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Taiwan Spots Chinese Balloons near Island Military Base

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The Taiwanese Defense Ministry tracked four Chinese balloons passing over the Taiwan Strait on Monday and Tuesday. Three of the balloons passed over the center of Taiwan Island, coming fairly close to the airbase at Ching Chuan Kang before disappearing.

Taiwan detected several Chinese balloons passing over the Taiwan Strait last month, but none of those balloons flew directly over the island as Tuesday’s flights did.

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry declined an opportunity to state for the record whether it believed the new balloons were surveillance platforms, weather balloons, or something else. The ministry said that it “closely monitors” all objects entering Taiwanese airspace and “appropriately responds” to each incursion.

Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Sun Li-fang ventured that the four balloons at least resembled the type of platform employed to collect atmospheric data for meteorologists. It seems unusual for Chinese weather balloons to pass directly over Taiwan, something they have never done before.

The balloon sightings raised concerns in light of the February 2023 debacle in which a Chinese spy balloon flew over the continental United States, apparently gathering intelligence from several military installations. President Joe Biden eventually bowed to mounting public pressure and ridicule and ordered the balloon shot down, but not until after its mission was complete. (Read more from “Taiwan Spots Chinese Balloons near Island Military Base” HERE)

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China’s Bold Ultimatum: Xi Jinping Tells Biden of Plans to Take Taiwan

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Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly delivered a blunt and candid message to President Joe Biden, openly stating that China is set on taking over Taiwan, and there’s little the U.S. can do to prevent it. The private remarks, described by NBC News as unusually forthright, emphasized China’s preference for a peaceful takeover but warned of military action if any foreign power intervened.

While U.S. military officials speculate that Xi Jinping aims to annex Taiwan by 2025, the Chinese leader did not confirm an official timeline. The timing of these remarks has sparked concerns among U.S. officials, coinciding with Taiwan’s upcoming elections and China’s escalating aggression toward the island nation.

The Biden administration’s response to this geopolitical challenge reveals a strategy of actively avoiding military conflict with China.

After the meeting, President Biden expressed his focus on maintaining a relationship with China that avoids conflict. This commitment comes amid growing tensions between the two nations, with China accused of rampant intellectual property theft from the U.S. and allegations of supplying precursor chemicals for fentanyl production to Mexican drug cartels, contributing to a public health crisis in America.

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Chinese Generals Rattle Sabers at U.S. On War Over Taiwan

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Chinese generals took aim at the U.S. military on Monday with blunt warnings that foreign forces in a war to take Taiwan will be crushed, but they also held out the prospect of ending a lengthy boycott on direct military-to-military talks with the Pentagon.

People’s Liberation Army Gen. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, said Monday in Beijing that the PLA will “show no mercy” in dealing with attempts by the U.S. or Taiwanese forces to seek independence from the mainland.

“No matter who wishes to separate Taiwan from China in any way, the Chinese military will never agree to it,” Gen. Zhang said. In a veiled reference to the United States, he said “some countries” are working to subvert the Chinese system.

Gen. Zhang also hinted that the PLA might end its 15-month refusal to engage in talks and exchanges with the U.S. military. The boycott was sparked by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s high-profile visit to Taiwan in the summer of 2022.

A second PLA general, Lt. Gen. He Lei, told state media at the conference that a PLA war on Taiwan would be “legitimate” and “just.” (Read more from “Chinese Generals Rattle Sabers at U.S. On War Over Taiwan” HERE)

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Pentagon Outlines Multiple Chinese Attack Plans for Taiwan

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China’s military is building up forces for an attack on Taiwan that could take place in the coming years as part of a campaign by President Xi Jinping for “national rejuvenation,” according to the latest Pentagon’s annual report on the Chinese military.

The report, based on declassified intelligence from the Defense Intelligence Agency, military and other spy services, provides the most detailed U.S. government assessment made public to date of Chinese plans for military action against the self-ruled, democratic island Beijing claims as its territory.

China “continues to signal its willingness to use military force against Taiwan” while asserting it seeks a peaceful solution to cross-strait ties, the report noted. . .

“The PLA has a range of options to coerce Taipei based on its increasing capabilities in multiple domains,” the annual assessment concludes.

One new weapons system near Taiwan disclosed in the report is a long-range multiple rocket artillery system that was tested during war games held near Taiwan in August 2022. Military analyst Tom Shugart said the new rocket system allows the PLA to target the entire island of Taiwan from areas along the Chinese mainland coast. (Read more from “Pentagon Outlines Multiple Chinese Attack Plans for Taiwan” HERE)

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Chinese Military Conducts Massive Dispatch of Jets Near Taiwan

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China’s military stepped up its provocative military operations around Taiwan over the weekend, flying over 100 military aircraft near the island democracy it has vowed one day to take over.

A total of 103 jets were detected on Sunday and 40 of the planes crossed the median line down the middle of the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait, the Taiwan Defense Ministry disclosed in a post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. Nine PLA navy vessels also were spotted, the ministry said.

The Chinese warplanes included 10 Su-30s, 12 J-10s, four J-11s, 10 J-16s, two Y-20 refueling tankers and two KJ-500 warning and control jets.

The latest demonstration followed major PLA war games around Taiwan from Sept. 11-15 that included 20 warships, among them the aircraft carrier Shandong and two other action groups of destroyers and frigates. Taipei said that in response Taiwanese jets were scrambled, naval vessels deployed, and land-based missile systems activated.

The observance of the unofficial maritime dividing line between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland had until recently been a key tool in maintaining a fragile status quo. Analysts say the median-line crossings are the latest indication China is challenging the status quo despite repeated U.S. and Taiwanese complaints. (Read more from “Chinese Military Conducts Massive Dispatch of Jets Near Taiwan” HERE)

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Biden Shifts Some Military Foreign Aid From Middle East Country To Taiwan

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President Joe Biden has reportedly notified Congress that he intends to shift tens of millions of dollars from Egypt to Taiwan for failing to improve in areas that were required to receive the money.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration will withhold $85 million in aid while some lawmakers are pushing the administration to withhold an additional $235 million. The deadline for authorizing the withholding of the aid is September 30.

U.S. officials said that the shifting of money comes in response to Egypt failing to “make progress on human rights and other issues,” the report said.

The conditional aid is only a fraction of the $1.3 billion that the U.S. gives Egypt per year, the report noted, which comes as the two countries have growing disagreements on a variety of matters.

The report said that the administration is planning to redirect at least $55 million to Taiwan and $30 million to Lebanon. (Read more from “Biden Shifts Some Military Foreign Aid From Middle East Country To Taiwan” HERE)

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China Financial Moves a Sign of Coming War, Analyst Warns

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China is making clear preparations for a war against Taiwan in the coming months, according to a conservative financial analyst.

J. Kyle Bass, a hedge fund manager and board member at the Hudson Institute’s China Center, said in a speech Wednesday that the key to preventing a conflict is for the U.S. government to prepare severe financial sanctions on Beijing.

“I think it’s highly likely he invades Taiwan,” Mr. Bass said, speaking of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“I’m not a military strategist or analyst. I’m a financial analyst,” he said in remarks to the China Center. “Looking at all the writing on what I call the great wall, it sure looks like it’s headed in one direction.”

The indicators are such that an attack on the island democracy, which would likely involve U.S. intervention and a wider regional war, could come in the next 12 to 18 months, said Mr. Bass, founder and chief investment officer of Hayman Capital Management. (Read more from “China Financial Moves a Sign of Coming War, Analyst Warns” HERE)

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China’s Burgeoning AI Supremacy Threatens American Stability

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During his opening remarks before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, Sam Altman, the chief executive of the artificial intelligence start-up OpenAI, confirmed what many-a-Luddite have long feared: AI is here to stay, and its proliferation is unavoidable.

Expressing his belief that AI could be used to empower humanity but without guide rails, Altman said its unregulated use could wreak havoc: “OpenAI was founded on the belief that artificial intelligence has the potential to improve nearly every aspect of our lives, but also that it creates serious risks.”

AI, like every other major technological development, presents us with major questions about man’s relationship with nature and how we interface with reality. AI is no exception to this; if anything, it further complicates man’s relationship with the metaphysical, but that’s for another time. In terms of our immediate physical reality, beyond questions of societal redundancy through economic displacement, artificial intelligence presents challenges about the rapidly evolving geopolitical conditions the U.S. is not prepared to adequately address.

In particular, the ongoing digital arms race exposes the U.S. as lacking a cohesive national vision for the integration and utilization of artificial intelligence when compared to Red China’s national strategy. . .

China poses the greatest threat to American interests abroad — to insist otherwise is either ignorant or naive. In 2016, U.S. Air Force officials and the Obama White House warned that the Chinese Communist Party had an extremely well-funded and methodological approach to developing AI. Very clearly attempting to become the world’s leader in artificial intelligence, it was estimated at the time that China intended to invest $70 billion specifically into artificial intelligence research and recently China both increased the number of AI patents filed within the country by 200 percent and surpassed the U.S. in terms of patents filed in a single year. At the same time, communist China’s theft of American intellectual property has continued unabated as agents of the autocratic state steal sensitive information about American tech corporations and universities. (Read more from “China’s Burgeoning AI Supremacy Threatens American Stability” HERE)

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GOP 2024 Candidates Cautious About Committing U.S. Troops to Taiwan

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Republican presidential candidates are wary of committing to sending U.S. forces to Taiwan in the wake of a Chinese attack, telling the Daily Caller that they would not go as far as President Joe Biden’s promise to defend the island nation.

Biden has repeatedly said the U.S. would intervene militarily if China moved against Taiwan, which the Chinese communist government considers a rebel province. The White House has stressed that Biden’s remarks do not represent a departure from America’s longstanding policy of “strategic ambiguity” toward Taiwan and that the U.S. still adheres to the “One China Policy.”

In conversations with the Daily Caller, the campaigns of most Republican presidential candidates did not voice support for sending U.S. troops. Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declined to provide comment. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott emphasized deterrence. Four GOP hopefuls — Vivek Ramaswamy, Larry Elder, Mike Pence and Asa Hutchinson — said directly that they would be open to potentially sending the U.S. military to defend Taiwan.

Ramaswamy has said he would “intervene militarily so long as the U.S. is still dependent on Taiwan for semiconductors,” but “has not said whether that will be boots on the ground or what that would look like,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for Ramaswamy, told the Caller. The conservative entrepreneur has also previously floated the idea of providing Taiwanese civilians with AR-15 rifles and firearms training.

Elder told the Caller that he “would not tie our hands by making a commitment now for a hypothetical situation in the future, but all options would be on the table.” (Read more from “GOP 2024 Candidates Cautious About Committing U.S. Troops to Taiwan” HERE)

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Foreign Legion Fighter Reports Massive Casualties Among Ukrainian Troops

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A Taiwanese volunteer soldier in Ukraine’s foreign legion on Sunday (June 4) uploaded a detailed account of the realities of fighting in the Russo-Ukrainian War.

The Taiwanese soldier, who goes by the handle “I don’t know Mount Lushan” (不識廬山), has recently returned from duty in Ukraine and Sunday uploaded an extremely detailed thread with advice to would-be volunteers considering joining the fight. Topics he covered were the expenses, physical demands, necessary language skills, combat training needed, and the mentality one should possess. . .

The volunteer advised that the lack of sleep and intense physical exertion caused by long missions are taxing. Worse, the soldier warned that the life and death situations on the battlefield, shellshock from constant bombardments, and death of team members can easily “destroy a person’s mind.”

He said that even experienced soldiers can panic and lose their judgment and ability to fight due to fear. The veteran noted that his unit had a casualty rate of 50% and 20% of his teammates were killed in action.

According to the volunteer, his platoon was “annihilated twice” and he was the only member to come out unscathed. Furthermore, he observed that his unit did not fight in the “deadliest war zone.” (Read more from “Foreign Legion Fighter Reports Massive Casualties Among Ukrainian Troops” HERE)

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