Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/29
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The past few weeks has seen increased military activity by China’s People Liberation Army.

President Xi Jinping has never made it a secret that he is taking an aggressive stance on the island disputes in the South China Sea, but his military’s recent moves seem to have brought him closer to Taiwan.

Over the past few days, China sent its only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, into the Taiwan Strait from north to south, eventually ending up at the island of Hainan. That came hard on the heels of air force maneuvers bringing jet aircraft close to Taiwan on several sides. The publication of the picture of a Chinese bomber jet apparently close to an unspecified Taiwanese mountain gave rise to the perception that the Chinese military could move around the island with impunity.

The incidents gave further rise to the impression that the world is growing more dangerous, leading to more uncertainty as China pushes its agenda to build more aircraft carriers, expand into the Pacific Ocean and challenge the United States.    [FULL  STORY]