By Yang Kunfu
Recently, the US has increasingly meddled in the Taiwan question as the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on July 9that the US State Department has decided to approve a new round of arms sales to Taiwan. The arms sales, which values at US$620 million, is comprised of Patriot Advanced Capability-3(PAC-3). As this is the second round of arms sales to Taiwan by the Trump administration this year and the seventh time since Trump took office as US president, some commentators believe that the United States is implementing the so-called normalization of arms sales to Taiwan.
Within the US, the presidential and congressional elections to be held in early November this year have entered a fierce stage. Trump desperately needs to whip up support by creating topics, therefore, launching an aggressive attack on the Chinese mainland, which has been regarded by the US as a strategic competitor, has become one of the useful strategies he uses.
According to the latest survey released on July 6 by Gallup, Trump’s approval rating has fallen from a peak of 49% in May this year to 38% now, approaching to his lowest record of 35% in 2017. Gallup pointed out that the number of Trump's loyal supporters is diving in an all-round way. As Trump seeks to win the November’s US presidential election, the poll surely raises alarm bells.
As the anti-China force in the US is rising, it seems natural that Trump has made more troubles to China. In recent days, the United States has defied China several times. For example, in early July, the US military sent two aircraft carriers, the USS Ronald Reagan and the USS Nimitz, to conduct exercises in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, the US military aircraft have repeatedly approached mainland’s coastal Guangdong province for surveillance, which is a sure indicator of provocation. At the same time, the United States has continuously hyped up issues involving Hong Kong SAR, Tibet, and Xinjiang of China, unceasingly discredited and attacked the Chinese mainland, and even made significant moves to impose sanctions on Chinese officials.
Against such background, the US playing the so-called "Taiwan card" is actually an indispensable part of its move of comprehensive containment of the Chinese mainland. The US has taken a series of actions, which are actually some tricks to achieve its goals, including the arms sales to Taiwan this time, the Taiwan defense act that has been hyped up recently, with the claim to deal with the so-called "increasing ‘military threat’ to Taiwan" from the mainland, and prevent the mainland from "taking strategies against Taiwan that lead to ‘fait accompli’ ". In addition, former US National Security Adviser John Bolton even threatened on July 2 that the United States should give Taiwan the so-called diplomatic recognition, and suggested that the United States should use a variety of means to apply 'asymmetric pressure' on China.
As can be seen from the above, the approaching elections have made American politicians restless and, therefore, hyped up China-related issues franticly. On the other hand, the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) authorities in Taiwan have misjudged the situation and, consequently, taken the initiative to cooperate with the United States against the Chinese mainland. As a result, the United States has intervened and meddled in the Taiwan question through various means such as formulating domestic laws from time to time. At the same time, it creates a scene of supporting Taiwan in the forms of lip service and arms sales.
It is foreseeable that before the US elections, the US side will take more actions, and might play the "Taiwan card" more crazily and extremely, while the DPP authorities will watch its chance to resort to the US. The anti-China forces outside are colluding with the Taiwan separatists, making trouble for the Chinese mainland. As the DPP authorities help the devil do the evil and tries to gain profit at risk, the power struggle among parties involved is likely to scale up. However, any actions running against the dominant trend will inevitably encounter setbacks, because the determination and will to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity will never be shaken.
(The author Yang Kunfu is a member under Xiamen Association of Taiwan Studies.)
