China flies 103 military planes toward Taiwan in a new high of activity the island calls harassment

China is very friendly to the dear brothers & sisters of Taiwan, they are Chinese and will always be.

How about the Taiwanese decide what they are? M'k?

If they wanted to be part of the authoritarian CCP expansion, then they would have voted for that long ago. Clearly, they don't. Any Taiwanese who wishes to relocate to the mainland is free do it, yet there aren't massive numbers doing that. The only Taiwanese relocating are doing it to care for older relatives near death. Then they return to Taiwan.

The Govt of Taiwan hasn't approved the CCP military exercise. That means those "dash towards Taiwan" exercises are hostile from the Taiwanese perspective. If they were partners, Taiwan to be doing the same, every other day. That isn't happening. The CCP is a bully towards Taiwan. That's a fact. Nobody likes a bully. Sometimes bullies don't realize they are doing it. China has a history of being completely deaf about these things. But they've been told over and over and choose to ignore it.

That isn't how you treat your "dear brothers & sisters". It is how you treat enemies. Don't be surprised when 95% of Taiwanese don't like the CCP controlled mainland. It is just a matter of time. Xi is about to be thrown out, then "disappeared" and there will either be a coup by the military or democracy will take over. Normal Chinese have been pushed as far as they can take, they are tired of being lied to by their own govt, and being locked up for all sorts of frivolous reasons.

This will not stand.

Things are clearly off-track in Beijing....

First the Foreign Minister goes "missing"....

Then the Defense Minister "disappears"....

Perhaps it is related to the Chinese military clearly doing its own thing, without any control from Xi...

Dangerous times...

China is very friendly to the dear brothers & sisters of Taiwan, they are Chinese and will always be. China and Taiwan has very big trading and economic volume. Many "Taiwanese" also supports Chinese government legitimacy of ruling China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The unfortunate history of Taiwan were caused by three factors:

Japan, the Manchurian empire had granted the island of Taiwan to Japan in 1895 treaty of Shimonoseki after the Manchurian army defeated in Korea. The root of Sino Japanese conflicts until now.

The "Chiang Kai Shek" (CKD) regime. The Generalissimo Chiang and the Nationalist party(KMT) was unpopular, hated by most of the Chinese and defeated in Chinese civil war 1946-1949.Actually Chiang stepped down January 1949.He stole all the wealth in China, especially looting the gold/silver in the Shanghai bank and fled to Taiwan refuges there until his death in 1975. He passed his reign to his son for another 12 years and later the pro-Japanese "Lee TungHui" in 1988. He was the man that caused the tension between China & Taiwan. Lee openly dismissed Taiwan is part of China and seeking an independence status for the island.

That party is now ruling Taiwan, a political organisation that succeeding Lee's Taiwan independence ideology by dismissing Taiwan is ever part of China. The DPP is very daring over a pro-Japanese diplomacy and their stance were almost identical to Japanese. That relations also caused tension between China and Japan. Taiwan has high stragetic value and importance for Japan because who controlled that island means who controlled the maritime passage to Japan and South Korea .

With the above three factors all of them were pointing Japan was the faults of China & Taiwan tensions and the tragedy of dividing the Chinese people. The military actions by China is a reaction of what Japan caused and has done to us !

s/plan/plane/

1 missile that takes down 1 plan in Taiwan's airspace will stop the Chinese harassment.

If the CCP never crosses into Taiwan's airspace, there's nothing to be done except lock the missiles on 1 target, then 2, then 3, the 5 then 10 then 20 then 50. See if that get's their attention.

I hope somebody is paying careful attention to whether or not all of the aircraft that are engaged in these missions return to their home air bases and are not gradually accumulating at airfields close to Taiwan. Read up on how the Egyptians were able to mass their troops on the east bank of the Suez Canal without the Israelis realizing it before their attack on Yom Kippur 1973.

The day China is regularly passing near Hawaii, and flying spy plane missions from out of its analogous ally Mexico

The Chinese and Russian navies have conducted joint exercises last summer and a month or two ago off the Aleutian Islands, you know, the State of Alaska multiple times and nobody came unglued. The US Coast Guard shadowed them with a cutter and C-130 patrols. During the summer of 2022 the Russian navy conducted a large exercise off Hawaii but I bet you never heard about it. The US matches presence for presence but doesn't whine like a worn out power steering pump about it.

these ideas of international waters, single line water and land boundaries, and allowed close passage of foreign naval vessels, spy planes, etc. are all western ideas, 

What would you suggest as a replacement for the concept of international waters and boundaries?

Please explain. China did nothing wrong or illegal. It's akin to taking the Corvette out on the weekend. If it's too hot for Taiwan's DPP, get out of the kitchen.

China is massively in the wrong here

TokyoLivingToday 02:31 am JST

The world can scream, stomp, cry, whatever...

China will recover its province of Taiwan at its appropriate moment, they have until 2049 to do so and celebrate the centenary of the Chinese revolution of 1949...

Then they will have until 3049 to do so when that falls through.

The world can scream, stomp, cry, whatever...

China will recover its province of Taiwan at its appropriate moment, they have until 2049 to do so and celebrate the centenary of the Chinese revolution of 1949...

Keepyer InternetpointsSep. 18 05:56 pm JST

As has been done for 75 years. We will rightly not let China move the goal posts.

Just like the unequal treaties, these ideas of international waters, single line water and land boundaries, and allowed close passage of foreign naval vessels, spy planes, etc. are all western ideas, foisted on the world by powers who could be at ease in such an environment.

You are saying the CCP signed an unequal treaty in 1982? You are saying established maritime precident followed by all naval powers for hundreds of years is unequal? Maybe because other countries don't shamelessly try to claim a sea as theirs.

The day China is regularly passing near Hawaii, and flying spy plane missions from out of its analogous ally Mexico, is the day America and friends start to reconsider the very bad ideas of having no buffer zones while having live fire military drills right in a rival's face.

I'm no expert but I have heard Russia has done plenty of sailing around Hawaii and the coasts of the US. I expect you are equally concerned about China's exercises in Japan's and the Phillipines faces. And the US doesn't have agreements to launch spy planes out of any of country with a land border with Cina.

And as far as China is concerned, Taiwan is analgous to the American Confederacy. Did America allow the Confederacy to just walk away and form a new nation? No. So why would China?

You don't moan about the Soviet aid that won the CCP the war on the mainland. Equally you should not moan about the US aid that kept Taiwan separate.

I totally support an independent Taiwan,

Unlikely or we wouldn't be having this discussion.

but American complaints cut no ice until America erases its complete and utter hypocrisy. It could start with Native Reservations, regarding which it STILL violates treaties or otherwise complies to the bare minimum, like with the intentionally low quality rations they provide, same as they did when they marched the Navajo out of their homeland.

I believe it is time for your heroes to repress more Tibetans and Uighurs.

If China simply considers Taiwan to be its own territory, it can simply land at a Taiwanese airport. Why can't we do that?

Even if you can't land at an airport on your own territory, can you still call it your own territory? Only military invasion can change that.

No matter how much China says that Taiwan is its own territory, only people who are pro-China will recognize it.

Taiwan should not become like Hong Kong. The tragic experience of the people of Hong Kong proves this.

China is a bully. A bully takes things out on others because they feel they can't get their way with someone who is more powerful than them so they go after who they can. In this case all the smaller neighboring countries. China also has internal economic, and political problems. The greed and corruption from all walks of life is a virus that is killing it to its core. The only way they see fit is to harass another country hopefully provoking it to respond to cause and all out war to revive the public trust and to revive their economy. Xi is on his way out!!!

ianToday  08:47 pm JST

The island is self-governing, though only a few foreign nations give it official diplomatic recognition. The U.S. among others has formal ties with China while maintaining a representative office in Taiwan.

The UN officially recognizes that Taiwan is part of China.

Only because of China.

"Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations (UN) or its suborganizations, but it aspires to participate. "

"China adamantly refuses to move away from its position that Taiwan is part of China and thus cannot be represented on its own in the world’s most prestigious and important state-based international organization. China has the advantage in that it is a member of the United Nations, and is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council; it also enjoys increasing international clout outside the UN system."

Taiwan's UN Dilemma: To Be or Not To Be | Brookings

The island is self-governing, though only a few foreign nations give it official diplomatic recognition. The U.S. among others has formal ties with China while maintaining a representative office in Taiwan.

The UN officially recognizes that Taiwan is part of China.

@ Reginald bok

You really brought one of a great well build statement. What you are saying has no meaning.

too inadequate and cowardly to do anything face to face you see.

I know your usual postings. You are way better than such a rubbish statement, full of nothing but emotional, feel good response and wishful, childish thinking.

There are various rational interpretations for Chinese actions like these, including the simple idea that an invasion would likely ruin the industries that make Taiwan valuable.

China’s military sent 103 warplanes toward Taiwan in a 24-hour period….as is customary, they turned back before reaching Taiwan.

I think that says it all; China will not invade Taiwan. They know what likely awaits them if they try.

Keepyer InternetpointsToday 05:56 pm JST

The day China is regularly passing near Hawaii, and flying spy plane missions from out of its analogous ally Mexico

As long as they stay in international waters/airspace, they can. They will be watched by the US, but the US will not then surround Hong Kong or somewhere in "retaliation," and vow to take the island, as China does to Taiwan.

And if the Chinese assets stray into US territory they will be intercepted or shot down, as per the spy balloons.

Keepyer InternetpointsToday  05:56 pm JST

I totally support an independent Taiwan, but American complaints cut no ice until America erases its complete and utter hypocrisy. It could start with Native Reservations, regarding which it STILL violates treaties or otherwise complies to the bare minimum, like with the intentionally low quality rations they provide, same as they did when they marched the Navajo out of their homeland.

Native American issues are irrelevant to this article. You have driven off the road.

As has been done for 75 years. We will rightly not let China move the goal posts.

Just like the unequal treaties, these ideas of international waters, single line water and land boundaries, and allowed close passage of foreign naval vessels, spy planes, etc. are all western ideas, foisted on the world by powers who could be at ease in such an environment.

The day China is regularly passing near Hawaii, and flying spy plane missions from out of its analogous ally Mexico, is the day America and friends start to reconsider the very bad ideas of having no buffer zones while having live fire military drills right in a rival's face.

And as far as China is concerned, Taiwan is analgous to the American Confederacy. Did America allow the Confederacy to just walk away and form a new nation? No. So why would China?

I totally support an independent Taiwan, but American complaints cut no ice until America erases its complete and utter hypocrisy. It could start with Native Reservations, regarding which it STILL violates treaties or otherwise complies to the bare minimum, like with the intentionally low quality rations they provide, same as they did when they marched the Navajo out of their homeland.

Do you know how much water there is between these two countries? Plenty of for all to share.

The drills came shortly after the U.S. and Canada sailed between China and Taiwan as an obvious provocation that must be ignored in this anti China propaganda piece.

Mr KiplingToday 05:12 pm JST

The drills came shortly after the U.S. and Canada sailed between China and Taiwan as an obvious provocation that must be ignored in this anti China propaganda piece.

As has been done for 75 years. We will rightly not let China move the goal posts.

Mr KiplingToday 05:12 pm JST

the U.S. and Canada sailed between China and Taiwan as an obvious provocation

The U.S. and Canada sailed between China and Taiwan through international waters, as they are 100% entitled to do.

The only country being provocative here is China. They can't convince the Taiwanese to willingly accept totalitarian tyranny (what a surprise), so they resort to threats, intimidation, and aggression. The CCP knows nothing else.

The drills came shortly after the U.S. and Canada sailed between China and Taiwan as an obvious provocation that must be ignored in this anti China propaganda piece.

Reginald BokToday 04:17 pm JST

China is massively in the wrong here, but very much like Japan,Taiwan are always such a bunch of weak whining little victim players.

Do something about it for once. Same goes for you, Japan.

Taiwan is outmanned 70 to 1. What exactly would you like them to do about it? I supposed they could surprise everyone with a nuclear test someday, but the PRC has claimed they will attack if that happens.

China is massively in the wrong here, but very much like Japan,Taiwan are always such a bunch of weak whining little victim players.

Do something about it for once. Same goes for you, Japan.