China’s increased militarization of Indo-Pacific region leading to increased security concerns

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/06/01
By: Eric Chang, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The waters around Taiwan — including the Miyako Strait, the Bashi Channel, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and the Philippine Sea — run the risk of seeing increased military movements, according to a new research paper.

The comments were made in a paper titled "U.S. Strategic Mobility in Deployment to Ensure Regional Security" by Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a senior analyst, at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, according to CNA.

The Indo-Pacific region now faces increasing tensions as a result of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic and China's increased military reach, particularly in the South China Sea, where the Chinese have built artificial islands, deployed nuclear submarines, and claimed new administrative districts, according to Su.

The article points out that due to the absence of U.S. carrier strike groups in the region over the past few months amid the pandemic, China's military developments in the South China Sea have impacted regional security and the nuclear balance. But with the announcement by the U.S. Navy on May 10 that the Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Nimitz, Abraham Lincoln, and Gerald R. Ford aircraft carriers have returned to action, that balance has been somewhat restored, Su said.    [FULL  STORY]