Calling China’s bluff on Taiwan and Hong Kong, 58-year-old Secretary of State Anthony Blinken served notice on China that the Association of South Asian Nations [ASEAN] and new “quad” coalition of the U.S., U.K., Japan and India, would not tolerate China’s attack on the rules-based order. When it comes to international rules of the open seas, China thumbed its nose at a 2016 ruling in the Hague-based International Court of Justice ordering China to cease-and-desist with its military installations built out in international waters in the South and East China Seas. U.S. decision last week to sell Australia long-range nuclear submarines notified Beijing that the U.S. would use its collective action to stave off China’s bullying in Southeast Asia, the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong. China’s 68-year-old President Xi Jinping has been on a terror bullying nations that don’t profess loyalty to Beijing.
No where is China’s bullying more evident than in Hong Kong, where a 1997 agreement established the once British Crown Colony as “one country, two systems,” allowing the capitalistic, democratic government to function without interference from Beijing. Xi completed his reversal on “one country, two systems,” cracking down on pro-Democracy activists, looking to preserve a modicum of Hong Kong’s freedoms from Beijing’s totalitarian grip. When the British 99-year lease of Hong Kong ended in 1997, Beijing promised to let Hong Kong continue without its strict mainland overlord. Over the years, Xi has reneged on all his promises, asserting totalitarian control over Hong Kong. Xi also reneged on his promise to allow Taiwan to live independently of the mainland, preventing the United Nations and other international bodies to recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state.
Flying 24-fighter jets over the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Xi asserted his right to intimidate and bully the pro-Western territory of Taiwan. China flew 19 military flights over Taiwan yesterday on two occasions, signaling that Beijing would assert its power over the capitalist Taiwan nation. Flying 12 J-16 and J-11s over Taiwan, Beijing responded to Taiwan’s announcement that it was joining an 11-nationl Pacific trade group that China has also applied to join. Beijing does not recognize the sovereignty of Taiwan, instead seeing it much like Hong Kong as a Beijing satellite. Watching China’s bullying and rejection of the 2016 Hague ruling prompted President Joe Biden to form a new security alliance with the U.K, Australia, Japan and India to counter China’s attempts at hegemony in the Pacific Rim. Forming a new Indo-Pacific security alliance hasn’t gone over well in Beijing.
China’s familiar Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian denounced Western-backed support for an independent Hong Kong. “The United States must not tolerate an force that is anti-China and stirs troubles in Hong Kong or else it will be lifting as stone to hit ones foot,” Lijian said, warning the U.S. to stop meddling in Bejing’s internal affairs. But it’s Beijing that’s meddling in Hong Kong and now threatening to topple Taiwan’s independent government. While there’s nothing written about the U.S. protecting Taiwan from a Chinese invasion, the U.S. has supported Taiwan since 1949 when Chang Chi Shek led a band of anti-Maoists to the Island of Formosa. Whether written or not, the U.S. has been committed for the last 72 years to protecting the independence of Taiwan from Beijing totalitarian reach. U.S. officials condemned China’s crackdown in Hong Kong, especially on what’s left of free press.
President Joe Biden, 78, got off on the wrong track with China March 18, sending 58-year-old Secretary of State Tony Blinken and 44-year-old National Security Adviser Jakes Sullivan to Anchorage for a get-to-know-you summit. Before Blinken and Sullivan welcomed the high ranking Chinese delegation led by Yang Jiechi, Blinken and Sullivan accused Beijing of genocide against Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang Province. Whether anything remotely resembling genocide goes on in Western China, it insulted the Chinese delegation. Jiechi told Blinken and Sullivan that no country that admits to “systemic racism:” against it black population should lecture other countries about human rights. So, now the stakes are much higher, with China doubling down in Hong Kong and continuing to bully Taiwan, prompting Biden to form a new “quad” security alliance with the U.K., Australia, Japan and India.
Standing up to China wasn’t easy for former President Donald Trump and it’s not proving easy for Biden. While Trump focused on economic issues, Biden has concentrated on more highly sensitive human rights’ issues. When it comes to Hong Kong or Taiwan, the U.S. sends a strong message that it won’t let Beijing bully Hong Kong and Taiwan without consequences. Selling nuclear-powered submarines antagonized Beijing, France and the European Union, all for different reasons. France and the EU agree China must stop bulling other nations in the Pacific Rim. But they strongly oppose the U.S. supplying Australia with nuclear-powered subs. When the dust finally settles over the diplomatic row with France, the U .S. must lead a global effort to get China into compliance in the South and East China Seas. No Southeast Asian country, including Taiwan and Hong, should be bullied by China.
