For several days now Taiwanan island the size of the Netherlands in the South China Sea remains under Chinese control.

China has held large-scale military exercises in the Taiwan Strait involving dozens of fighters, bombers, warships and even an aircraft carrier, and even blockaded the island.

The Taiwan Ministry of Defense recorded 91 flights of Chinese aircraft around the island on Monday, which the Central News Agency said is a record, although the ministry itself declined to confirm this.

Beijing considers Taiwan a province that has yet to be reunited with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. President Xi Jinping said that “reunification with Taiwan must happen” without actually ruling out the use of force to achieve the goal.

On the other hand, Taiwan identifies itself as territory other than mainland Chinawith its own constitution and its own democratically elected government.

What led to the escalation?

The turning point in relations between Taiwan and China comes in August 2022, when the then chairman of the House of Representatives paid an official visit to the island. Nancy Pelosi.

Beijing strongly condemned the visit as “extremely dangerous” as the country moves into flurry of military exercises using ballistic missiles.

Taiwan countered that actions that force international commercial aviation and shipping to seek alternative routes in the South China Sea violate its national sovereignty.

Since then, tensions between them have steadily increased.

Military power of China and Taiwan

China will try to bring back the “reunification” theme through non-military means, such as strengthening economic ties.

China’s military is far superior to Taiwan’s. China’s defense spending is the largest of any country in the world except the United States, and the range of military capabilities is vast, from maritime hegemony to advanced missile technology and cyberattacks.

Taiwan and… others

China does not appear to be taking a positive view of the Taipei-Washington rapprochement, which, despite the lack of official relations, provides the island with significant military support.

Why Taiwan matters

Taiwanese economy extremely important and any disruption to normal life is expected to affect the planet.

Much of the electronic equipment used by millions of people around the world every day, from cell phones, laptops and game consoles to auto parts and heavy industrial equipment, is powered by chips made in Taiwan. In particular, the island produces more than 60% of the world’s chips – and about 90% of the most complex of them.

Only one Taiwanese company, TSMS (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), a company that manufactures chips for both commercial and military applications. owns more than half of the world marketwhich is worth more than $100 billion in 2021.

In the event of an invasion, semiconductor manufacturing plants could be damaged or fall under Chinese controlwhich would also have huge economic consequences, since control of the vast industry of the world’s most advanced semiconductors would give Beijing huge and global economic advantage.

But beyond the economic implications, a possible Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan, with or without the use of military force, would have broader implications, political and geostrategic, that would concern on the one hand, the future of political freedom in the world and on the other side of her international balance of power.

The Chinese Communist Party claims that one-party rule is the ideal political system for China. However, Hong Kong and Taiwan follow the pattern of liberal political life.

Rahman points out in his article that if China becomes a catalyst for Taiwan autonomy, then American influence in the region will be dealt a serious blow. Faced with the prospect of a new hegemonic power in the Indo-Pacific region, the countries of the region, Japan, South Korea, Australia (among others that rely to some extent on US security guarantees) will react, perhaps deciding to change their political stance. towards their sharp, now powerful neighbor and even mooring cart.

“The idea that Europe will not suffer from this rebalancing is outrageous. (…) One might argue that abstract concepts like “hegemony” mean little to citizens. However, this feature of Taiwan’s economic growth and technological influence means that potential Chinese control of the island will quickly have serious implications for standard of living of ordinary citizens around the worldadds Rahman.

Source: Financial Times/BBC.