IT IS now the turn of the People’s Republic of China to poke and humiliate US Imperialism and its minions in Europe and Asia by announcing the conduct of 4-days of live military drills in the surrounding areas of its renegade province, Taiwan, after its warning against the visit of US Congress Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, last Tuesday, August 2, fell on deaf ears.
The military exercises promptly started on Wednesday, just hours after Pelosi, who is closely tied with the US MIC (military industrial complex), left the province.
The next day, Thursday, August 4, 2022, Chinese warships and fighter planes joined in earnest for the conduct of the biggest Chinese air and naval exercises around Taiwan using live ammunition and missiles with both the US and Taiwanese military unable to stop nor prevent the drills except to issue protests and condemnations.
China is conducting drills on the busiest international waterways and aviation routes, described as “irresponsible, illegitimate behavior” by Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party in a statement carried out by the Western mainstream media.
But other than condemnation, US Imperialism can only watch in humiliation with the US Navy staying away, unlike in a previous occasion in 1995 (the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis,) under the Clinton administration, when it sent its naval carrier force to the Taiwan Strait to send the message to China that US Imperialism is the real military power in the Pacific.
US Imperialism’s hesitation this time around also send the clear message that when push comes to shove, Taiwan and its separatist elements would be left alone to fend for themselves.
It is also a tacit admission that US Imperialism has become careful of the growing military power of China and that China is now no longer a ‘pushover’ state.
Taiwan is China, US Imperialism admits
After the triumph of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the Chinese Civil War in October 1949, the remainder of the US-armed puppets, the Koumintang (KMT) headed by Chiang Kai Shek, fled to Formosa, another name for Taiwan.
Taiwan has been part of the territory of China since1683, during the Qing Dynasty, but was lost to Japanese Imperialism in 1895 during the First Sino-Japanese War.
At the height of the Second World War, in 1943, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Gen. Chiang Kai Shek, representing China, issued the ‘Cairo Declaration’ where the parties agreed that “all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa, and The Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China.”
“Japan will also be expelled from all other territories which she has taken by violence and greed.
“The aforesaid three great powers, mindful of the enslavement of the people of Korea, are determined that in due course Korea shall become free and independent,” the declaration further said.
However, after the KMT lost the civil war to the CCP in 1949 despite massive US military assistance, US Imperialism decided to reneged on its commitment under the Cairo Declaration by protecting and propping up Taiwan.
When the Korean Civil War erupted in 1950, US Imperialism, aside from intervening in the internal affairs of the Korean people to decide the issue for themselves, sent the US 7th Fleet not to the waters off the Korean Peninsula—but to the Taiwan Strait, despite Taiwan not being a part of the conflict that eventually draws in China.
On February 27, 1972, during the visit of US President Richard Nixon to China, both sides issued the ‘Shanghai Communique’ where US Imperialism “acknowledged” that there is only one China. Part of the communique approved by both Nixon and Chinese Premier Zou Enlai reads:
“The United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The United States Government does not challenge that position. It reaffirms its interest in a peaceful settlement of the Taiwan question by the Chinese themselves.
“With this prospect in mind, it affirms the ultimate objective of the withdrawal of all US forces and military installations from Taiwan. In the meantime, it will progressively reduce its forces and military installations on Taiwan as the tension in the area diminishes.”
US Imperialism’s acknowledgement of Taiwan being a part of China was affirmed under the January 1, 1979 ‘Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations’ between the PROC and the United States signed by US President Jimmy Carter and Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.
Under its terms, US Imperialism also agreed to withdraw all its military personnel in Taiwan and the end of the ‘Sino-Ame3rican Mutual Defense Treaty (SAMDT), the Eisenhower administration signed with Taiwan in 1955.
US Imperialism’s change of attitude and basis of conflict with China
In 1982, under the Reagan administration, US Imperialism started to demonstrate its ambiguity and hesitation in honoring its commitment under the first two communiques. Reagan is the most hawkish US President of the modern era.
While the August 17th (1982) communique made mention of America’s commitment to the ‘One China’ policy, it refused to stop selling military hardware to Taiwan, a decision that extends up to this time.
In the same year, US Imperialism sabotaged its relationship with the PROC when the US passed the ‘Taiwan Relations Act’ even as the US State Department, with the support of the US Congress, issued the ‘Six Assurances’ to Taiwan to clarify its position on the August 17th Communique.
These 6 assurances completely negated what both the US and China relations have achieved and are now the bedrock of US policy with regards to Taiwan and China.
A concurrent resolution passed by the US Congress on May 16, 2016 elaborated on these assurances and are the seeds underpinning the possible military clash between China and the United States over the issue of Taiwan, namely:
- The United States would not set a date for termination of arms sales to Taiwan;
- The United States would not alter the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act;
- The United States would not consult with China in advance before making decisions about United States arms sales to Taiwan;
- The United States would not mediate between Taiwan and China;
- The United States would not alter its position about the sovereignty of Taiwan which was, that the question was one to be decided peacefully by the Chinese themselves, and would not pressure Taiwan to enter into negotiations with China; and
- The United States would not formally recognize Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan.
These assurances to Taiwan completely abrogated what the US has committed to China under the first two communiques. This makes clear that it was US Imperialism’s hypocrisy in its dealings with China that is causing the tension in Asia in relation to Taiwan.