat to rally the world and play the role of saviour of mankind and that China could be that organizing principle for U.S. foreign policy. In the 2019 interview, he acknowledges that the problem was that people were not going to believe that China is a global threat, that their view of China is too positive and that the United States would need a “Pearl Harbour moment,” a real focusing event to change their minds, something he calmly stated that “would scare the hell out of the American people.”

She correctly traces such ‘Pearl Harbour moment’ thinking back to neo-conservative movement. Chung closes with this:

Thus, when Jake Sullivan observes that there is not enough anti-China sentiment to bolster an image of the United States as a “saviour of mankind” against China and that America is in need of a “Pearl Harbour moment” I would be very wary.

The circus around Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in the coming days, and evident glee that is coming forth from many of these neocons frothing at the mouth over this prospect is a clear sign that something incredibly reckless and stupid is about to happen.

Pelosi’s airplane might indeed be shot down on her completely irrelevant and unnecessary trip to Taiwan, and if it is, don’t be surprised if it was the Americans themselves who are behind it, who have shown they are willing to do anything for that “Pearl Harbour moment.”

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