Beijing likely fears Taipei's ultimate goal is to gain US and wider Western recognition as a sovereign state

Asia Times
Date: August 18, 20206
By: Richard Javasd Heydarian

Rising US support for Taiwan, seen in this week’s finalization of a US$62 billion F-16 fighter jet deal, is driving China to ramp up its military intimidation tactics against the self-governed island.

Last week, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) started “massive” and “unprecedented” military drills to “send a very strong signal to the secessionists in Taiwan and those who intend to disrupt peace and stability across the Straits,” according to China’s global news network CGTN. 

The war games saw the PLA Eastern Theater Command simultaneously deploy multiple branches for “organized consecutive, realistic drills” across the far ends of the Taiwan Straits. 

The Chinese state-backed Global Times described the large-scale exercises as a “clear and unprecedented deterrence toward secessionists of the island as well as the US, as the Trump administration has increased its links with the Taiwan secessionist authority, and the possibility of peaceful reunification is decreasing sharply.”    [FULL  STORY]