As U.S. Confronts China on Trade, Taiwan Tensions Quietly Build
- Beijing steps up military drills, moves to isolate island
- Calls grow in Washington for increased arms sales, exchanges
A Taiwanese Air Force fighter aircraft, left, flies near a Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) bomber that reportedly flew over the Luzon Strait south of Taiwan on May 25.
Source: Taiwan Ministry of National Defence via AP
Even as defense ministers and military chiefs meeting in Singapore called out China for parking missiles on outposts in the disputed South China Sea, a bigger potential China-related hot spot looms.
Concern about Taiwan -- and recent sparring between Beijing and Washington over the democratically run island -- percolated discussions at the annual IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, which was otherwise focused on action further south. U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis warned China against disrupting the “status quo” on Taiwan, as Beijing steps up air-and-sea maneuvers nearby and accelerates efforts to isolate Taipei.