China continues Taiwan maneuvers, and Taipei describes the blockade as a failure
China continued its large-scale live-fire military exercises around Taiwan for the second day on Tuesday, in an escalation of tensions in response to US military support for Taipei. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that Beijing would "firmly oppose" recent US arms sales to Taiwan, emphasizing that his country would not stand idly by in the face of what it considers a violation of its sovereignty.
The context of the tension and Wang Yi's statements
In a speech delivered in Beijing, Wang Yi linked military movements to the global economic situation, noting that "economic globalization has been severely tested this year" and that trade wars have disrupted the international trading system. He emphasized that China remains "a pillar of stability" in a world facing chaos. These remarks come amid complex relations between Washington and Beijing, which saw US President Donald Trump impose tariffs of up to 100% on Chinese goods, to which Beijing retaliated in kind, before tensions eased somewhat following a summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea last October.
The arms deal and the roots of the crisis
The immediate cause of the current escalation is Taiwan's mid-December announcement of a massive $11.1 billion arms deal with the United States. This move angered the Chinese leadership, which considers Taiwan an integral part of its territory. Historically, US arms sales to Taiwan have been a major point of contention in Sino-US relations, with Beijing viewing them as support for separatist forces, while Washington considers them essential for the island's self-defense under the Taiwan Relations Act.
Taiwan: The maneuvers failed to achieve a blockade
On the other hand, Taiwan downplayed the effectiveness of China's actions. The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense asserted that Beijing's attempts to simulate a complete blockade of the island had "failed," despite the deployment of dozens of aircraft and warships. Hsieh Jie-shing, a senior intelligence official, stated that the Taiwanese coast guard had demonstrated that the blockade had not materialized.
Regional and international repercussions
For his part, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te strongly condemned the maneuvers, describing them as a blatant provocation of the international order. This escalation has serious repercussions that extend far beyond the Taiwan Strait; the strait is a vital waterway for global trade, and any disruption there could negatively impact global supply chains, particularly in the semiconductor sector. This tension also puts the fragile "trade truce" between the world's two largest economies at risk, raising the prospect of renewed turmoil in global markets if the military escalation continues.
