Cabinet secretary Alex Azar’s visit to Taiwan (following false claims that Taiwan had warned the WHO of the dangers of the coronavirus), the U.S. UN Ambassador’s very public sidewalk restaurant meeting with the top Taiwanese representative, additional arms sales to Taiwan, “freedom of navigation” operations in the Taiwan Straits, the visit of an Undersecretary of State to that island — these recent actions by the United States run the risk of crossing the reddest of China’s red lines: the One-China policy.
China is responding with increasing resolution against the escalating provocations against it, as seen with the recent flights of 19 Chinese People’s Liberation Army jets past the midpoint of the Taiwan Strait and into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has so far refused to comment directly on the flights, but spoke out on Sept. 17 against the visit of the Undersecretary of State: “China firmly opposes any forms of official ties between the U.S. and Taiwan. Our position is consistent and clear. The U.S. insisting on Undersecretary of State Keith Krach’s visit to Taiwan severely violates the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, bolsters ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists, and undermines China-U.S. relations as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.… China will respond as necessary in light of the development of the situation.”
Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the (sometimes sensationalist) Global Times, editorializes that these flights are “the PLA’s practical rehearsal for an island takeover…. If the island’s military dare fire the first shot against the PLA’s jets, then the PLA will launch destructive strikes against the island’s military forces, pushing the Taiwan question into a completely new stage.” One is reminded of the dangers in Syria and other parts of the world, where avoiding global war may depend on the skills of an individual American or Russian pilot.
The war danger has also increased through Mad Mike Pompeo’s antics at the United Nations. He insists that the full UN sanctions on Iran have been “snapped back,” despite the Security Council voting overwhelmingly against the U.S. initiative to reinstate them, and threatened third countries over any perceived failure to implement them: “The United States expects all UN Member States to fully comply with their obligations to implement these measures. If UN Member States fail to fulfill their obligations to implement these sanctions, the United States is prepared to use our domestic authorities to impose consequences for those failures.…” This is a blank check to launch sanctions against any country that has the sense to recognize that the U.S., having withdrawn from the JCPOA, has no standing to call for a snapback of sanctions. This includes France, Germany, Britain, Russia, and China, just to name a few.
This drive towards war threatens the entire world, benefits no nation, and is causing immense harm to the long-term standing of the United States, whose national interests are not being served. The only victor is the British Empire that seeks at all costs (including nuclear costs) to prevent any threat to the trans-Atlantic world order.
The latest assault on the functioning of the United States as a constitutional republic, capable of reasoned thought about its future, is seen in the latest attacks on President Donald Trump exercising the manifestly Constitutional powers of his office: to nominate judges to the Supreme Court. Nancy Pelosi has refused to rule out the tactic of impeaching Trump — again — to gum up the works in the Senate in order to “protect our democracy” by preventing the President from nominating, and the Senate from confirming, a new judge. Feeble-minded Joe Biden managed to string together a few sentences: “People will not stand for this; they’ll not stand for this abuse of power, this Constitutional abuse.” Has anyone consulted the Constitution? It clearly says that “[The President] shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint ... Judges of the supreme Court.”
President Trump has the potential to break with the British game, and collaborate with Russia and China to achieve a lasting peace based on economic development. But this potential requires a change in the environment to succeed. It is our job to create the conditions for such cooperation. Will you take up the challenge?
