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New Cold War? U.S., China Defense Chiefs Square Off in Singapore

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U.S. and Chinese military leaders squared off at a major security conference in Singapore: Beijing asserted that its forces are ready for war over Taiwan, while U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin chided China for its increasingly aggressive military actions in the region.

Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu bluntly told the Shangri-La dialogue defense conference that Beijing seeks “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan, but will “make no promise to renounce the use of force” if necessary to make the island democracy part of China.

“If anyone dares to separate Taiwan from China, the Chinese military will not hesitate for a second,” he said. “We will fear no opponents and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity regardless of any cost.”

Gen. Li’s comments came a day after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. military is stepping up plans, coordination and training to “deter aggression.”

The competing remarks, in speeches at Shangri-La last weekend, underscored the depths of U.S.-China tensions. The strains were on display ahead of the security conference when Chinese jets engaged in a dangerous aerial intercept of a U.S. surveillance aircraft in the region last week. (Read more from “New Cold War? U.S., China Defense Chiefs Square Off in Singapore” HERE)

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Top Taiwanese Official Responds to Biden’s Remarks About Us Troops in Taiwan

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A top Taiwanese official responded Monday to the Biden administration repeatedly clarifying President Joe Biden’s remarks about Taiwan, saying the U.S. can have “different interpretations” about the “One China” policy, but that there is also “One Taiwan.”

Biden has vowed to send U.S. troops in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, seemingly departing from a decades-long practice of U.S. non-commitment to military action. In response, the Biden administration scrambled to maintain that the U.S. stands by its “One China” policy and does not encourage Taiwanese independence.

“I think we have different interpretations for the so-called ‘One China’ policy. I also agree with [the] ‘One China’ policy, but I would add ‘One Taiwan’ as well,” You Si-kun, the president of the Taiwanese Legislative Yuan, told the Daily Caller.

Under the “One China” policy, the U.S. recognizes that the Chinese government is the only government but merely acknowledges the Chinese position that Taiwan is a part of China. Officially, the policy of “strategic ambiguity” means that the U.S. has an unofficial relationship with the island.

China maintains the “One China” principle, which argues that Taiwan is a part of China and denies that there are two different countries. (Read more from “Top Taiwanese Official Responds to Biden’s Remarks About Us Troops in Taiwan” HERE)

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U.S. To Fast-Track $500M Military Package to Taiwan: Report

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The United States is reportedly fast-tracking a $500 million military aid package to Taiwan as top officials grow concerned about the pace of Chinese aggression against the island nation.

The Biden administration is planning to use authority that it has relied on to expedite aid to Ukraine, according to Bloomberg. The Defense Department will take from stockpiles of U.S. weapons and ammunition under the Presidential Drawdown Authority to give to Taiwan.

The package would be the first sent to Taiwan using the drawdown authority. The Biden administration is looking to streamline U.S. aid to Taiwan because of assessments that China is undeterred in its ambition to retake the island nation.

The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act allocated $3 billion in annual military aid to Taiwan, according to Defense News. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March that the Pentagon intends to send $1 billion in aid to Taiwan with the Presidential Drawdown Authority.

The Biden administration has already sent tens of billions of dollars-worth of aid to Ukraine using the fast-track authority since Russia’s invasion last year. Between January 2022 to February 2023, the United States has committed nearly $80 billion in aid to Ukraine, according to a tracker at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. About $48 billion of that aid is military, $4 billion is humanitarian, and $27 billion is economic. (Read more from “U.S. To Fast-Track $500M Military Package to Taiwan: Report” HERE)

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Top House Republican Warns: U.S. Needs to Arm Taiwan Fast, Beef up U.S. Military Presence to Avoid War

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Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) warned during an interview over the weekend that China is using all means of warfare available to try to take over Taiwan.

Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that the Chinese Communist Party was trying to intimidate the U.S. with their recent military exercises near Taiwan.

Chinese dictator “Xi Jinping would love to achieve that reunification without force if possible,” Gallagher said. “And the way to do that is through psychological warfare. It’s through economic coercion. It’s through political warfare. And that’s really what President Tsai of Taiwan has been warning us about.”

“It’s what she calls cognitive warfare. So it’s important for the American people not to be intimidated,” he continued. “And the fact that the Chinese were throwing a temper tantrum about the speaker of the House meeting with the democratically elected leader of Taiwan on American soil just shows you how sensitive they are.” (Read more from “Top House Republican Warns: U.S. Needs to Arm Taiwan Fast, Beef up U.S. Military Presence to Avoid War” HERE)

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China War Preparations Go Into Overdrive

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It is surely time to get real. A conflict is now brewing in Asia as a revanchist China – led by its Communist Party (CCP) – seems fully committed to unite with the island democracy of Taiwan, separated from the mainland by just over 100 miles of water. The CCP cannot realistically back down, having marched its people all the way to the top of the hill, the loss of face of marching them all the way back down would be excruciating.

For those who think the Russo-Ukraine war will have put the CCP off, consider not only that the West has thrown the kitchen sink at that conflict – able to hold Russia back but also now having run down many of its own inventories – but Chinese state media has never stopped telling the Chinese people that Russia is both justified and victorious, adding yet more pressure on Beijing to make a move on Taiwan.

Yes, the CCP wants to eliminate the embarrassment of a Han Chinese democracy on its doorstep. Yes, it wants to ‘make China whole again’.

Yes, it wants to get hold of Taiwan’s all-important semiconductor industry, especially after the US semiconductor export ban on China (although how much countries would cooperate with a CCP-controlled Taiwan electronics sector is up for debate).

But the biggest driver is to dominate the deep waters of the Pacific. Put simply, China cannot possibly have peer competitor status with the US – something the CCP desperately wants and needs – without dominating its own maritime backyard, and the sea lanes upon which US allies like Japan depend. (Read more from “China War Preparations Go Into Overdrive” HERE)

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Daunting Warning About China’s Military as Washington Prepares for the Worst

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Concerns over a Chinese invasion of Taiwan continue to mount with Beijing now suspected of involvement in damaging some of the island nation’s undersea internet cables this week in another show of deliberate harassment.

The disruption to Taiwan’s internet was not only a nuisance for the island’s inhabitants and visitors, it also revealed significant implications for Taiwan’s national security.

There is no definitive evidence that China purposefully cut the internet lines, but the incident brought renewed attention to what an attack on Taiwan might look like and whether the U.S. would be able to adequately stop it.

U.S. war games involving a Chinese takeover of Taiwan generally involve a large-scale amphibious attack that would attempt to quickly and efficiently take the island and its international allies by surprise.

President Biden has said he will send troops to counter a Chinese land invasion, which would likely prompt responses from other regional U.S. allies and could make this form of assault costly and deadly for all parties involved. (Read more from “Daunting Warning About China’s Military as Washington Prepares for the Worst” HERE)

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China Will Target the US Homeland in War Over Taiwan, Army Leader Predicts

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China will attack the American homeland if “a major war” erupts over Taiwan or elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. Army’s top civilian expects.

“If we got into a major war with China, the United States homeland would be at risk as well with both kinetic attacks and non-kinetic attacks — whether it’s cyberattacks on the power grid or on pipelines,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said Monday at the American Enterprise Institute. “They are going to go after the will of the United States public. They’re going to try to erode support for a conflict.”

China will attack the American homeland if “a major war” erupts over Taiwan or elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. Army’s top civilian expects.

“If we got into a major war with China, the United States homeland would be at risk as well with both kinetic attacks and non-kinetic attacks — whether it’s cyberattacks on the power grid or on pipelines,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said Monday at the American Enterprise Institute. “They are going to go after the will of the United States public. They’re going to try to erode support for a conflict.”

Flynn and Wormuth touted the importance of the U.S. Army in the competition with China, an argument advanced at least in part to urge lawmakers not to forget about the Army in the upcoming spending process. Fiscal fights of the last decade often have forced the federal government to operate a funding mechanism known as a “continuing resolution,” which authorizes federal officials to spend money according to the plans set by previous budgets — a process that, according to Wormuth, has constrained the military’s ability to prepare for the risk of a clash with China. (Read more from “China Will Target the US Homeland in War Over Taiwan, Army Leader Predicts” HERE)

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Biden Makes a Big Move on Taiwan

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As President Joe Biden works to confront multiple threats to freedom around the world after botching the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and failing to dissuade Putin from invading Ukraine, he’s sending more American service members to Taiwan in the face of escalating aggression from Beijing.

According to a dispatch on the development from The Wall Street Journal, the Biden administration is “markedly increasing the number of troops deployed to Taiwan, more than quadrupling the current number to bolster a training program for the island’s military amid a rising threat from China.”

Via WSJ:

The U.S. plans to deploy between 100 and 200 troops to the island in the coming months, up from roughly 30 there a year ago, according to U.S. officials. The larger force will expand a training program the Pentagon has taken pains not to publicize as the U.S. works to provide Taipei with the capabilities it needs to defend itself without provoking Beijing.

The number of American troops, which has included special-operations forces and U.S. Marines, has fluctuated by a handful during the past few years, according to Defense Department data. The planned increase would be the largest deployment of forces in decades by the U.S. on Taiwan, as the two draw closer to counter China’s growing military power.

(Read more from “Biden Makes a Big Move on Taiwan” HERE)

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Biden’s Top China Adviser Out at White House After Balloon Debacle: Report

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Laura Rosenberger, President Joe Biden’s top adviser on matters related to China and Taiwan, will step down in March, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing White House officials.

Rosenberger serves as a special assistant to the president and senior director on the National Security Council and has guided the president amid Washington’s increasing tensions with Beijing and will see out her term as the administration grapples with fallout from the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon in America’s coastal waters on Feb. 4. However, Rosenberger’s plans to step down preceded the balloon invading U.S. airspace and sparking bipartisan concern in Congress of the security implications of the spy balloon incursion, officials told Bloomberg.

“Under President Biden, we are more prepared to outcompete China and advance a free and open Indo-Pacific than ever before,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told Bloomberg. “Since the first day of the administration, Laura’s skilled diplomacy and tenacity have been essential to this administration priority, and we are immensely grateful for her service.”

Rosenberger worked to fortify the U.S.’ unofficial ties with the independently-ruled island of Taiwan, White House officials told Bloomberg.

(Read more from “Biden’s Top China Adviser Out at White House After Balloon Debacle: Report” HERE)

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Warning: Odds of China-Taiwan Conflict ‘Very High’ (VIDEO)

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House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) said on this week’s broadcast of “Fox News Sunday” that the possibility of war between China and Taiwan is “very high.”

Anchor Shannon Bream said, “I want to start with this reports of a top general who is making a comment about a potential war with China in 2025, get your reaction to this. NBC News is citing a memo to his officers with this quote, ‘I hope I am wrong,’ he says to them. ‘My gut tells me will fight in 2025.’ That’s being met with a lot of different reactions, some skepticism this is attributed to the opinion of one man. What do you make of that?”

McCaul said, “I hope he’s wrong as well. I think he’s right, though, unfortunately.”

(Read more from “Warning: Odds of China-Taiwan Conflict ‘Very High’ (VIDEO)” HERE)

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