Britain will send surveillance aircraft, two Royal Navy support ships and about 100 Royal Marines to the eastern Mediterranean from Friday to support Israel and help prevent any sudden escalation of fighting in the Middle East.
Patrol flights of Poseidon P-8 aircraft and other planes will begin on Friday, Downing St announced, tasked partly with monitoring any efforts to transfer of weapons from countries such as Iran or Russia to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Existing UK military units and fighter aircraft, based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, are also on alert as Israel gears up for an expected ground assault on Gaza after last Saturday’s surprise attack by Hamas, which has left more than 1,300 Israeli civilians dead. The death toll in Gaza has risen above 1,400.
What exactly does China gain from Taiwan? China’s notorious for claiming ideological grounds but only making moves on material or defensive grounds (see: oil discovered in the SCS, material deposits in Xinjiang/Tibet, and responding to Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia to end with status quo).
The only threat Taiwan poses is if it aligns with the West. Taiwan’s primary export is a manufactured good made in factories that have to be operated as clean rooms because of how delicate everything is. Taiwan’s primary asset is it’s highly educated workforce. It’s strategic value ONLY exists if it doesn’t align with China.
China has the money and the patience to wait for Taiwan to integrate of its own will. China doesn’t need unification, just (essentially) a guarantee that nobody can put their nuclear missiles on Taiwanese territory.
China is already Taiwan’s largest trade partner, Taiwan’s largest source of tourism, and a significant employer of Taiwanese expats (as high as 2% of the population pre-pandemic). They’re well on their way towards integrating Taiwan into the broader Chinese economy without conflict.
What reason does China have to intervene by force?
I have just listened to China speak. They have discussed the One China policy. It is literally the most important thing to them for whatever reason.
They will take any chance they can to take it , just like Hong Kong. Broken promises and now a population that has had its democracy destroyed.
Pick up a history book. “One China” is what every CPC leader says because the PRC and ROC never brokered a peace deal. It usually flares up whenever Taiwan drifts towards the US sphere of influence and dies down when Taiwan falls back into China’s sphere of influence.
It’s never been anything more than posturing, because, again, Taiwan has no value UNLESS it’s aligned against China.