The U.S. is encircling Taiwan
It’s beefing up its presence there to prevent China
From invading Taiwan And sparking World War III
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell. When it comes to how the United States would
react if China were to invade Taiwan, they’ve been very cryptic.
And I’m not just saying that because the guy in charge of that
decision looks like the Cryptkeeper. The Biden administration especially
has brought the US policy of “strategic ambiguity” to new levels of ambiguity.
In August 2021, Biden said: “We made a sacred commitment to Article Five that
if in fact anyone were to invade or take action against our NATO allies,
we would respond. Same with Japan, same with South Korea, same with-- Taiwan.”
Shortly after that though, the White House said Biden had misspoken.
Because forget something like “We have nothing to fear but
fear itself.” President Biden’s most notable quote is someone else yelling,
“What he *meant* to say was…”
But just two months later, he said the same thing again.
“China just tested a hypersonic missile. What will you do to keep up with them militarily? And can
you vow to protect Taiwan?” “Yes and yes….”
“So, are you saying that the United States would come to Taiwan’s defense if—” “Yes.”
“— China attacked?” “Yes, we have a commitment to do that.”
And again, the White House corrected him. Man, I hope the White House is wearing a
Fitbit to keep track of all the steps they’re getting while walking back everything he says.
But apparently Biden still hadn’t gotten the message
because 7 months later, he said it again: REPORTER: “Are you willing to get involved
militarily to defend Taiwan, if it comes to that?” PRESIDENT BIDEN: “Yes.”
REPORTER: “You are?” PRESIDENT BIDEN: “That’s the commitment we made.”
And yes, you guessed it. The White House walked it back right after.
Oh look , they made their step goal. 25 months in a row!
I guess President Biden needed a fourth reminder though, because he said it again 4 months later.
“But would US forces defend the island?” : “Yes, if in fact there was an
unprecedented attack” “After our interview,
a White House official told us US policy has not changed.
Officially the US will not say whether American forces would defend Taiwan.”
“Please… stop asking him about Taiwan. My legs are too tired to walk back any more.”
Yes, there’s a reason US policy on Taiwan is called “strategic ambiguity”. It’s so ambiguous,
even the White House doesn’t agree on what it is. Like most countries, the US doesn’t have official
diplomatic relations with Taiwan and is cagey about whether Taiwan is even a country.
So they think it simultaneously is and isn’t at the same time?
Who do they think the president of Taiwan is? Schrödinger?
I’m not ambiguous. Taiwan is a country. But the US does have a law called
the Taiwan Relations Act, which says the US is committed
to the preservation of human rights there, and that the US will not only arm Taiwan
for its self-defense, but also “resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion
that would jeopardize the security, or social or economic system, of the people of Taiwan.”
So the US is willing to fight for Taiwan… but not call them a country. Makes sense.
Wouldn’t want to piss off China… as you’re about to go to war with them! That’d be like
refusing to curse at someone while fistfighting them.
It seems that last part about resisting force has kicked in.
The US is encircling Taiwan with its military, which is right in Beijing’s
backyard. By doing that, they’re preparing for a possible war over Taiwan. And that has made
the Chinese Communist Party really, really mad. I’ll tell you more, after the break.
Welcome back.
So the US has *kinda* said it will defend Taiwan if China invades.
But like your jacked friend who got bullied growing up
and now tries to look super intimidating,
the US is hoping its muscles will deter China from attacking in the first place.
The US has been working on making a military circle around Taiwan. And
recently, that circle got a little bit beefier.
…beefier.
The US signed an agreement with the Philippines to expand its military presence there.
The US military already uses five bases in the Philippines,
but with this agreement, it now has access to four more.
It’s not clear yet where they’re going to be. But last November,
the Philippines said the US was looking at several locations in the north of the country.
If it is those locations, it would position US forces a lot closer to Taiwan.
It would also make it more risky for Chinese forces to travel through the Bashi Channel,
which is one of the ways China might try to surround Taiwan.
Essentially, this can all be summed up with this meme. Yup, there isn’t a military strategy in
history that can’t be explained with a meme. The US also has troops on the other side of
Taiwan, on the Japanese island of Okinawa. That together with its troops in Guam,
mainland Japan, and South Korea means the US has military bases in strategic locations near Taiwan.
The US likes Taiwan so much they’re trying to put a ring on it. A military ring!
And the US is beefing up its military presence in all of those locations,
not just the Philippines.
Last month, the US announced it would put new anti-ship missiles on Okinawa.
Also last month, the US announced a new base in Guam. It’s on the western side of the island,
closest to Taiwan, and is aimed at deterring an invasion by China.
“It will eventually house 5,000 Marines charged in the short term with deterring
and detecting threats in the region.” And “Longer term, the Guam base . . . is
also slated to be a hub for Marines on Guam and across the Northern Mariana Islands to
train for protecting Pacific islands, including vital sea lanes, in the event of an invasion.”
Considering all this effort the US is putting into protecting Taiwan,
maybe Joe Biden’s most notable quote will wind up being,
“See! I told ya so!”
Moving north, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited South Korea last month.
He said the US would step up drills with the South Korean military
and send more fighter jets and bombers. Now South Korea *is* worried about China’s
aggressiveness in the region. But it’s a little bit more worried right now about
Kim Jong Un’s nukes, which he doesn’t seem to be getting tired of playing with.
North Korea launched a record number of ballistic missiles last year
And Kim Jong Un recently called for an “exponential increase” in nuclear warheads”.
2023 is off to a great start so far, amiright?!
There is some good news in the South Pacific, though.
Fiji’s new government scrapped a policing deal it had with China.
Starting in 2011, police from Fiji would train in China, and police from China would patrol in Fiji.
The new prime minister said he pulled out of the deal because Fiji and China
have different systems. And Fiji wants to stick with other countries with democracy
and similar justice systems. As if their water couldn’t get any
more delicious, it’s now made with CCP tears. Mmm, that’s refreshing.
Northwest of Fiji, in the Solomon Islands, the US is trying to make a comeback by reopening
its embassy in the country’s capital Honiara. The US closed its previous embassy there in 1993,
and it’s a good example of what happens when the cat goes away. The Solomon
Islands became ground zero for Chinese influence in the pacific islands.
Foreign policy in that region is like playing a game of Twister and whack-a-mole at the same time.
Not only did the Solomon Islands have a policing agreement with China
But the Prime Minister signed a secret security deal with China last April.
Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of Chinese influence in the country. Just this month,
one of the strongest anti-CCP voices in government was removed from office.
He was accused of “misappropriating funds”,
but his supporters say this was a trumped-up charge meant to silence him.
We interviewed him last year on our show. Check it out, I’ll put a link in the description below.
I can’t say for certain if he was misappropriating funds. But if he were, I’d imagine he’d
dress less like this…
And more like this.
So not all good news in the South Pacific, but hey,
this is 2023. We might be lucky if we get through the year without World War III.
You know the year’s off to a great start when the only thing on your
vision board is, “No apocalypse, please.” Speaking of the Pacific, the US is renegotiating
military deals with the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia.
Called the Compacts of Free Association, they “effectively give the U.S. military control
over a huge swath of the western Pacific that — when combined with the U.S. Pacific territories
of Guam and the Northern Marianas — is on par with the size of the continental U.S.”
The US had agreements with them already, but they are set to expire in the next year or two and so
had to be renewed. The terms of the deal seem to have mostly been agreed on, it’s just how much the
US will pay that’s up in the air. And I hate to call this good news,
but New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has resigned.
The reason I put that in the “good news” category is because she was pretty friendly with Beijing.
She wasn’t the one who signed the country’s Belt and Road agreement with China, but her
government definitely cheered it on. And she did nothing to stop it from auto-renewing last March.
That’s right. The Belt and Road is so sinister it auto-renews. Just
like that subscription to that dating app for Juggalos you signed up for as
a joke and forgot about years ago, but keep getting billed for every month.
And no, that’s not a joke,
there’s actually a dating site for Juggalos. They need love too, ya know.
Ardern was all about having an “independent foreign policy” from the US and Australia,
which is fine, except that meant being closer to Beijing.
Fortunately, New Zealand’s neighbor down under has been pretty clear
on China over the past few years. The US has a couple thousand troops
stationed in Australia, and last year announced plans to send more.
Australia went from a prison colony to a freedom colony. Name a more
iconic glow-up from a country. But the biggest win for the US
in the region is by far the Philippines. Under former President Rodrigo Duterte,
the US visiting forces agreement with the Philippines was almost canceled. It should
come as no surprise that while he was threatening to kick US troops out, he was cozying up to China.
Now the new President, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is still all about trade with China, but has
moved closer to the US in terms of security. Because the US makes people safe in their…
beefy arms.
This is critical because the Philippines is part of what’s called the first island chain
Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines are what’s preventing China from
easily moving east and projecting power into the Pacific Ocean.
That’s one of the reasons China wants Taiwan so badly,
and also why it’s been trying so hard to tear the Philippines away from the US.
Fortunately, governments do change and their alliances do, too. And at least for now,
that’s stopping China from outright invading other countries in the region.
But whether the United States’ presence will actually deter China from invading Taiwan, remains
to be seen. And who knows how the US would react to an invasion. Joe Biden says the US would help,
But that might wind up getting walked back for the 7 billionth time.
And China Uncensored is supported mainly by viewers like you,
either on the crowdfunding website Patreon, or our exclusive social media site on Locals.
Which is why I thank those viewers by answering their questions on the show.
Today’s question comes from Mah-Dry-Bread on Patreon, who asks:
I’ve always heard that China claims to own all Panda bears in the world,
regardless of what country they're actually from. Is that actually
true? Because to be honest it doesn't sound that farfetched a claim for them.
Yes, that sounds crazy but it’s actually true. China does claim
that all panda bears in the world belong to them.
Who wants one of these stupid, lazy bears anyway?
Zoos do. Because they bring in the big bucks from crowds. But since pandas are only native to China,
the Chinese regime actually rents out these pandas to zoos across the world.
For a million dollars or more a year. Each. And zoos will sign 10-year contracts.
That’s a lot of money for one panda.
Plus, if you rent a pair of pandas, and one of them gives birth to a little panda cub,
that cub costs the zoo an extra $400,000.
And that cub belongs to China, no matter where in the world it was born.
When it turns three, it gets shipped back to China.
Plus, if the Chinese Communist Party gets mad at a country for a political reason,
like say a trade war, they can recall their pandas by not renewing panda agreements.
If this all sounds messed up, it is. Luckily, China doesn’t own the rights to the *word* panda.
Don’t know if I’d enjoy orange chicken as much at a place called
Koala Express. They all have chlamydia, you know.
Thanks for your question, Mah-Dry-Bread. And thanks for supporting the show on Patreon.
You too can support us for as little as a dollar per episode over at Patreon.com/China Uncensored.
We rely on your support to keep making great episodes.
Once again, I’m Chris Chappell. See you next time.