With the US Military Drawing Swords in the Taiwan Strait, a New Cold War Starts

  With the US Military Drawing Swords in the Taiwan Strait, a New Cold War Starts

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

October 30, 2018

 Translation of an Excerpt

The situation in the Taiwan Strait is treacherous. After Mainland China’s aircraft and navy ships stopped circling around Taiwan in the first half of the year, in the second half of the year, US navy ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait in succession. The US Pacific Fleet may also hold a series of military exercises in the South China Sea in November, drawing swords against China. The US and China confront each other, from economics and trade spreading to military, from the South China Sea pushing to the Taiwan Strait; the development of the situation elicits attention and concern.

What is noteworthy is the US ships sailing through the Taiwan Strait; although PLA ships "kept a distance," tailing for observation, the Mainland’s reaction was relatively mild. Mainland government media say that "the US seems to intend to normalize this approach"; however, "the Chinese side, first of all, must not get very angry about this." The Mainland’s Foreign Ministry also only indicates "we have expressed our concerns to the US side on this matter."

In the past few weeks, conflicts in various aspects between the United States and China have escalated; the trade war remains without a solution, and the confrontations in the South China Sea continue. Of course, the most eye-catching matter is US Vice President Pence’s speech on October 4^th comprehensively criticizing Mainland China as well as the China policies of preceding US administrations; this speech has been compared with Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech, opening the prelude to a new cold war.

The new cold war may perhaps be beneficial to Taiwan in the short term; Taiwan has once again been pushed to the US strategic front periphery, but we are afraid, it may be considered as a chess piece. The United States has lost credibility to its allies, with instances right at hand. Look at Japan, which has a treaty of alliance with the United States, with troops stationed on its territory, and the US is Japan’s most important export market. Nevertheless, while the US and China began a new cold war, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, however, was Xi Jinping’s honored guest. From the acts of US allies, Taiwan should be able to find some reference for the direction of its foreign policies.

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