Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu warned on Wednesday that communist China was readying its military to overtake Taiwan, which is located approximately 100 miles to the east of China’s shores.
“Looking on the long-term trend, China appears to be gradually stepping up its military preparedness, especially in air or on the waters near Taiwan,” Wu told reporters, according to Reuters. “What China is doing now is continuing to ramp up preparedness to solve the Taiwan issue. The threat is on the rise.”
Wu said that Chinese military aircraft invaded Taiwan’s airspace “almost every day” last month and were “much more frequent” than what Taiwan had initially told the media, and that China also “simulated” several military attacks on Taiwan.
The warning out of Taiwan comes as tensions between China and India have rapidly escalated following a deadly clash on the border in which dozens of soldiers on both sides were reportedly killed.
“The India-China standoff in the Galwan Valley and China’s geopolitical move to exploit the COVID-19 humanitarian crisis have just boosted the India-US strategic partnership,” The Times of India reported. “The death of 20 Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley created tremendous pressure on India for a retaliation, fueled an anti-China sentiment, and the possibility of a full-fledged war against China. Consequently, comparisons were made on the defence capabilities of India and China and the speculations were made about the US support to India in case of a full-fledged Sino-Indian War.”
The warning from Taiwan also comes as the Chinese Communist Party passed a new draconian national security law for Hong Kong that “criminalizes four categories of crimes, including secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign or external forces to endanger national security,” The Wall Street Journal reported. “In contrast to mainland China, Hong Kong historically has had robust protections on free speech, and the city has been a haven for publishers and journalists.”
The new law contains a section that “bans every person on earth from advocating for Hong Kong’s democracy, which some have suggested raises concerns about extradition pacts China and Hong Kong have with other nations,” The Daily Wire reported.
The new law has spurred the U.K., U.S., Australia, and Canada to suspend extradition treaties with Hong Kong.
China is also facing escalating tensions with the U.S. as the Chinese General Consulate in Houston was informed late on Tuesday that it was being closed to “protect American intellectual property and American’s [sic] private information.”
The announcement reportedly led to Chinese officials burning classified documents at the consulate, which was captured on video. The Houston Fire Department and Police Department both responded to the scene after getting calls about the fires.
“Police say a fire that was reported at the Chinese Consulate in Houston Tuesday evening, was the result of classified documents being burned,” Fox 26 Houston reported. “Houston fire and police departments responded to the scene but were not allowed entry into the building.”