CHINA WATCHES, WAITS: MASSIVE MILITARY BUILD-UP, MAJOR ESPIONAGE EFFORT
November 17, 2004
By Toby Westerman
Copyright 2004 International News Analysis Today
www.inatoday.com
Despite assurances from just-resigned Secretary of State Collin Powell regarding U.S.-China relations, the second term of the administration of George W. Bush could encounter a major war in the Pacific, and is witnessing a major espionage offensive.
Communist China is demonstrating an increasingly high level of aggression and military intrusion against its neighbors, engaging in actions which could pull the United States into a naval war in the Pacific.
Taiwan faces invasion - possibly at any moment -- from China, at least one Chinese submarine has intruded into Japanese waters, and, most amazingly, Chinese intelligence services have been able to acquire a file of personal data on nearly every inhabitant on the island of Taiwan.
Communist China's spy services have targeted and succeeded in obtaining files on military service records, vehicle and household registration, and national health data, according to the Taiwan news daily, the Taipei Times.
China claims Taiwan as a rebel province. The government on Taiwan, known formally as the Republic of China on Taiwan (ROC), fled to the island following its defeat at the hands of Communist forces on the mainland. Although the U.S. no longer has formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the U.S. remains committed to the island under the terms of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.
China's ability to compromise nearly every citizen of Taiwan, including the highest ranking military and governmental personnel, raises alarming questions concerning Beijing's espionage capabilities directed against other opponents, including the United States. Already in the mid and late 1990s, newspaper headlines reported the loss of important U.S. military and technology secrets to China. It is an open question as to how far Beijing has gone in the penetration and documentation of American society.
The mainland Communist government remains adamant in its determination to invade at the first declaration of Taiwan independence, and recent statements from Beijing declare that Taiwan is "playing with fire" as it presses for recognition as a separate nation.
Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian has vowed to seek a membership for Taiwan in the United Nations as an independent state, further enraging Beijing.
China is conducting an impressive modernization of its armed forces, which leads Pentagon observers to warn that Beijing could eventually rival U.S. forces in the Pacific. China is building an increasingly sophisticated military to successfully obstruct any U.S. attempt to aid Taiwan in case of Communist invasion.
China's military capabilities potentially not only threaten Taiwan, as China's disputes with its neighbors grow and as the nations in the Asia-Pacific region keep a wary eye on the increasingly powerful Red Dragon.
Japanese naval forces recently hunted a foreign submarine intruding into Japan's territorial waters. Indications from the sub's identifiable sounds and its course of sail pointed to Communist China as its nation of origin.
The incident occurred 75 miles south of a group of
disputed islands, known as the Senkaku to the Japanese
and Diaoyu to the Chinese, highlighting the contest
between Japan and China for oil and gas resources believed
to exist in the region.
Following two days of international crisis, China finally admitted that the
"mystery" sub was theirs, and claimed a "technical error"
for the intrusion.
The United States Navy is the only major force in the Pacific belonging to a democratic nation, and America remains committed to the defense of Taiwan, Japan and other allies in the region.
In 1958, the U.S. fought alongside Taiwanese forces in a deadly artillery conflict with China's Peoples Liberation Army, and in the following years sent naval forces on several occasions to deter a mainland attack on Taiwan.
As China's power grows, so too will the challenge to the U.S. presence in the region, and America's commitment to its allies.
Copyright 2004
International News Analysis Today
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